REBAG
2020
My Role :
UI UX Design
Research
Prototyping
Team Member :
Yue Cao, Yuanyuan Peng,
Yining Qian
OVERVIEW
How might we transport goods from retailer to destination in a way that is compatible with diverse retail systems, delivers ease and convenience for customers, and reduces environmental impact?
Rebag is a reusable model that incentivizes bag reusing behavior with digital experience. Rebag distributes stickers with unique IDs to connect bags to personal accounts, in which customers accumulate virtual achievements and can redeem shopping discounts. The platform also benefits retailers and recyclers, including enhancing customer adhesiveness, building brand image and leadership, and gaining an easier and cleaner recycling process.
PROBLEM STATEMENT
People who experience homeless end up sleeping on the street when they have the right to shelter. Our goal is to create an easy to digest and comprehensive resource for homeless individuals to understand their options.
CONTEXT
While the convenience of the plastic retail bag can’t be disputed, the negative impact – considering its short use and long lifespan – have led to rising consumer concern, advocacy campaigns, and regulatory bans and fees.
PROCESS
We spent 15 weeks researching the complex issue of homelessness in NYC. We designed a handbook, a smartphone app, and an awareness campaign for disseminating essential resources.
SECONDARY RESEARCH
67,000+
men,
women,
& children
are homeless in
New York City
This statistic is up 59% from just
10 years
ago.
DHS annual budget is over
$1.5 billion
1. Where does it happen?
This is wide-spread prevalent across America. New York City has the largest population of homeless and low-income residents lacking mental health resources. These mental health crisis occur in public spaces around the city as well as facilities where homeless and low-income residence frequently including hospitals, soup kitchen, shelters, subway, clic, church,street and parks.
2. Who is affected?
Homeless population - New York City has the largest population of homeless residents in the United States.
Government - Burdensome cost if handled or not handled. This eliminates their ability to work and contribute to the economy if they are not provided with resources to receive mental health treatment.
Public - There is a fear created around homeless and the unstable nature of mental illness. This can create fear in people and cause them to move to different neighborhoods, look to the wrong solution (aka call the cops), and disassociate with this population.
INQUIRY PLAN
NYPD
- The first responders to relative issues
SHELTER VOLUNTEER
SOUP KITCHEN
Outreach to homeless
- Self identify as homeless
-
Connections via experts in the field
Interview techniques
- Immersion
-
Card Sorting
-
Five whys
Research tool
-
Protocol
-
Screener
INTERVIEW DEBRIEFS
JOURNEY MAP
INSIGHTS ON USERS
“You enter a shelter and they give you information around the services they have but it’s hard to understand what’s out there.”
- Individual on the street
Lack of individuality & independence in programs and decision making
“There is a lot of controversy about how good psychiatric medication is, the one thing that is not controversial is the worst thing you can do is take it inconsistently. That is worse than taking it at all.”
- Mickey Bradford
Importance of Consistency in psychiatric medication & healthcare to housing stability
“Not really I don’t really know any other [shelters].”
- John
Difficulty in navigating and accessing the resources that are available
OPPORTUNITY
-
Provide accessibility and educational information around the available services
-
Build trustful platform for connecting people to permanent housing, medical services, and job training programs
-
Design medication tracking system to improve medication consistency
SYSTEM MAP
FINAL WORKS
Handbook, Application, & Awareness campaign for resources for the homeless in New York City.
80% of NYC homeless individuals have a smart phone & acts as their lifeline.
The app tracks prescriptions and appointments to help the homeless generate consistency—necessary for seeking permanent housing, jobs, and medical services.
We have added a reviews section to our application. We hope that the comments from the nearly 60,000 target users will help to provide trust to our stakeholders and provide them with the confidence to make their own choices.
These quick information news boards allow users to get food information quickly. We are creating a space for independence and ownership.
We built an information feedback system to help users find the right shelter more quickly. Also, this sms-based system allows shelter workers to transfer information more efficiently and improve utilization of the space.
From the issue of shelter alone, we saw the importance of disseminating resources in a feasible and tangible method that would reach more individuals needing assistance.
To raise awareness about NYC Connection Initiative, Our team proposes to run an MTA and NYC kiosk campaign. Each month there will be a new resource facet featured on the MTA (food, shelter, medical services, etc.) always combined with the smartphone exchange information.
The NYC kiosks will also be used for the same purpose as well as advocating the benefits of using 311.
FUTURE SCOPE
1. Partnership
I would like to partner with homeless shelters and public welfare organizations to further implement the whole project so as to better empower the users and the organization.
2.Scale
Although the program primarily aims at people who experience homelessness in New York City, it has the breadth and flexibility of coverage in different regions. It can serve as a common platform for homeless people in different areas.