About project

This project explores a journey that our team has embarked on in order to integrate design thinking methods and principles into the creation of a solution that is proposed to nonprofit health organization. Having empathy to guide us, we have reached a proposal for enlarging the reach out of sexual education for our client.

Insight

Even though a large number of resources exist, there seems to be a disconnection between availability and accessibility.

Teens are curious about trying out new technology as soon as they emerge on the market.

One-on-one interactions become rare due to technology, so people seek out community support more so now, than in previous years.

Due to massive amounts of available information, it is hard for teens to indentify which informations and sources are reliable.

Even though the public generally integrates sexual historical topics into daily lives, sex is a hush theme / taboo for many, especially when it comes to
present-day life.

Opportunity Area

There is an opportunity in bringing sexual education and reproductive health into contemporary spaces that have yet to be explored for this purpose. While technology becomes more accessible to people today, opportunities lie in utilizing technological developments to serve educational purposes. Technology could present an opportunity to break the boundaries that surround sexual education and reproductive health especially in regards to accessibility.

In addition, the demographic sexual education initiatives are targeting, presents many opportunities of expansion into other spaces. Teens and young adults usually fall into the main segment that either need or seek out sex ed services. This demographic trends allow for opening up to utilizing new methods, as the target audience is not only very open and accepting of new developments in this field, but is also demanding this highly.

Design Criteria

Privacy:

This solution must utilize private means of interaction, and a source of information presented in a way that ensures a high level of safety/anonymity for the user.

Reliability:

The source of information that is offered by the solution must be one that is reliable. It has to be one that ensures to give out accurate information and support.

Accessibility:

Information offered through this solution should increase the access teens have to information, including teens in rural areas or those who are further away from the client’s usual reach.

Customization:

The solution must include a factor that is specially customized for the user in a way that creates a feeling of personalization.

Evaluation and development:

The solution must have a factor that enables the client to evaluate themself in a way that can help them improve and develop this service/product in the future.

Meet Hey U

1. Customized information

By creating a personal account, HEY U provides users with an innovative method to identify and describe themselves in a way they see fit. On these pages, users can identify themselves by ticking off the box that represents them physically (an eggplant emoji to represent a penis, a taco emoji to represent a vagina, and a contemplating face to give the option of "not sure"). The users are then referred to a page where they can identify who they are attracted to by ticking off the emoji they are attracted to (male, female, not sure). These options help the users feel understood and prevents any gender labelling, creating a connection that is based on understanding.
This information is then used by HEY U to refer the user to pages that are customized to their previous answers. On these topic pages, HEY U ensures that the user feel understood by customizing trigger questions that are specifically catered to their choices based on the first two pages.

2. Hey U Function

HEY U has a one-on-one function that allows for users to have personal and private conversations with a professional from the sex ed organization. This organization is administering the chat. In this particular case, the HEY U chat feeds directly into the client’s current online chat function.

Working hour
The live chat is active daily. Its operating hours are:

Monday - Thursday 9am - 11:30pm
Friday - 9am - 10pm
Saturday - 9am - 5pm
Sunday - 12pm - 11:30pm

Follow up Hey U will send a discrete follow-up reminder two weeks after every use.

Emoji keyboard Hey U has an active Emoji keyboard enabling teens to use their natural form of communication. Emoji is a powerful system of communication which fulfils some of the functions associated with language.

HEY U has a question and answer section that is segmented according to topics of interest. These sections are customized to each sexual identity and sexual preference by using initial sign-in questions.

Through HEY U, the user can set up appointments to meet professionals at the clinics the client operates. This feature bridges the tangible with the intangible, thus giving the user a full solution.

HEY U works as a feedback tool for sexual education organizations. As many organizations only have contact to teens during the workshops, and loose this connection directly after, HEY U is designed to foster a deeper relationship between both parties after the workshops too.

This feedback stream works in favor of the client too, as it helps them develop services according to trending activity. Another feedback angle, which HEY U accomodates, is the follow-up with users post service (chat).