I am a
Looking to enter the world of design.
Background Experience
Skills
Garibay Group / Researcher / August 2011 to Present
Research interviewing
I conduct audience research and evaluation on issues of inclusion for new/ underserved audiences for educational institutions. I apply a mixed-method, culturally responsive approach to data collection, analysis, and reporting.
ethnography ethograms qualitative coding
Shedd Aquarium / Field Evaluator / April 2013 to Present
IRB/research ethics
I use qualitative research to improve the visitor experience. I collect data about guests with interviews, surveys, and observations. I was lead author on two studies and supervise weekend volunteers to ensure department goals are met.
tracking/timing quantitative analysis participatory methods survey design
Design for America / Summer Studio / Summer 2011
data visualization
I worked with a team of students to apply a human-centered design approach developing an exhibit on “tinkering” for the Chicago Children’s Museum. We created working prototypes of exhibit elements and a scale model of our design.
Adobe Illustrator Adobe InDesign Adobe Photoshop
EDUCATION
sewing
Northwestern University / Evanston, IL / 2007-2011
drafting
B.A. in Cultural Anthropology, Concentration in Music Thesis: “Medical Choice and Decision Making in San Ignacio, Belize”
woodworking cake design
Making
My approach Frame the Problem
Values curiosity empathy equity
Test
I want to create designs that inspire curiosity about the world.
How? Meaningful solutions are only possible through empathetic concern for users’ perspectives.
Why? A world designed for all people promotes equity and empowerment.
Identify a Need
Identify Problems
What?
Plan
Empathy
Collect Data
Gather Insights
Iterative Testing
Analyze
Prototype Works-like Model
Ideate
Report
Featured examples of my Work Research Audience Research
Shirin Neshat Retrospective CALTA 21 Aquarium Experience Study
Problem Solving
iResearcher Renter’s Planter Window Bird Feeder Food Minder
D.I.Y.
Exhibit Evaluation & Design Play & Grow Garden Mobile Learning Stations Tinkering Lab
Cake Design
Kathryn’s Blackberry Tea Cake Garibay Group Cake
Making
Audience Research
Experience For the past three years, I’ve helped educational institutions answer questions about audience engagement and learning.
# OF PROJECTS BY CLIENT Zoo/Aquarium Science Museum Children’s Museum University Art Museum Nature Center Natural History Museum Research Foundation Public Library History Museum
AREAS OF EXPERTISE
My Methods I use qualitative research methods to understand what people are doing and why.
METHODS MATRIX
methodology Influences
Collection ethnography
Anthropology
ethograms surveys timing and tracking
What’s
Happening?
Human-Centered Design
behavioral checklists
interviews focus groups card sorting open-ended surveys
quantitative analysis
transcript analysis
data visualization
emergent coding experience models
Analysis
Why?
My Research Process Why is this study necessary?
What key questions need to be answered?
Are those questions answerable?
Plan
Identify a Need
Collect Data
Will this serve the needs of the target audience?
Will this produce actionable insights?
What methods will best answer the questions?
How will participants be affected?
How can analysis support the client and users’ needs?
What story does the data tell?
What can be communicated visually?
Gather Insights Analyze
Ideate Report
Who will be reading this report?
Will it enable stakeholders to affect change?
Who else could benefit?
Shirin Neshat Retrospective Project Overview Client
Challenge Develop interpretive strategies to achieve
intended outcomes and minimize possible negative reactions to an exhibition of contemporary Iranian artist, Shirin Neshat.
Collect
Company Role Interviewed participants after observing them in a mock gallery. Analyzed transcripts.
Research Questions How will this exhibition be perceived by visitors who do and do not identify with cultures represented? What information do visitors need to make connections with the conceptual art?
Observations and interviews of participants in a mock-gallery
What are visitors’ preconceptions of the art and themes? Do visitors see the exhibition themes as global or relevant only in Middle Eastern or Islamic cultures?
Focus groups with general audience and Muslim community members I am Its Secret, Shirin Neshat 1993
Outcomes Finding
Recommendation
Since Neshat uses photography, many respondents interpreted her work as photojournalism.
Emphasize that the work is one artist’s perspective, not documentation of contemporary life in Iran.
Historical & Political Context
There was a range of understanding of Iranian politics and history. Some people were very knowledgeable, while others held more stereotypical views.
All visitors could benefit from interpretation that grounds them in the political and historical context of Iran.
Symbolism
Respondents had difficulty interpreting the work because of its highly conceptual and symbolic nature.
Visitors will require significant hand-holding and scaffolding in order for them to make meaning of the art.
Portrayal of Middle East
A vocal minority interpreted the work as a negative portrayal of Iranian, Middle Eastern, and Muslim culture. They worried the exhibit would reinforce negative stereotypes.
Communities represented in the exhibit must feel included in the process. The exhibit needs to provide context to help visitors move beyond stereotypes.
Gender
The strongest overarching theme respondents saw in Neshat’s work was gender, specifically the oppression of women by men.
Be aware that visitors’ recognition of gender as a theme may significantly color their interpretation of the work.
Artist’s
Intentions
CALTA 21 Project Overview
Challenge Communicate how CALTA 21 transformed
Client
student, teacher, and museum educators’ perception of the possibilities for adult English language learning in museums.
Company Role Interviewed students,
Plan Data were collected from three
conducted analysis and reporting.
Research Questions
different audiences, but many of the research questions concerned partnership or relationships between groups. This model shows how data collection was coordinated to measure all questions.
Are collaborations between art museums and community colleges helping to empower adult immigrant English language learners? Are art museums becoming learning spaces for adult immigrants? Are immigrant voices strengthened by the development of social, cultural, and civic capital?
Student Classroom Experience
Museum Visit
Immigrant Empowerment
Teacher
Institutional Partnership
Museum Educator
Collect Student interviews and surveys Teacher interviews and surveys Museum focus groups and surveys Videos of students facilitating art discussions
Outcomes Analysis Survey data was used to determine if program goals were being met. Transcripts of student and educator interviews were analyzed to develop deeper insights about how those outcomes were experienced.
Transformation of museum Perception art museums are valuable to me
with museums
I’ve never been to a museum before. Museums are boring.
Museums are not just buildings with art; they are places of learning and self-expression.
I love art, but didn’t see museums as a place to improve my English. I never thought of smaller museums as valuable.
art museums are not valuable to me
more experienced
Student Empowerment Model
I’m intimidated by art museums.
I belong at art museums.
with museums
Analyzing transcripts and developing models.
less experienced
Before this class, I never would have gone to a museum to share my opinions.
Formative Aquarium Experience Study Project Overview Organization Role
One of two lead researchers. Primary author of final report.
Challenge Investigate the holistic visitor experience at
representative exhibits across the aquarium to identify pertinent questions and methods for a large-scale study.
Collect Recorded visitor conversations in five representative exhibits. Took ethnographic notes of all activity and behaviors in exhibits.
Aquarium Exhibit Types Description
Research Questions
Exhibit
How do guests seek out and share information?
Traditional Gallery
A series of habitats united by an environment or geographic region, but are separate and contain a small variety of species.
Rivers
How do group dynamics affect the exhibit experience?
Immersive
Galleries that “effectively absorb, engross or create for visitors the experience of a particular time and place.”
Amazon
Habitats that use some immersive elements, such as sound or lights, but do not emphasize time and place enough to be truly immersive.
Caribbean Reef
How do visitors answer questions or find information? How does engagement differ across exhibits? How do guests respond emotionally to exhibits?
Semi-
Immersive
Solo Animal Habitats with one species. All design and interpretation Habitat supports visitors’ experience with a single species. Touch
Encounter
Experiences built around a physical interaction with an animal. Exhibit design and species are selected to support touch experiences.
Otters Stingray Touch
Outcomes Analysis Conversation transcripts and notes were reviewed for patterns in group dynamics, topics of interest, information seeking and sharing, evidence of empathy towards animals and the aspects of the exhibits that afforded those interactions.
immersive elements Immersion
Areas to Explore
plays an important role in visitor experiences, so it is important to understand the design elements that afford it.
HUMAN CONTEXT
LIGHTING
REALISTIC HABITATS
Observation Connections with Animals
Animal characteristics that afforded connections: large size, physical responses to visitors, highly active, and human-like behavior.
How can we support connections with animals that do not exhibit these characteristics?
Rescue Stories
Rescue animals stories are a great opportunity to build connections with animals, but some are overlooked.
What role do Shedd’s animal rescue stories play in a visit? What interpretation makes them more effective?
Transitional Spaces
Habitats in transitional areas of the aquarium compete for visitors attention with logistics.
How can we support meaningful interactions in short stay times?
Technology & Interpretation
Visitors asked more questions and identified more species in exhibits with tablets panels.
Are tablets more effective to help identify species? Does identification support connections with the animals?
SOUND
VARIETY OF SPECIES
CONSISTENT GEOGRAPHY OR ENVIRONMENT
Questions
Exhibit Design + Evaluation
My Approach How are visitors engaging? In exhibit evaluation and design, I examine visitor experiences by investigating opportunities for engagement across these areas:
Emotionally
Physically
Intellectually A note On “engagement” Socially
This term is the “innovation” of the museum world. It’s used so broadly and without definition that it can be jargon. This model offers one possible definition based on my professional experience.
Evaluation / play & Grow Garden Project Overview
Challenge Measure exhibit goals and understand the
Client
factors that affect families’ experiences to identify assets and opportunities for improvement.
Company Role Data collection, analysis, and
Collect I conducted 20 observations and interviews with families in the garden. GPC Play and Grow Garden Areas
reporting.
Gravity Run Log Runnel
Pebble Pool
Pine Tree-o
Chalkboard 6 Train Trees
Water Spigot
Research Questions
Tree Trunk Obstacle Spiral
Billy Goat’s Bluff and Bridge
How do children utilize living, green environments for physical and imaginative nature experiences?
Tree Hut Hangout
Tinker Tree
Stumptown
How do children socialize and interact with peers?
Chalkboard 5
Do parents understand the importance of nature experiences and outdoor play to their children’s development?
Tree Trunk Obstacle Path
Soil Kitchen
Welcome Gate
Chalkboard 4
Willow Fort Chalkboard 3
Chalkboard 1 Chalkboard 2
A young visitor intellectually engaging through fort-building.
A rough sketch of the garden with labeled areas, drawn to acquaint new data collectors with the site.
Outcomes Factors of the visitor experince Fine Motor
Engagement by Area This graphic illustrates relative levels of engagement by activity areas. The larger the circle, the deeper the level of engagement.
Gross Motor Water
Staff
Physical Engagement
Structures
Child
Social Engagement Caregiver
Problem Solving
Play & Grow Garden Experience
Design Features
Natural Materials
Building Materials
Intellectual Engagement
Imaginative Play
Emotional Engagement
Containers and Utensils
Programming
Materials Activity
Evaluation / Mobile Learning Stations Project Overview
Challenge Help create and assess the overall impact the
Client
mobile learning stations have engaging visitors in inquiry-based learning.
Company
Phase 1 Observe how visitors use two prototypes to inform the design of five new mobile stations.
Role Data collection, analysis, and reporting.
Phase 1 Questions How are visitors interacting with the stations? To what extent does the design of the stations affect interactions? Do the stations meet the needs of the target audience? What messages do visitors take away?
Interaction Models After 15 observations and interviews, I drew aerial sketches to show how facilitators and visitors interacted with the prototypes.
Outcomes Phase 2 Assess overall impact the learning stations have engaging visitors in inquiry-based learning. Did the learning stations..
How are visitors engaging? Intellectually Socially Physically Emotionally Animal Investigations Habitat Inhabitants How Feces Save Species Nature Stinks Nature’s Neighborhoods Animals Like Us
Increase appreciation of the zoo’s commitment to animal care and/or conservation science? Inspire visitors to share something that they learned with a family member or friend?
Secrets of the Zoo Key: High
Med
Low
Design / Tinkering Lab Project Overview Partner
Challenge How can we create an exhibit that empowers children to explore and create with real tools?
tinker [v.]: to explore materials without a fixed goal
Sponsor Design for America is an awardwinning nationwide network of interdisciplinary student teams and community members using design to create local and social impact.
Tinkering vs. Scientific process Tinkering:
conclusions are the result of random discovery
Start with Materials
About Our student team applied a
human-centered design approach to develop an exhibit on “tinkering� for children ages three-eight. Several of our exhibit ideas were incorporated into the final space, which has been open to the public since early 2013.
Experiment Scientific Process:
conclusions are drawn by testing premeditated questions
Form a
Hypothesis Ask a Question
Analyze
Conclude
Outcomes
Flexible
Authentic
Wow!
Observation
Insight
Design Outcome
Kids enjoy solving problems, but get frustrated when goals are too complicated.
Flexible outcomes let kids explore solutions more freely.
Create open-ended prompts that let kids define and solve their own problems.
Familiar items inspire kids to role-play and build on prior knowledge.
Real objects are more inspiring than fantasy.
Use real objects and common tools.
There is a disconnect between what kids imagine and what they make.
Imagining is valuable, but ability to make is limited by familiarity with tools.
Provide the tools and support to bring kids’ ideas to life.
Kids respond to small and large-scale experiences with excitement.
Scale can be used to generate excitement.
Integrate a mix of small and large-scale experiences.
Deliverables ModeL + Prototypes Our team created two working prototypes of exhibit elements and produced a scale model to show how our ideas might be used in the future space.
Tinkering Lab Model
Pegboard Pinball
Road Squares
Designed to fit in the proposed exhibit space, this model incorporates our prototypes and other large scale opportunities for tinkering and play.
This simple pinball machine lets kids create their own obstacles with common materials such as bottle caps, pipe cleaners, and found objects.
These fabric squares feature textured material on one side and a road shape on the other. These flexible, tactile pieces help younger children explore textiles.
Problem Solving
Window Bird Feeder Challenge How can I attract birds to a high-rise window for cat entertainment? I have a chubby cat named Elmer. Laid-back to a fault, it’s difficult to get him active. The only thing that stimulates him is watching birds out the window. However, I live on the 4th floor of a high-rise building and need a product that can:
Specifications Hang outside a window with absolutely no risk of falling on the busy street below Attract birds without risking their safety Allow me to open and close my window
Prototype in Use
Product Illustration This drawing shows how the feeder attaches. Installing to the interior window ledge removes risk of falling on the street below.
prototype testing While using the window feeder, I noted several positive features and issues to resolve in the next iteration:
What Worked Elmer would stay glued to the window for hours It successfully attracted birds, who were unruffled by my cat on the other side of the window
Issues to resolve Not adaptable to different window styles and sizes Not weather proof. Cold air flowed into apartment Not made from rot-resistant materials Didn’t drain during rain
iResearcher Challenge How can I integrate smart phone usage into traditional handwritten data collection techniques?
The problem
Specifications From testing, I learned that next iteration should:
As a qualitative researcher, I need to take thorough, detailed notes on participant behavior while taking photos and recording time. It is most natural to use a smart phone, but it was difficult to capture all details while switching between my phone and clipboard.
Attach and detach from standard clipboards without adhesive Withstand pressure applied while using buttons Allow for the use of all smart-phone features Not interfere with ability to flip pages on clipboard or minimize available writing surface
Ideating I built several prototypes with cardboard and tape, then tested them in the field.
+ =?
Testing Works-Like Prototype
3D Modeling
Model of Final Prototype
After testing cardboard prototypes, I modeled a 3D printable version. This initial design was functional, but the size made printing impracticle.
This final model securely fits on a clipboard while using far less material and can be printed using a 3D printer with a standard surface area.
Benefits Allows for new data collection tools without impeding traditional methods. Adapts to a product that already exists, reducing cost and waste. Solution is publicly available for print/download at TinkerCAD.
Renter’s Planter Challenge How can I introduce green space on a small porch without occupying floor space or using permanent hardware?
The problem As an urban renter and a DIY “nester” I am frequently at odds with the terms of my lease, namely the provision that I not hang anything using permanent hardware on our small back porch.
Ideating After exploring several no hardware options, I decided to prototype a self-supporting pressure planter. I created two window boxes, to be hung on either side of a porch rail, tightened together until they supported the weight of removable planter liners.
Sketch of Prototype
Specifications
High-Fidelity Prototype.
In addition to the original design challenges, this prototype needed to:
I built this using cedar, steel rods, and removable planter boxes. I look forward to making it easier to install and adaptable to different porches.
Support 90 lbs. minimum Give the appearance of floating on the porch rail Have removable flower planters Be easily moved by one person Be made from rot-resistant materials and allow drainage
Building at my woodshop
Food Minder Challenge How can I design a product that helps college students reduce food waste? The Problem
470
Insights + CHallenges from Research
The average pounds of food wasted per person annually.
Food waste at home is a problem for everyone, but college students are particularly susceptible because they are: New to grocery shopping for themselves Busy and can’t prioritize healthy eating
“
“
I don’t usually buy a lot of produce because I worry about it going bad.
User
Users inventory fridge contents visually, so clutter leads to waste.
Shared fridges are used as message boards.
Users do not know average shelf life of most foods.
Design
How can I make it easier to inventory food?
How can I accommodate a variety of organizing styles?
How can I make it easier to track expiration dates?
Insights
Challenges
Early Prototype A series of square magnets with food items color coded by shelf-life with magnetic strip that can be placed in or outside the fridge.
Solution A system of magnets with food items colored with a gradient
indicating approximate shelf-life. Word magnets can be adapted for different organization and communication strategies.
Issues to resolve No one used the magnetic strip inside the fridge. All users preferred external freezer door placement. Colors did not intuitively communicate shelf-life without key. Combining images with words made them too different from word magnets, therefore less intuitive.
Next Steps This system solves the problems of visibility, shelf-life
knowledge, and flexible organization, but it requires a significant time investment. In the next iteration, I would like to do long-term user testing for new insights.
Cake Design
Birthday Cake Philosophy Sugar is my medium of choice to celebrate the special people in my life.
A cake should always be personal Something cute
Something Sweet
Something Boozy
Something Tart
Cake Study/ Kathryn’s Blackberry Tea Cake The Birthday Girl
The Cake
Kathryn is a PhD student in English literature. A lover of tea and thoughtful conversations, she’s most at home cuddled with a warm mug, good book, and the company of friends. She’s an avid runner and farmer’s market attendee, appreciating food that is local, seasonal, and healthy. When asked to describe her, most people will use words such as “lovely” and “thoughtful.”
Inspiration
Black-tea cake covered in blackberry-lime curd and frosted with blueberry-blossom honey-stabilized whipped cream
Cake Study/ Garibay Group Cake The Birthday Girl
The Cake
Jane is a co-worker at Garibay Group. With an MDes in Communication Design, she is responsible for the presentation style of our final reports and is a stickler for making sure all reports use our official company color palette. As a fan of natural snacks, especially fruits and nuts, she enjoys specialty trail mixes comprised of fruits, nuts, and chocolate.
Inspiration Garibay Group Color Palette
Orange cake, brushed with orange-rum syrup, covered with dark chocolate rum ganache and topped with pistachios
D.i.y.
DIY Philosophy DIY is an attitude, not a skill set It’s about recognizing your ability to alter your environment and define your own way of living.
Makers are better consumers Engaging with how objects are made, equips you to better question and seek alternatives to standard means of production.
men can sew, Women can use powertools. DIY techniques should be accessible to all. No one should be hesistant to learn a skill because of gender associations.
Sources of inspiration
CONTACT INFO smileykr13@gmail.com 614.582.8199 katie-smiley.squarespace.com @KatieSmiley
Thank you