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For the duration of this internship, I worked under Heidi Hardin. Heidi, an accomplished artist known for her powerful community art projects, brings a unique perspective to Think Round Inc. Her passion for using art as a means of social engagement and transformation has been instrumental in shaping the organization's mission and projects. Her artistry and community-building expertise have played a pivotal role in fostering collaboration, inclusivity, and sustainability in every facet of Think Round Inc.'s work.
Lack of art and cultural initiatives to celebrate diversity, preserve heritage, and build stronger communities
Difficulty for communities to take an active role in shaping their futures, including urban planning, community development, and civic engagement
Low incidence of environmentally responsible designs and advocating for sustainability practices to combat climate change and protect natural resources
I designed three flows within the Virtual Center for the Human Family: the Restaurant, the Cafe, and the Gallery. Our roles were divided by floors, and I was assigned to the First Floor, which included areas (beyond what I worked on) such as the Lobby, Aquaponics Garden, Culinary Academy. During the internship, I collaborated with a UX team of two/three other people, creating wireframes, prototyping flows, and making edits (such as adhering to best UI practices) as suggested by our design lead and other designers. I also collaborated with software developers to ensure our designs were feasible for implementation, along with Heidi herself to get ideas for designing new spaces.
In order to address her concerns, this process evolved into the Zoom call concept for the restaurant. Heidi wanted a way for families coming to the restaurant to be able to have a meal with another family across the world, so that they'd be able to share each others' cultures. With this in mind, I prototyped and designed her concept of the Zoom call as detailed below. The goal in mind was to be able to connect a family, and have them share a meal of different cultures with another at the touch of a button.
In the restaurant flow (which is detailed below), the idea is to have families place a reservation at the restaurant. At their reservation time, they'd be seated to a booth with an interactive screen, where at the click of a button, they'd be connected to a partnering family across the world and have a meal despite being in different time zones and countries. Here they can have a chat with the other family and learn about their culture, broadening their knowledge about the world and people they wouldn't have been able to meet otherwise.
Below is a small glimpse into the flow for the restaurant at the Center for the Human Family. By choosing the "Self-Guided Tour" option, users can see the innovative space of the restaurant and learn more about its individual features.
Similar in flow to the restaurant, below is what the cafe at the Center of the Human Family looks like. Users can click on hotspots to learn more about the cafe's features.
As seen below, one to two artists' hotspots would be placed in different places throughout the gallery, and the user can use the arrow keys to navigate to their desired artist. Upon clicking an artist's hotspot, a short biography of them will pop up, and the user has the option to view the artist's works.
All the works would then be displayed in a pop-up window. The user can click on any of the featured works to view that work in more detail. Arrow keys are implemented for the user to go back and forth between all of the artist's featured works.
Not only would each Think Round artist's work be showcased personally and stand out on its own, but the viewer of the Virtual Gallery would be able to enjoy the essence of the artworks, almost as if they were in an actual museum.
The prototype of the virtual center can be accessed via the "Figma Prototype" button above. Please use the "My Designs" button to see the work I contributed to the project.
Think Round Inc. Internship 👪
Museum screen designs as part of a virtual experience for Think Round Inc., a non-profit aiming to connect humans with each other, the environment, and art.
Topics
UX Design • Global Cultures • ArtDuration
3 months, 6/2023 - 10/2023Type
InternshipMy Roles
I was in charge of designing the Restaurant Tour Flow, Restaurant Reservation Flow, Cafe Tour Flow, and Gallery Tour Flow on the First Floor of the Think Round Virtual Center for the Human Family.Think Round's Goals
Think Round Inc. is a non-profit organization with a rich history, co-founded by the visionary designer and social entrepreneur, Dr. Sophia Reynolds, and renowned artist and community advocate, Heidi Hardin. Driven by their solid commitment to creativity, empathy, and social responsibility, they established Think Round Inc. as a platform for addressing complex societal challenges through human-centered design and artistry. Think Round Inc. aims to push the boundaries of what's possible through human-centered design and community-driven art initiatives.For the duration of this internship, I worked under Heidi Hardin. Heidi, an accomplished artist known for her powerful community art projects, brings a unique perspective to Think Round Inc. Her passion for using art as a means of social engagement and transformation has been instrumental in shaping the organization's mission and projects. Her artistry and community-building expertise have played a pivotal role in fostering collaboration, inclusivity, and sustainability in every facet of Think Round Inc.'s work.
Challenges
Goals
- Create and iterate wireframes and prototypes to promote art and cultural diversity in a virtual museum-style space
- Design methods for users of the Virtual Center for Human Family to get involved in their community
- Advocate for environmental education among users via prototypes for the Center for Human Family
The Process
During one of our first meetings, Heidi Hardin told me her ideal vision for the Center for the Human Family was to connect cultures around the world, sharing our experiences, listening to theirs, indulging in their arts, and having them indulge in ours, as there is so much to appreciate from people different to our own. In a world that is highly focused on fighting differences rather than finding similarities, I found this to be very inspiring motive that aligned with mine, so I used her motivations to design a series of areas in the Virtual Center for the Human Family that aimed to connect people around the world instead of bringing them apart.I designed three flows within the Virtual Center for the Human Family: the Restaurant, the Cafe, and the Gallery. Our roles were divided by floors, and I was assigned to the First Floor, which included areas (beyond what I worked on) such as the Lobby, Aquaponics Garden, Culinary Academy. During the internship, I collaborated with a UX team of two/three other people, creating wireframes, prototyping flows, and making edits (such as adhering to best UI practices) as suggested by our design lead and other designers. I also collaborated with software developers to ensure our designs were feasible for implementation, along with Heidi herself to get ideas for designing new spaces.
But First, Brainstorming
Part of my work involved brainstorming in order to figure out what in include in these three exhibits. I began by hopping on a call with Heidi to discuss her ideas for the restaurant and cafe first. As mentioned above, what she felt was missing was cultural connection. She wanted a way for cultures to experiment with each other's food, so the cafe and restaurant spaces must be welcoming to all, and especially targeted toward families. Some resources I looked into were street food vendors on YouTube, the concept of mukbang (eating in front of a camera for the purpose of giving the watcher a feel as if they were sharing a meal with an audience), and what type of eating venues existed in San Francisco as that is where the Think Round gallery is located.In order to address her concerns, this process evolved into the Zoom call concept for the restaurant. Heidi wanted a way for families coming to the restaurant to be able to have a meal with another family across the world, so that they'd be able to share each others' cultures. With this in mind, I prototyped and designed her concept of the Zoom call as detailed below. The goal in mind was to be able to connect a family, and have them share a meal of different cultures with another at the touch of a button.
In the restaurant flow (which is detailed below), the idea is to have families place a reservation at the restaurant. At their reservation time, they'd be seated to a booth with an interactive screen, where at the click of a button, they'd be connected to a partnering family across the world and have a meal despite being in different time zones and countries. Here they can have a chat with the other family and learn about their culture, broadening their knowledge about the world and people they wouldn't have been able to meet otherwise.
1. Restaurant
On that note, the first exhibit was the restaurant. I designed a flow for each space before beginning the designs. The reservation feature would be showcased, along with an option for the user to view a self-guided tour of the restaurant's features.Below is a small glimpse into the flow for the restaurant at the Center for the Human Family. By choosing the "Self-Guided Tour" option, users can see the innovative space of the restaurant and learn more about its individual features.
2. Cafe
The next exhibit was the cafe, that was connected to the restaurant. This space involves a self-guided tour in which the user can view the specialties of the cafe, similar in flow to the restaurant.Similar in flow to the restaurant, below is what the cafe at the Center of the Human Family looks like. Users can click on hotspots to learn more about the cafe's features.
3. Gallery
The final exhibit was the Plants, People, and Animals exhibition, with a focus on displaying Think Round artists' works. The goal of the gallery is to celebrate artists and show their works, which all differ in motivation and style. In order to implement this, I hopped on another call with Heidi and my UX team to get ideas. With the help of Heidi and my teammates, I came up with a flow that allowed a hotspot for each featured artist, really allowing the user to dig through an artist's background and their best works.As seen below, one to two artists' hotspots would be placed in different places throughout the gallery, and the user can use the arrow keys to navigate to their desired artist. Upon clicking an artist's hotspot, a short biography of them will pop up, and the user has the option to view the artist's works.
All the works would then be displayed in a pop-up window. The user can click on any of the featured works to view that work in more detail. Arrow keys are implemented for the user to go back and forth between all of the artist's featured works.
Not only would each Think Round artist's work be showcased personally and stand out on its own, but the viewer of the Virtual Gallery would be able to enjoy the essence of the artworks, almost as if they were in an actual museum.
Postcards
Below are some cool postcards sent by Heidi that showcase the art and beauty in the Think Round Center for the Human Family, along with concepts that the exhibits aim for. You can read more about Think Round's Twin Visions via the postcard or by clicking this link.
The prototype of the virtual center can be accessed via the "Figma Prototype" button above. Please use the "My Designs" button to see the work I contributed to the project.