SALMON FUN RUN
Context: UW Society of Women Engineers (UW SWE) Hackathon 2019
Duration: 9 hours
Collaboration: Member of 4-person team
Tools: Adobe Illustrator, Figma
I formed a team and competed in the Society of Women Engineer's (SWE) hackathon at the University of Washington. My team focused on SWE's theme of, "harnessing the potential of indiviudals, technology, and collaboration to help the greater Seattle area."
We designed a technology supported fun run to promote public awareness of declining salmon populations.
RESEARCH
We had limited knowledge about the declining salmon population in the Puget Sound region. We quickly researched salient information about salmon and their environment, reasons for salmon decline, and current solutions.
IDEATION
Based on our research, we created our "how might we statement" that served as a design pillar for our ideation stage.
Our primary goal was to educate the public while also creating a sense of community. We brainstormed an idea of a fun run that mimics a salmon run. We knew that Seattleites are active, outdoorsy people, so we assumed participation rates would be high.
The core goal of the run was to spark passion and conversation about salmon protection in hopes of fostering change through a community-based activity. Lastly, we had to think about how to incorporate technology into the fun run. We decided that the educational aspect of the run would be facilitated by a mobile app.
DESIGN
After we ideated, we refined our initial idea into a final design. We determined that we wanted to teach the public and seamlessly integrate it into the fun run.
I came up with the idea of incorporating an obstacle course that mimics the obstacles salmon face throughout their lives. The course included obstacles such as dams, fish ladders, temperature change, and swimming upstream. This enabled us to incorporate fun, race challenges while also reinforcing our educational goals. For example, swimming upstream was represented by running up a hill. I created the obstacle course map to reflect the shape of a fish.
To integrate the technology component, we decided upon frequent race checkpoints that had scannable QR codes. We proposed that the participant would scan the QR code with their phone, which then delivers audio or written information about the specific obstacle facing salmon. This allows for fluid usability that connects the participant with the course.
DESIGN
I led the design of wireframes using Figma. I created two main features of the app: the obstacle course map and information pages associated with each obstacle. The interface had to be straightforward to use, as participants would be in the middle of the fun run when accessing the app.
My other teammate created the fun run poster that would be used for marketing the run.
Watch prototype demo here!
MY TEAM
This was my first hackathon, and I had a great first experience collaborating, creating, and competing with my team. We all agreed that we would love to do another hackathon, but next time we will also code our designs.
TAKEAWAYS
Combine passions
Growing up on an island, I spent countless hours at the beach and have fond memories. I believe it's our responsibility to care for the environment and its abundance of life. I learned that my UX background can be applied to spark positive environmental changes.
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