Aschli First

Introduce the designer selected and the reason for selection

Aschli First is a graphic designer from the Cleveland, Ohio area. She has worked in many different fields pertaining to graphic design including digital design, graphic design, and UX design. She has worked for advertising agencies, magazines and companies including Arras Group, Ultra 16, Arras Keathley, Adcom, National Geographic Kids Magazine and Digital Therapy. I selected Aschli because after having her as my mentor over the summer, her designs were always simple yet intriguing and she inspires me to be a better designer. She also helped me to understand UX/UI, digital and graphic design better.

Describe a project in which they practiced user-centered design

One project that she practiced user-centered design was the website creation for the Emerald Jenny Foundation. The Emerald Jenny Foundation is a website that “includes listings for rehab facilities, healthcare providers, counselors and other organizations — all so you or a loved one can take that important first step” (Find). The founders of the company, Bill and Susan Ayars lost their daughter to addiction and had a hard time finding help all in one location (First). So, they decided to build a website that has all of the information one could need to battle addiction in one site location.

What user-centered design principles and methods did the designer utilize?

She utilized many different user-centered design principles and methods including usability, utility, human factors and the inverted pyramid. Usability came into play when she wanted to make the site easy to navigate for first-time users and returning users and for the site to have a comforting, non-overwhelming feeling to it. For an addiction recovery site, Emerald Jenny Foundation’s website has the most utility to it out of any addiction-related site because it houses additional information from facilities across Ohio, healthcare providers, counselors and other organizations (Find). Making the site easy to navigate with items like an interactive google map and easy-to-read navigation bar and not excluding any culture, age or gender, human factors comes into the website when users are interacting with the site. The inverted pyramid is being used by the navigation bar being the top, most important information and when clicked, opens up the supporting information and the details with it.

Whom are the designers target audience? What was their gender, generation, culture, and profession?

Aschli’s target audience were mostly believed to be “parents, sisters, brothers, friends, or any family member of a person who has an addiction” (First). The target audience would be seeking support and help for their loved one that they cannot provide themselves. Aschli describes the target audience best as “a wide range of genders, ages, cultures, and professions because addiction knows no bounds” (First).

How did practicing user-centered design add value to the project as a whole?

She believed practicing user-centered design added value to the project as a whole, especially when they had Bill and Susan go through the frustrating process of searching for facilities and had them break down what parts were most discouraging. Aschli said, “We had to figure out exactly what a family member/friend who is distraught would need to know right away… without having too many things get in their way of getting a loved one help” (First). Without incorporating user-centered design, the site would not have been as personal, simple, warm, comforting or hopeful, it would have had the cold, government site feeling to it (First).

What are the key takeaways from this assignment?

There are multiple key takeaways from this assignment that no matter what your profession is called in the design industry, every designer works with user-centered design. Another is that the best designs are not only functional but an easy experience for the user. User-centered design like the Emerald Jenny Foundation website becomes a bit more personal and aesthetically pleasing, however, it all depends on what the product, tool or equipment is. User-centered design is important and should always be taken into consideration if the design will be used by the population.

Sources

First, Aschli. Personal interview. 12 Sept. 2018.

“Find Treatment in Ohio.” The Emerald Jenny Foundation, www.emeraldjennyfoundation.org/.