ASSISTANT PROFESSOR OF DIGITAL MEDIA DESIGN UNIVERSITY OF CONNECTICUT, STORRS CT
I am a mother, designer, and educator, currently serving as an assistant professor of Digital Media Design at the University of Connecticut. My research interests focus on UI/UX design in healthcare, healthcare design thinking and innovation, emerging design practices, and design for social justice. I am deeply committed to using human-centered design and innovative strategies to improve healthcare equity for underserved communities. As a lifelong learner, I continuously explore new approaches to promote healthcare equity through design.
As the Principal Investigator of the mHealth Design Lab at UCONN, I collaborate with faculty across various disciplines to co-design and co-develop mobile applications, websites, and VR games using human-centered design methodology.
As an educator, I bring diverse and impactful topics to the classroom. In my Design Lab 1 course, I discuss designers’ social responsibility with students by working on design-for-social-justice projects. My Interaction Design class has centered on design for mental health, raising awareness among college students and encouraging them to use their designs to support targeted users and foster open discussions around mental health.
TELL US HOW AND WHY YOU BECAME INVOLVED IN SOCIALLY RESPONSIBLE COMMUNICATIONS, AND SHARE ANY THOUGHTS ON WHY DESIGN CAN BE AN ESPECIALLY EFFECTIVE TOOL?
As an immigrant woman and mother of two, I spent years finding my career path. When I had the opportunity to become a design educator at UCONN, I constantly asked myself, “What’s my real role? What can my students truly learn from me?” I introduced the topic of design for social justice to the classroom, and I was fascinated to see my students’ designs and hear the stories behind their work.
The pandemic changed the direction of my career. After losing two family members, I realized that while I am not able to work as a healthcare professional directly supporting patients, I can use my design skills to support patients, caregivers, and healthcare professionals. Through human-centered design, I can help increase access to healthcare and healthcare information, especially for underserved communities.
When visual communication design meets humancentered design, designers can create innovative solutions that meet the needs of different stakeholders, producing designs that are both visually appealing and highly functional.
One of my favorite design projects is Zuri, a mobile health application aimed at cultivating sexual selfefficacy among Black adolescent girls. We created a character named Zuri to lead the learning experience, incorporating illustration, game design, and animation throughout the app.
GIVEN THE CONFLUENCE OF EVENTS AND CHALLENGES OUR SOCIETY NOW FACES, DOES THIS MOMENT PRESENT ANY SPECIAL OPPORTUNITIES, URGENCIES, OBSTACLES TO DESIGNING FOR GOOD?
Too many people, design is still seen as a simple service, primarily focused on visual design. However, design can play a powerful role in driving innovation. When a designer’s work is based on user research and built with empathy for users, the final design can truly meet the needs of its targeted audience. First and foremost, designers must recognize their social responsibility and actively engage in the entire design process. While everyone seems so small in this vast world, together, we can work to make it a better place—and design can play a meaningful part in that transformation.
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