Be Ready! crisis app design research
Greg Mikael Juhanson & team
Estonian Academy of Arts, 2024
Estonian Women’s Voluntary Defence Organization (Naiskodukaitse) tasked Estonian Academy of Arts design students with analyzing the Be Ready! crisis app, exploring young adults’ information needs during crises and designing a solution to improve preparedness. As natural disasters grow more frequent and severe, readiness is more crucial than ever.
Our research team applied the Double Diamond design process.
In the discovery phase, we analyzed the Be Ready! app’s user interface and investigated young adults’ crisis preparedness. We conducted 10 user interviews and on-the-spot UX tests with participants from across Estonia.
In the define phase, we created two user personas and mapped user journeys to identify key challenges. Based on our insights, we proposed targeted solutions to improve crisis preparedness.
Deliverables:
- 0 of the 10 interviewees had prepped for natural crises.
2. User Journeys
3. Persona One – Clueless Chloe
4. Persona Two – Theoretical Theodor
Key findings:
Our research revealed an important point of information.
Both of the personas, Clueless Chloe and Theoretical Theodor, have low alertness and preparedness for natural crises.
• Young adults perceive crises as unlikely, leading to a low sense of urgency and minimal preparedness.
• Crisis preparedness is primarily associated with stockpiling water and food rather than broader safety measures.
Ideation:
How might we provide quality information during active natural crises as the Estonian young adults are not alert and not prepared for natural crises?
The main solution is to improve the Be Ready! crisis app user interface, user experience, and information within the app to provide steps of action during crises.
Design tests and results
I designed and tested four monochrome prototypes. The original app design, a playful design, a minimalist design, and a view using the official Veera design system.
Tests with 10 young adults found that the minimalist design and playful design were heavily preferred over the original app design and the Estonian Veera design system.
Implementing the minimalist design system
I designed a user journey of searching for the Estonian emergency number within Figma.
The design has been sent to the Estonian Women’s Voluntary Defence Organization and is currently under review.
I hope that some of my designs will be implemented next autumn! 🙂
