Problem Framing
A convincing concept needs more than a polished screen.
Each project asked me to make a different kind of uncertainty tangible. For RhythmShift, I needed to define a useful role for a sleep wearable in an irregular routine. For Puddle Buddle, I needed to connect the length of a press to a satisfying sound and visual response. For Demi, I needed to make a proposed D2L assistant feel understandable within a familiar academic environment.
Together, these projects show how I move between research, concept development, code, and visual design. The prototype changes with the question: role, implementation, or look and feel.
Prototype focus | Question explored |
|---|---|
Role · RhythmShift | How could sleep support fit an unpredictable routine? |
Implementation · Puddle Buddle | How should press duration change sound and water effects? |
Look and feel · Demi | How could academic organization feel clear and supportive? |
Role prototyping · RhythmShift
Sleep support should fit the routine someone actually has.
As a student and bartender, I was drawn to the gap between an ideal sleep routine and a schedule that shifts throughout the week. My wearable research and interview synthesis pointed toward effortless tracking, comfort, useful feedback, and control over the information being shown.
RhythmShift proposes a sleep-first wearable with a companion app. A soft band and multiple proposed wearing positions explore how comfort could support consistent use. The app would let people choose the sleep, stress, recovery, or readiness information that relates to their goals instead of presenting every available metric at once.
The role question was whether the product could help someone interpret their routine and make realistic adjustments. The deliverable establishes that direction through research synthesis, personas, and concept visualizations. It does not validate sensor accuracy, medical benefits, or whether every proposed wearing position would work technically.
RhythmShift proposal slide: flexible wearing positions communicate the intended role and comfort of the concept. This is a concept visualization, not a tested device.
Implementation prototyping · Puddle Buddle
A brief pause can feel playful without demanding a longer stay.
For a sound-based interaction, I explored a digital fidget that could offer a short break from attention-heavy apps. A three-day sound diary and heuristic analysis of Finch, Chrome Music Lab, and Spotify helped me examine gesture mapping, sound hierarchy, and interruptions. My design principle was to let sound reinforce an action without competing for attention.
Puddle Buddle turns press duration into water effects: a short tap creates a drip, a medium hold creates a splash with rainboots, and a long hold creates a wave. I used p5.js and p5.sound to make those timing decisions tangible through animated water, ripples, changing boot colors, and recorded sounds.
The implementation exposes details a static mockup cannot answer: when the response happens, whether sound matches the visual, and how quickly the experience settles after an action. The calming effect and ability to support short breaks remain design intentions; the supplied work does not establish measured wellbeing or engagement outcomes.
Release after | Prototype response |
|---|---|
Less than 0.5 seconds | Drip and falling drop |
0.5–3 seconds | Splash, ripples, and rainboots |
More than 3 seconds | Environmental wave |
Puddle Buddle proposal: the intended relationship between press length, water sounds, and visual intensity.
Try Puddle Buddle
Click around and experiment with the water: try a quick click, a medium hold, and a longer hold, then release to compare a drip, splash, or wave. The goal is to feel how press duration changes the visual and sound response. This coded sketch responds directly to your clicks rather than using Figma’s clickable-area highlights. It includes sound and animated water; load it when you are ready. Use your device volume controls to mute.
Look and Feel Prototyping · Demi
Students need a clearer path to the work waiting for them.
Student interviews and affinity mapping highlighted the effort of balancing work, classes, and personal time across fragmented systems. Inconsistent course organization made assignment details, rubrics, and deadlines harder to locate. Students described different uses of AI, as well as concerns about trust, dependence, and how much work it should take over.
I focused the concept on organization: a D2L-integrated assistant called Demi that brings assignments and materials together, prioritizes tasks, and suggests study time around an existing schedule. It supports finding and planning the work while keeping assignment completion with the student.
The visual prototype retains the recognizable course environment and adds a prioritized work list, a day planner, and contextual support. Demi’s mascot and status messages introduce personality; task hierarchy, labels, and visible next steps carry the practical information. Calendar connection, loading, and error states make the proposed experience more complete.
The prototype simulates these interactions with sample course and schedule data. It does not connect to D2L, calendars, or an AI service. Privacy, optional personalization, and access to original materials are design requirements to resolve before any real integration.
Demi’s proposed planner combines prioritized assignments, contextual widgets, and a study-block suggestion. Course and schedule content is illustrative.
Try the proposed flow from course information to a study plan.
Explore Demi’s work list, open an assignment, and try the planner’s study-block suggestion. The embedded desktop concept uses connected Figma screens and component states; some controls and content remain placeholders. On a small screen, opening Figma in a separate tab gives the interface more room.
Interactive Prototype
Explore Demi
Click around to explore how Demi could help a student review assignments and fit a study block around existing commitments. Try the connected screens and planning controls. Clickable areas highlight when you click outside an active control; some screens are concept illustrations rather than complete interactions.
A suggested study block sits alongside class, work, and personal commitments. The student chooses whether to accept it.
Reflection and Next Steps
I learned to make the uncertain part of an idea testable.
Across the three projects, I practiced choosing what to make concrete before investing in a complete product. Research and scenarios gave RhythmShift a purpose. Code made Puddle Buddle’s timing observable. Interface states gave Demi a clearer interaction story.
My next step would be to test each project against its own question: evaluate RhythmShift’s comfort and usefulness in realistic routines; observe whether people discover Puddle Buddle’s press lengths and can comfortably end a session; and test whether Demi helps students locate a task and judge a suggested study block. Those sessions would guide iteration rather than treating visual polish as proof that the concept works.