VISUAL STORYTELLING GALLERY

“Sensory overload is the worst feeling in the world!!! I get it when I see too many people walking past me or if I hear too many noises at one time. For example, in a room of people talking, my brain tunes into everyone else’s conversation and I struggle to filter the voices out and listen to the carer I am with...When I get sensory overload, it is like I have 100 buzzy bees in my head and my head hurts a lot and feels like it will go "bang" like a balloon. It is the most uncomfortable thing ever!!! I have to try to bang my head on things to try to relieve the pressure in my head to stop the feeling. While I am experiencing sensory overload, I find it very hard to talk or make any sentences, as my speech just won’t come out as I want it to and I can’t make the words make sense. ” - Sophie

http://www.autismspeaks.org/blog/2015/01/21/nonverbal-adult-shares-her-feelings-sensory-overload

Stratos Innovation Group conducted qualitative research to understand the needs of teens living with chronic diseases (and their caregivers) as they transition to independent self-management. The goal of the research project was to define a strategy for developing a new Mobile Health System, designed with and for teens and parents, which could promote and support a healthy transition. My role was to work with the research team, post analysis, to draw connections among the insights that had been surfaced across teens with various chronic illnesses (diabetes, epilepsy, cystic fibrosis, and sickle cell) and then visually communicate those insights and relationships through a patient experience map and mobile health systems map that could be used to communicate with internal digital/UX teams.

The Life Journey map (above) represents the common paths of three patient archetypes (teens living with chronic diseases) and the pain points, triggers, and key moments they often experience as they progress from initial diagnosis to adulthood and self-management (independence). The patterns uncovered in qualitative research, represented here, show relationships between triggers, key moments, and caregiver guidance/support that often result in how successful teens are in transitioning to full independence at the age of 18.

The Integrated Mobile Health System map (below) provides a visual of an ideal ecosystem and breakdown of core system elements (technology and application solutions) that could work together to support teens in their transition to independence (e.g. building self-advocacy and mastery of skills), while also giving caregivers reassurance and guidance as their role transitions to one of support (relinquishing their responsibilities). (*Latin and filler text has been used to replace confidential information in both maps.)

The journey map (below) represents a typical clinic experience, from the point of view of patients with autism. During a CoDesign workshop they spoke to the parts of the clinic experience that were most stressful. After expressing their current challenges, they shared ideal solutions that could help to mitigate the challenges they face and make the experience more pleasing (pre, during, and post-visit).

The persona posters (below) were developed for two different projects (one in healthcare, the other in education). Often posters like these are designed to build empathy for segments of a population, while also highlighting unique attributes and experiences that drive product and marketing strategy decisions.