dala

Process

Senior Capstone Project

User Research

UX / UI Design

Centered around childhood trauma and using dissociation as a coping mechanism, I ask the question, "How can we help children safely process a traumatic memory?".

Scroll down to see in-depth, in-the-moment, research along with blog posts dating back to June 2020 detailing how this project has evolved.

SECONDARY RESEARCH

Reading The Body Keeps the Score

This book has been a key resource in framing the problem around childhood trauma and the effects it has on the memory. I plan on utilizing the techniques it provides for processing trauma in whatever I decide to create.

Key Insights:

Mindfulness, Movement, Rhythms, and Action | All of
these things are important to incorporate regularly to help
calm the nervous system. The power of being in rhythm with others allows emotions to come to the surface. It is safe to express when surrounding by others doing the same.
Processing Emotions | It is so important to address your feelings about an event. A memory is not complete until feelings are attached to it.
Understanding your Strengths and Resiliency | Knowing that you can rely on yourself and trust your judgement is integral to healing after trauma.
Emotional Regulation | You need to feel safe and emotionally regulated before beginning to process emotions.
Traumatic Memory | Retaining memories is so complex and is even more so surrounding traumatic situations. You don't always have to have the memories to begin the healing.

PRIMARY RESEARCH

Interviews | Key Insights

EXPERT

USER

STAKEHOLDER

EMDR was repeatedly mentioned as a form of therapy to help process traumatic. I thought this was interesting because it steered away from normal talk or exposure therapy as the only source of healing from traumatic events.

Some of the users I talked to retained memory of some sort of methodical activity from their childhood that helped calm them down and process memories. I really liked this idea of doing something so repetitively that you start to meditate and process your reality from the day.

There needs to be an awareness that sometimes the trauma is in association with the parent, which can cause guilt and fear around starting a conversation that ultimately be healing. This also means that the parent cannot always be there to guide the child through something, which is something I should keep in mind for whatever activity I create.

PRIMARY RESEARCH

Survey Takeaways

Even though some children didn't feel emotionally safe with a caregiver while growing up, it didn’t necessarily mean they weren't able to retain their
childhood memories.

Trauma doesn’t directly correlate to memory loss.

Memory retention is so much more complicated than all or nothing. Some moments of trauma sear every detail into the brain, while others leave it empty and pushed away. To focus this project solely on memory retention would be ignoring the complexity of trauma.

TURNING POINT

Memory Retention vs. Processing Emotion

I started my project by looking into how dissociation specifically can affect childhood memories. But now I feel like I have to make a decision...

Is my goal to help childhood memory retention or help
children process traumatic events?

Synthesizing my survey results made me realize these two
end goals are not mutually exclusive as I had previously thought. Similarly, after reading The Body Keeps the Score, I learned that healing is not necessarily about remembering what happened to you, but processing what you know.

The better path for this project is to help children deal with (process) their trauma productively; asking them about their emotions and giving them positive coping strategies. This isn’t about targeting dissociation specifically, this is about targeting trauma.

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Final Product

dala

go to final product site

Week 14 • final_final

Apr 21, 2021
1 min read

The time has come.

After 8 - 10 months of researching, collecting, designing, and revising... dala is finalized!

I'm officially finished with my capstone and done with my final semester of college. It all feels surreal.... but I do know I'm very excited to end this chapter and start another. The possibilities are truly endless and I can't wait to see where life takes me.

With that being said, all of dala lives here : https://www.behance.net/gallery/117461953/dala

Feel free to check it out and let me know what you think!

I feel very proud of what I've created. Everything is backed by research and brought forward with intention. I managed to create something during a global pandemic – I think that deserves some props.

So while I stand here, anxiously awaiting to see when all the feelings will hit, I'll do my best to take it in and feel the joy of creating mixed with the vulnerability of sharing it with others.

Final blog post, over + out.

Week 13 • Finalizing Everything

Apr 14, 2021
1 min read

12 Apr. - 18 Apr. 2021

No time to talk – only edit.

Currently have a tab open for...

my concept animation
prototype walkthrough
bechance template
multiple gifs

Wish me luck!!

Week 12 • Showcasing the Concept

Apr 7, 2021
1 min read

5 Apr. - 11 Apr. 2021

2 weeks till the show opens! In the middle of finalizing... a lot of stuff. Everything is in the middle of an initial draft meaning I don't have much to show this week.

Things I'm working on? Just finalized wireframes + interactions in XD allowing for an initial recorded walkthrough. This will be making its way into my concept video minus the onboarding shown in the beginning.

Below is the rough walkthrough (still need to clean up mouse movements + taps):

https://video.wixstatic.com/video/c8af82_a52f559d46484d158039f5a30da9e33e/720p/mp4/file.mp4

Along with finalizing the recorded walkthrough, I've begun animating the first minute of the concept video. The first minute or two will highlight the research I've conducted, the insights I've found, and why this app could work if utilized correctly.

After the introduction, a quick walkthrough of the app will be shown. I'll be recording a voiceover for the video (using my voice? still deciding) to limit text on the screen.

Still a lot to do to best showcase this project on Bechance – off to work!

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