Data to Knowledge

Masters Thesis Project, Carnegie Mellon University

Summary: This project approaches the problem of medication management as an information design challenge. I developed a product system to increase information flow between elderly outpatients, physicians, pharmacists and emergency responders.

The system’s graphical and physical user interfaces work together to organize and deliver complex data in a clear manner with the goal of avoiding dangerous medication errors. Designed to magnetically attach to a refrigerator when at home, the portable device allows a user to scan over-the-counter medicines to check for contraindications, reminds the user of scheduled doses, helps organize and share dosage history with health care professionals, and assists with the physical task of opening pill bottles.

Awards: 2002 Industrial Design Excellence Award, IDSA, BusinessWeek

"Great depth of research with clear graphics and an easy-to-use interface for those with minimal dexterity" -ISDA, IDEA Judge Panel

Patient skills assessment tool

Role: Senior Experience Architect, Head Designer, dbaza, inc.

Summary: This tool helps health care providers assess the degree to which patients can apply what they have learned about their disease to real-world situations. The product presents the user with a scenario depicting a diabetes-related health challenge, and the user explores options in a virtual environment in order to discover the optimal resolution. This product provides a rich testing environment that tracks patient performance, highlighting problem areas for the health care provider.

Dramatic Televison Control

Role: Member of two person concept and design team, Carnegie Mellon University

Summary: This concept for a television remote control engages the user in a theatrical interaction with the television. Volume control, channel changing and accessory access for the TV are controlled through inherently meaningful gestures performed by the user while holding the device in one hand. These distinct movements are translated into function commands by various “off the shelf” technologies embedded in the remote device.

This design is part of a broader exploration of ways to enrich user experience by shaping technology to conform to psychological human factors rather than forcing users to learn and conform to technology driven characteristics.

Online Personalized Stock Portfolio

Role: Designer Summary: As pedestrians wear a path across a grassy short cut, evidence of a landscape’s history become apparent. At a glance we can deduce such knowledge as how frequently the path is traveled or how recently it has been used. This is the concept behind the information display for this web site.

The dots representing individual stocks leave traces behind that reveal trends in value fluctuation. At a glance the user can see stock history, direction of performance, frequency of activity, performance relative to other stocks and overall portfolio status. This concept provides an instant qualitative appreciation of stock performance rather than purely quantitative analysis.

dbaza's Diabetes Education for Teens

Role: Senior Experience Architect, Head Designer, dbaza, inc.

Summary: This product helps adolescents master the self-management of their chronic illness in the face of complex social and environmental challenges. This educational tool lets teens with type 1 diabetes explore the effects of diet, insulin, exercise and general health on their blood glucose levels. The product encourages the user to manipulate these factors within real-world contexts that reflect constraints facing kids at school, at home and while out with friends.

Museum Docent, Carnegie Museum of Art

Role: Exploratory team member, Carnegie Mellon University

Summary: The Carnegie Museum of Art teamed with CMU to conceptualize a system that would bridge the physical museum space with the virtual space of the museum website. An important goal was to expand the museum experience for school children by connecting classroom instruction, web site research, museum field trips and dialogue with other students around the country.

Our solution allowed the Carnegie Museum visit to begin virtually with students browsing the museum website, making notes about exhibit items, and customizing their upcoming visit. Upon arriving at the physical museum, a handheld computer linked this virtual experience with the physical experience, acting as a personalized way-finder through the exhibit.