Color = communication?
The past two weeks turned out to be very informative in terms of how important it is for this concept to revolve around a simple interaction and not a bunch of complicated ones! The testing over the two weeks gave me some profound insights and the feedback (both user and support network) made for interesting conversations and interactions.
Here is what the first day of testing looked like:
I gave 3 reminders to the user to put up the latest sticky note of how they might be feeling.
It was mainly about getting to know how this would work.
“I can do this… but will others notice (what color I put up) and listen?” — User
Over the next few days, the following patterns emerged in what the days turned out to be for the user:
Gloomy days
Less communication.
Less interaction.
Support network did not guess this was the case otherwise.
Half and half days
Started out hopeful but ended in tired moods.
Mainly due to stressors which support network later asked about.
Shorter days
Day when person not at home meant input only at morning or night.
Indicated need for mobile access.
Results for the user:
- She felt heard, understood.
- She felt like her ‘tired, sad, angry’ moods were overanalyzed.
- Having to go to the physical space was tiresome. Indicated that a mobile, portable solution would be better.
- She appreciated the effort of the support network to talk to her more after this.
- She did not want visitors or guests to see and question what the sticky notes mean.
Results for the support network:
- They were better able to understand her current mood.
- On a day that there were a lot of negative moods, they sat her down at the end of the day and talked to her about it.
- They felt more connected to her
- “I feel like I did not need to break the ice at the end of the day and talk to her about it from the start, I could go right into what was wrong or not.”
— Supporter 1 - “I am worried for the days she does not want to input any emotions to this”
— Supporter 2.
Key takeaways
- Visualizing emotions through easily understood techniques is key.
- There is a need for mobile access to this visualization.
- The support network did not know how to handle certain emotions at times and needed support for asking the right questions.
- The person living with MS complied more when her network gave her positive feedback.
- Have to test with more people for method of input and color perception.
