JESSICA SMITH MID CANDIDATE • PRATT INSTITUTE
Hey there! My name is Jess and I’m currently an industrial design graduate student at Pratt Institute in Brooklyn. Previously, I have studied environmental science, worked in marketing for a clean energy startup, and taught myself how to code at a digital design agency. Now I am focused on how we can integrate technology into products thoughtfully and with minimal environmental impact. Please reach out with any questions or just to say hi: (980) 254-4074 • jesmi423@gmail.com
TIMELIN E UNDERGRADUATE
I attended the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill where I received a B.S. in Environmental Science.
4 yrs MARKETING
1 yr
I worked as the marketing manager for VCharge -- a clean energy startup using smart technology to balance energy load.
PROJECT MANAGEMENT
I worked as a project manager for a digital agency called Motel that designs and develops websites, web and mobile apps.
2 yrs FRONTEND DEVELOPMENT
1 yr INDUSTRIAL DESIGN
I am currently enrolled in the Master of Industrial Design program at Pratt, where I’m learning the principles of product design.
1 yr
I taught myself to code and worked as a junior frontend developer for Motel, while continuing my previous project management work.
C O N TE N TS
1
R I NG R I N G C o n ne cted J e welr y
2
3D E XPLO RAT ION S P lanar St udy
3
3D EXPLOR C on str ucti on
R AT IONS Stu dy
4
MO( URN) Tact ile Mem or y
5
RUG DESI G N Tra n sm ute d C ol or
ring ring I D T E CH I
This project was motivated by an ID Tech prompt to “create a container for a time sensitive material.” The idea of creating a modern wearable for medication management was already floating around my head ever since my experience trying to maintain a consistent medication schedule through monthly cross-country flights to San Francisco. My solution was to create a “smart” wearable that contains a sleeve to hold medication and alerts the wearer via haptic feedback when it’s time to take a pill. Ring Ring is the first prototype towards that solution.
R E SE A RCH
Needless to say, I am not the only woman who has had issues sticking to a regular schedule for birth control. A study published in the Journal of Contraception noted that research studies estimate 40% of women who use oral contraceptive pills (OCPs) are non-adherent to a consistent daily pill-taking routine. This is a major factor in the 9% failure rate among OCP’s in the first year of use.
But it is not just birth control pills that pose a problem with consistent usage. Approximately 50% of patients receiving treatment for chronic illness don’t take their medication as prescribed. While this encompasses a number of factors -from cost, to accessibility, to education -- one of the factors impeding adherence is taking medications on a consistent, prescribed schedule.
To get a better sense of what some of those users pain points are, I created my own survey to get information from 15 anonymous participants on Pratt’s campus. To the right are some of the questions I asked and the lessons I learned from the experience.
Medicat ion Manag ement U ser R PerMedic Mana sonalation Informat gement User Research Study ion Name: Personal Information Medicat ion Man agem Age: Person Name: al Inform tion aG en der: Occupat ion: N ame: Age: Gender: Email: A g e: Occupation: G Occupat ender: Email: st Que ion: ions Email: 1. Do yo u take an Questions y medicat ions on a regular ba Questio 1. Do you take any medic n sis (includ s ations on a regula r basis ing (includ ing vitamins)?
2. Is the 1. Do yo effec take sc hedule tivenes su of an y your med m edicat ?
icationioaff ns ec onteadreg 2. Is the effectivenes byuyo larurbas s of your medication affect abais ed by your ability to take ili it on schedule?
2. Is th e effectiv 3. Do yo eness o sc u h ru ed n f u your med
or into an y le fa?ct s th icat ion aff ec at make ted b it di ffi cu 3. Do you run into any factors that lt to take make it difficu edic lt to take medication on amregul From he re 3. Do you ru physic on ou t, whe n ren in to an al, digita fe y rr fa in ct g to a “mors that l, or both) th helps orga edicatiom n ak From here on out, me der anitag iffi”cu at cation 4. W when ng to a “medi lt ni ould referri ze to w mana e an ger” m yo we d remean physical, digital, or both) that ct e mind ayoprodu Fu robe restedize helps m u to take( hinerteeorgan d you to take your in andinremin medic physical on out, wus ati hengreafedigital medic , digital, 4. Would you5.beWintere rr at in io g or lbmedic in using a digita to a “m n manager ould sted oth) thation you be ger?ed Y m ?N at helmana te sted 4. Woin ps organ ication ana uld re ize and you bein using a ph remind interest ys ic al ed in usi medicatio 5. Would you 6. be(Ifintere sted in n you answ using a physical medicationnmana manager g a dig ger? er ita ? N l medYic Yes to Q was port5. Woed ation able asuld you be uestion #5) aw Would yo earablin te re st e ob 6. (If you answe ctedorina ustsing u prefer a ph red Yes to Question #5) Wouldjeyou aob ys preferataicphysic pje icalm hys medic m was portable as a weara ation icthal ctal 6. (Ifble t or a static object mre ed ic youobjec mlocatio aiat that remains inatone nsioin answ n 7. If you er ed was po Ye were to s to rt Q able as us that allo e a ph ysic a weara uestion #5) W w ould yo bio lenobject ed you to transp al medic at u prefer manag oer ort your r awstou a 7. If you were atld ation to use m ic a physical medic ed obujew ic yo ation?you manager would ctan thtaatits want
it to that allowed you to7.transp have If youortw your medic ation?
ere to u 8. If you se a ph wer that al ysical w ould yo e to us eloawwed ea yo ra u to transp medic ation m anag u prefer it be incoble phys icalort you med er r m w ic rp ed o at u or ion ic ld y ated into 8. If you were to use a wearable mat anioag n?er
, wha ? manager, what physical medic ation t de device would you prefer8it. be or v piec If yo incorp orated into?
u w er Thank yo would yo e to use a wea u for pa ra u rt ble pre r it icip parties w be udincorp physic ith ou t yo ating in fe this st al med icat ur ora y! Your ion man consen inte fodrminat toio?n
ager, Thank you for participating in this t. w ill not be sh study! Your inform ation will not be shared witharany parties without yourThconse ed ank yo nt. u for par parties without ticipating in th is study! your co nsent. Your info rmation will not b
Researc
h Study
ment U ser Res earch S tudy
vitamins) ?
sity
(into cluta consis dtent ingitvion ke tam ainco s)ns ? istent
by your ability to
take it o ca lartio n on ule?
sched n a con a regular sistent schedule ?
ta eake n ampred (either odicuc
ationith onera reg eions your med t (e u la r sc ic ations hedule?
N Maybe
ager� w Y N May e mean
a product be
you to ta (either ke your m ? edicatio N YMaybe
n N manager Maybe s ? Y N Maybe
medicger mana atiothat n manag nn m er on?
onan th e ag at loca er?tion?
Y N Maybe
a physic
al medic tstorag at re tomha ion man e aive nsarea ainstoor ag neag loeca artio ean? er that
you wan
t it to hav vice ceoforjewelr pieceyof e a storage ar jewelry ea
, what d
evice or piece o dy w outsid ith aney ou f jewelry tside
be shar ed with any outs ide
CO NC LUSIO NS
1. Nonadherence is a real issue. All but two people who were interviewed reported having issues taking their medication on a regular schedule, with the majority of those people reporting a loss of efficacy of their medication when they do so. 2. The main wearable item people reported wanting to incorporate a physical medication manager into was a watch -- an idea I broadened to include any wrist-based accessory for this first round of rapid prototyping. 3. The second most reported physical item people reported wanting to include a medication manager into was a phone case. While I didn’t test out a phone-based storage system in this round of prototyping, moving forward I believe creating a modular storage system that could also be incorporated into a phone case would be a direction worth pursuing.
I D E AT I O N
DIG I TAL I N TEG R ATI ON
Since the idea for this project is to have a connected device, it was not enough just to design a physical prototype -- I wanted to design a digital one as well. This allowed me to walk users through the flow of the proposed mobile app and get simultaneous feedback on the digital, as well as the physical, components of the project. To do this I used the digital design application Sketch to create the mobile screens and then the prototyping app Invision to make a functioning app that users could click through.
PROTOT YP I N G
Lessons learned from user testing: 1. For future versions of the digital app, it makes sense to remove the “plus” button at the bottom of the screen for user flows that don’t directly relate to adding a new medication or a new alarm. 2. Consider changing the notification icon that is currently a bell to something that won’t potentially be confused with the alarm icon. 3. The sliding motion of the initial design can be difficult to use when wearing the watch.
M OV I N G FO R WA R D
For future iterations of this prototype I hope to refine the construction to be able to test the different container openings with more granularity. I would also like to explore the realm of wearable technology to see whether more advanced materials could allow for more flexibility in the design of the wearable.
Planar Study G R A D UAT E 3 D I This project was a project of the first semester graduate 3D class to create a dynamic and interesting composition using a variety of planes. Contrasting sizes, shapes, and axial arrangements were considered to create a composition with visual tension and intrigue. Color is also used to pull the viewer through the composition and direct the viewer all the way around for a 360 degree experience.
P RO C E S S
LE SSO NS LE ARNE D
THEORETICAL Color can be used as another way of moving viewers through the composition. A vibrant color on the underside of a plane can encourage viewers to explore an angle they may not have otherwise considered. Also don’t forget that contrast in planes doesn’t just mean size but also includes using a variety of types of planes -- from curved and twisted to straight and bent.
TECHNICAL • Be sure to really sand the edges of the base to remove any chipping • Leave some breathing room around the composition on the base • Think through where the structural supports will be least distracting • Use masking tape to cover museum board when spraypainting
Construction Study GRA D UAT E 3 D I This project also came out of first semester Graduate 3D -- this time the prompt was to use found objects to create a visually interesting composition. After that was achieved, the arrangement was recreated and reinterpreted with a variety of materials and forms. The overall gesture and character of the original composition had to be maintained while being presented in a refined manner.
P RO C E S S
LE SSO NS LE ARNE D
THEORETICAL Texture and materiality can be used as an additional element to lead viewers through the composition. Contrast between textures is another consideration in addition to size, shape, color, and placement of elements. Personally, I learned through the construction sketches that I tend to create compositions that have a dominant planar element, usually with a subdominate planar face that creates spacial tension. Moving forward, I want to actively focus on creating line and volume dominant compositions to push myself out of what comes naturally or comfortably. TECHNICAL • Air-dry clay may get stuck to a silicone mould -- try using Sculpey instead • Avoid painting or spray painting plaster when possible • Make multiple plaster models just in case one unexpectedly crumbles • When wedging or cradling with plaster, use a coping saw first then a flat file • When using Acrylite sheets, wire is not strong enough to hold a shape -try using fishing line to create the proper curve then secure to base
Mo(urn) SELF I NI T I ATE D This project was self-initiated after the passing of my grandfather in January 2016. My grandfather was a carpenter and fisherman who was passionate about doing things himself. After being presented with a flimsy plastic urn from the funeral home, I decided to create an urn for him myself that would better represent his memory as a skilled craftsman. At the process level, I also hoped that the act of working with my hands and the meditative practice of wheel throwing would bring some mental clarity and emotional healing.
P RO C E S S
R EFI N EMEN TS
One issue that kept recurring with the use of fishing l on the glazed ceramic surface was the difficulty of securing the line in place. For future iterations I woul to find a more sophisticated adherence solution, wh would also help the line to lie flat on the surface. I wo also like to refine the shape of the urn to a more robe organic form, likely through slip casting rather than w throwing the ceramics.
line
ld like hich ould est wheel
PIVOT Moving away from the form of an urn, I decided to take inspiration from my grandfather’s work as a carpenter and combine a wooden form with fishing line surface decoration. For this iteration I used natural wood turned on a lathe to create organic forms for a pair of candlesticks. From there I created an indentation in which the fishing line could lie flat, hopefully avoiding some of the issues I encountered with the ceramics forms.
Rug Project For this project, I was asked to create a rug design inspired by a famous work of art. The rug had to reflect the character and color composition of the piece and be presented in a residential and a commercial context. To get a true sense of color distribution, I cut up the original work and created a color distribution bar graph of the various colors, and used that to inform the resulting modules and design. For my inspiration, I used the Yamana Ka Lake woodblock print by Hiroshi Yoshida because of its soothing symmetry and color palette. From there, I tried to incorporate the calming nature of the piece without falling back on the easy symmetry of the reflected mountaintops. In keeping the design asymmetric, I hoped to keep the rug visually interesting while pushing myself to find other ways to keep it true to the nature of the original artwork.
YAM ANA KA L AK E BY HIROS HI YO S HIDA
C O LOR T H E O R Y I
P RO C E S S
RE SIDE NTI AL
C O M M ERC I A L
JESMI423@GMAIL.COM • (980) 254-4074