MetaStar Overview
MetaStar is a social networking application for teen immigrants in the United States. These kids exist between two cultures and experience negative feelings of culture shock. Our team employed a user-centered process to design a solution that spoke to the needs of personal expression and community building in this population. Within our team we cultivated patience, rhetoric, compromise and empathy.
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Research
As our only constraint was to create a service that was social, our research was broad and varied. We explored markets that allowed people to explore their personal identity while joining larger communities. We found focus when research revealed the many obstacles immigrants overcome — language, academic, cultural and familial separation.
Next, we sent out online surveys and conducted contextual inquires with immigrants of all ages. Within this set of users, those who had moved when they were children expressed the greatest challenges. We created generative research activities for teen immigrants. We asked that they express their identity through collaging activities and create a visual timeline of cultural influences throughout their lives. Our research goal was to find a common set of challenges and experiences within the participants.
(left) A participant explains her self-portrait to the group.
(top right) Photo of cultural timeline.
(bottom right) A participant explains her heritage through collections of pottery.
Synthesis & Ideation
From our research we created personas and identified three strong needs:
- 1. a forum for self-reflection about identity and culture
- 2. a safe and welcoming social atmosphere during cultural transition
- 3. a sense of belonging and recognition
From this data, we created nearly 100 concepts. Through affinity diagrammingm, scenario creation, and guidance from our teachers we selected a concept to focus on. We would develop a tool for teens to map their personalities and find others with matching life-paths.
(top) Plotting of ideas on an issue/value matrix.
(bottom) Affinity diagram of design concepts.
Design Development
We created an information architecture and wireframes that would help users to visually express their unique cultural identity at a micro-level view as well as see a larger swatch of users with similarly varied backgrounds at a meta-level view. These two levels of interaction within the system address the needs for personal expression and community in accordance with Maslow's hierarchy of needs. We invited teen immigrants to test the system using paper prototypes and give feedback on visual options. From this information, we selected an aesthetic treatment, reduced the number of buttons and navigation options in the larger meta-view.
(left) Early wireframes.
(top right) Detailed wireframes.
(bottom right) A participant tests a paper prototype of the system.
Visual Design
Based on feedback from participants and the theme of universe, we fully design three screens; Forum, Universe, and myStar.
Video Sketch
Using the persona of Chun Hei, a young girl from Korea, we created a script and storyboards explaining the need for and usage of metaStar. We took photos of various setting and characters and developed detailed interactions in Flash. From these assets, we developed this into a full video sketch using After Effects.
