Research

Interviews

Persona

The User

App Structure

Mood Boards

Visual System

Prototype

App Design

Process Website

This course investigates how research and audience understanding create successful interactive projects that can enhance a user’s experience with a brand. In this class, research and design strategies align a brand with a series of design communication solutions. Students develop design multimedia deliverables that engage an audience. —Academy of Art University Course Catalog (GR 360-Graphic Design 3: NATURE OF INTERACTION)

Three Problems

1

GIFTING

People are busy and often forget to send their loved ones gifts or well wishes on time.

2

HYDRATION

Women don’t know they have different hydration needs than men and don’t drink enough water to properly stay hydrated.

3

BUSINESS

Keeping track of expenses as a freelancer is time consuming and confusing.

Secondary Research

Women have different needs with hydration than man, but what most women don’t know is that many factors such as their menstrual cycle, hormones, pregnancy, age, and overall lifestyle affect how much water they should drink.

WOMEN AND WATER

What Every Woman Needs to Know About Hydration

Hydration isn't as simple as just adding water—in fact, women have a special set of requirements. What you need to know.

When you work out, you sweat: That's true no matter what your age, sex, or fitness level. Sweating is critical to keeping your body temp regulated, but with each drop of perspiration, you're losing essential electrolytes and fluids that ensure your bod functions at its best. Lose too much and you may start to feel tired, dizzy, lightheaded, and achy. That's dehydration.

Turns out, combating those fluid losses may not be a one-size-fits-all proposition. Female physiology shifts with the monthly changes in estrogen and progesterone levels, and those fluctuations have an impact on our ability to hydrate. Plus, research shows that when women drink fluids according to the standard recommendations, they may not reach peak performance—probably because many of those recommendations were developed from tests on college-age guys. Who knew!

Source: Women’s Health Magazine

health problems caused by dehydration

Are you getting enough fluids to stay healthy?

Hydration and your health

You could quickly become constipated as your colon steals water from your stool to keep your digestive system moving. Urine will become darker; prolonged dehydration can also crystallize salts and minerals in urine, possibly leading to the formation of painful kidney stones. Because dehydration can often be mistaken for hunger, you might gain weight as you try to satisfy your body's needs. Fortunately, the opposite is also true if you're hydrated. "If you are looking to lose weight, water can help you shed pounds," Drayer said. "Drinking a glass of water before a meal can fill you up a bit and help you eat fewer calories at a meal."

Source: CNN Health

WHEN TO DRINK WATER

What you should know about drinking water (but probably don't)

Everything you need to know about the most essential part of your daily diet.

As a kid, your parents are always telling you to drink more of it. In your 20s you down one between cocktails to stave off a hangover. As you get older you notice dry skin, under-eye circles and headaches creeping up when you don’t get enough of it. Gym rats carry around huge jugs of it, models swear by it as an essential piece of their beauty routine and a lack of it may just be the reason behind your daily afternoon slump.

We’re talking water — arguably the most essential component of our diets. (After all, we can’t survive more than a few days without it.)

Source: NBC News

BENEFITS OF HYDRATION

10 Amazing Benefits of Drinking More Water

Up until about three years ago, my beverages of choice included Diet Coke, coffee, juices, but rarely a glass of water. The only time I resorted to what I considered a "bland" drink was at the gym, because I needed it to stay hydrated. Aside from that, I rarely drank water and found myself dealing with unpleasant symptoms like dehydration, bloating and cramping. Finally, it was my husband who stepped in and helped me see that in order to feel better I needed to break my bad habit and make a healthy change.

Source: Huffington Post

Target User

Who

Millenial & Gen X Women (22-53yrs)

Women in these two generational age groups are most vulnerable to short and long-term effects of under-hydrating because water affects overall health and the lack of can create a domino effect of health problems.

WHY

There are so many distractions and things to do throughout the day—work, deadlines, kids, exercise, school, social media—these are just a few tasks women deal with daily. The last thing that most of them have on their mind is making sure they drink enough water. To make drinking water a priority, we need a way to make the arduous task of calculating and reminding them easier.

Proposed Solution

Create an app for women that allows them to track water consumption as well as set reminders when to drink water. By inputting or connecting their health stats via Fitbit or Apple Health, the app can better calibrate their water needs based on up to the minute information. The app will also connect to the LARQ smart water bottle to track water consumption automatically and effortlessly.

COMPETITIVE AUDIT

H2O Pal

My Water Balance

Waterbalance: drink tracker