Clean Air Tool
UX Case Study
Overview
Research validates the importance of maintaining good air quality within indoor spaces which helps reduce exposure to smoke particles, allergens and viruses. A beneficial tool that assists in improving indoor air quality is a portable air cleaner device/purifier. The Clean Air Tool helps users find a qualified portable air cleaner that is customized to their space to help mitigate the risk of unhealthy air. COVID being considered an airborne disease and with an increase of air pollutants around the world, now more than ever, it's crucial to create a product that helps implement extra safety precautions for any individual.
Duration
October - May 2022 | 20 weeks
Role
UX Designer
Contributors
Bijou Kim
Jeannie Choi
Stanley Susanto
Gulsima Young
Thomas Wilson
Misty Becker
Christian Calloway
Natt Sakulborrirug
Background & Problem Context
Over the past two years in the COVID-19 pandemic, maintaining healthy air quality has become a crucial factor in mitigating the spread of airborne disease and viruses.
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Taking on this problem space for my final capstone project, my team and I were sponsored by the University of Washington Information School to redesign an existing product called Air Cleaner Calculator, created by the previous year's capstone team. The original product focused on helping small businesses owners to maintain safe air quality in order to operational during the COVID-19 pandemic. Since then, we have redesigned and expanded the versatility of our product for general use, as research shows the benefits of air cleaners for factors other than airborne diseases. The new product, rebranded as the Clean Air Tool, can be used to find portable air cleaners and achieve cleaner air for any indoor space, from a bedroom to an office building.
Original Product
The ​link to the original product can be viewed here.
The main features of the original product include finding an air cleaner and testing an air cleaner. See slides below:
Problem Statement
How might small, independently owned businesses achieve cleaner air quality in indoor spaces so that they can maintain safe air conditions for their employees and customers?
Research
COVID Topics
For our research we looked into current topics in COVID and restrictions, how airborne illnesses can be mitigated, and how we can design our product with the most accurate and up to date information. We studied the resources provided by the project handoff and familiarized ourselves with the problem area.
Some of our main research takeaways are:
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Throughout the pandemic, owners and employees working in small businesses have been at great risk of exposure to COVID-19, as their jobs tend to put them in physical contact with many people (Gamio, 2020).
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Research has found that air cleaners can reduce the aerosol exposure by up to 65% and when using a combination of HEPA air cleaners and universal masking it can reduce the aerosol exposure by up to 90% (CDC, 2021).
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Emphasize the education aspect to help users understand the importance of general air quality.
Advisory Board
To ensure that we were utilizing the most accurate and up to date information for this problem space, we organized an project advisory board of our main stakeholders including health experts, air quality experts, and small business owners:
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Sasha Anderson | iSchool Advisory Member
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Lisa Goodman | Co-Founder and Board of Director @ Restart Partners
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Dr. Edmund Seto | Associate Professor @ University of Washington Environmental Health Sciences
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Marissa Baker | Assistant Professor @ University of Washington Environmental Health Sciences
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Joey Fox | HVAC Engineer
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Julie Reinhardt | Small Business Owner
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Sarah Lee | Governor's Advanced Manufacturing Sector Lead @ Washington State Department of Commerce
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Tresa Thomas-Massiongale | Consultant @ Peacefield
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From interviews with our advisory board, we gained additional research insights.
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Define what we give to the user.
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Make forms for finding/testing an air cleaner seamless and user friendly.
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Create a cohesive branding.
Persona
Hannah Nguyen is the owner of the award-winning restaurant called Hai Pho in Seattle, Washington. She wants her restaurant to be local and cozy and since her restaurant is close to the highway intersection, she cannot have patio seats due to pollution. During the peak of the pandemic Hannah had to close down her restaurant due to COVID spreading to multiple employees. Although the restrictions have died down, Hannah still experiences problems with mold and poor ventilation. She wants to ensure that her indoor space has healthy air quality to create a better environment for her employees and customers.
Solution Approach
We redesigned the key features of the product with a different approach to the features, including a more user friendly form experience, and personalized air cleaner recommendations page. We also thought about the journey after finding a suitable air cleaner. Then what? We recognized the importance of maintaining portable air cleaners so that they stay effective in cleaning indoor spaces.
Key Features
Concept Validation
Next for our concept validation, we conducted a large amount of user testing with our stakeholders, including small business owners, general residents, health experts, and air filtration experts. We tested our main concepts on finding an air cleaner, testing an air cleaner, and recommending suitable air cleaners to the users.
Insights
The main feedback we received to emphasize the purpose of our product more effectively, especially in the landing page. A user should be able to take one look and understand why they are here, and why they should care.
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There were still traces of air quality jargon that made some users confused. We decided to get rid of some completely, and some areas provide an optional "learn more" button.
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Lastly, we must walk a user through our website in the friendliest way as possible, as if we were holding their hand and guiding them throughout the entire process, as it can be a quite intimidating and unappealing process if not designed effectively.
Next Steps
As of now our product is live and launched. You can find us on our domain @ cleanairtool.com! So what now?
We have met with Sarah Lee, the manufacturing sector lead at the Washington State Department of Commerce, and discussed how we can begin to introduce this to the public and possibly have the state department of health share this resource. The conversation is still ongoing, but beyond that, we are hoping to keep this project ongoing for future capstone teams to focus on areas that were outside of our scope. Next opportunities include keeping the information on the website updated with current news and continuous research findings, expanding to a dynamic database, and expanding on the educational aspect of the product. Overall, we hope to keep our product reliable, up to date, and allow for students to continue the journey of the Clean Air Tool.
Retrospective
What went well?
Overall, I thinking we rebranded the original product effectively with a sophisticated design. We conducted so many usability testings over the course of this project, and for each piece of advice we were able to create creative and effective solutions to address a user's pain point. We also became very comfortable talking with many professionals which was intimidating at first, but looking back we are proud of how much we grew as a team and as individuals.
What could have gone better?
Unlike other capstone teams with a team of four, our team consisted of eight people with different roles. Although it was a huge blessing to have the moral support and individual skills of each member, it was a huge challenge working with such a large group. Communication became absolutely crucial for each member to be on the same page and be able to pass off tasks to meet the deadlines. The first half of the project was pretty rocky, and we failed to make the progress we had planned to complete before the second half. However, we learned to trust each other and be reliable team members.
Takeaways
This capstone project was an amazing experience where I was able to apply all the raw skills I've learned in courses as well as from internships into another real world project. This time, we were the leaders and made big decisions alongside our mentors. Despite the struggles we went through as a team, it was extremely fulfilling working on a project that could have a real impact on the community around us. Last but not least, I learned that capstone isn't necessarily about creating a flawless product by the end-- it's about the meaningful relationships and connections you get to make with the people around you.