Astro
PROJECT 2
As a project for the Industrial Design department of TU/e, we took the challenge upon ourselves to design something for people who suffer from a spinal cord injury and therefore experience difficulties while breathing. They often have to do breathing exercises together with therapists to keep a steady breathing and hopefully improve it. However, these exercises are often dull, repetitive and boring.
We’ve developed a game script based off user-testing and extensive research to make these exercises more motivating (figure 1). The script is based off the liking of young adolescents, but it’s appealing for more age groups.
Additionally to the script, there’s been testing with sensors to make this aid more available to patients and health-care instances. For medical approval and perfected UX-design there needs to be further research and we’ll develop this project with additional stakeholders in the future.
Figure 1: Game script opening page
Figure 2: Developed game interface in processing
Figure 3: Layout of the game script I made
In this project, I contributed by creating most of the illustrations, programming the final product (figure 2,3), producing the video, and compiling the final report.
Throughout the process, I learned that testing within the healthcare sector can be quite challenging. I also developed my skills in coding, video editing, and InDesign. However, one of the most important lessons was recognizing the importance of balancing workload within a team. I took on so many tasks that I ultimately had no time to write my reflection. This experience taught me to advocate for myself more and ensure a fairer distribution of responsibilities.
Although the project resulted in a strong final product and a satisfied client, the workload made it feel intense rather than rewarding. Despite this, I enjoyed working on the animations and found new opportunities for creative growth.