Final Project Naidelyn Hernandez

Project Description: 

For my final project in the Digital Accessibility and Creative Applications course, I collaborated with HeartShare, a nonprofit organization that provides essential social services, to improve the accessibility of their interview question booklet. This booklet is used to interview individuals seeking their services, and my goal was to reimagine it as a more user-friendly and accessible digital experience.

What format is it? Is it interactive? Does it have sound? Video? Describe how a person would conduct this survey. 

  • This project is in the form of a website (React JS and CSS). This website is interactive as it allows users to input their answers into text fields, change font-size, change to dark mode and ideally will be added the additional modality of audio description as future next steps. 

Documentation: 

 

The website incorporates features such as:

  • Dark/Light Mode: Providing users with control over visual contrast for better readability.
  • Adjustable Text Size: Allowing users to increase or decrease text size to suit their needs.
  • Personalized Experience: Users can enter their name, which is dynamically referenced throughout the questions, creating a more engaging interaction.
  • Follow-Up Tracking: The site captures user responses to questions for future reference

My Process: 

First Phase: My approach began with reworking the interview questions using plain language principles to ensure clarity and understanding. Below are some of examples of my reworked examples: 

  1. Imagine your job in five years.What kind of work would you like to be doing?What kind of tasks or responsibilities would make you feel happy and proud?Here are some examples to help you think about it:
    • Helping people (like being a teacher, nurse, or counselor)
    • Working with technology (like designing websites, coding, or fixing computers)
    • Creating things (like writing, drawing, or building things)
    • Managing or leading (like being a manager or team leader)
    • Doing something creative (like acting, music, or filmmaking)
    • You don’t have to choose from these examples—feel free to share whatever comes to your mind!

     

  2. What activities or skills would you like to try in five years? Are there things you’ve seen others do that you’d like to learn? Here are some examples to help you think of ideas:
    • Learning a new language (like Spanish, French, or sign language)
    • Playing a musical instrument (like guitar, piano, or drums)
    • Trying a new sport or activity (like swimming, dancing, or yoga)
    • Creative activities (like drawing, painting, or crafting)
    • Gardening (growing plants or flowers)
    • Cooking or baking (trying new recipes or making your favorite dish)
  1. In five years, what kind of friendships or relationships would you like to have? Are there people you would like to spend more time with, or types of relationships you would like to build?
  2. What would your ideal living situation be like in five years? What kind of home, neighborhood, or environment would you feel most comfortable in?
  3. What are some important goals and dreams you have for yourself in the future? These could be about your work, hobbies, friendships, or other personal aspirations.
  4. What kinds of help or support would you like to reach your goals? For example, would you need help with job training, learning new skills, or finding resources that can help you achieve your dreams?

Second Phase:  reworked my icons 

A screenshot displaying six icons. The first icon on the top left shows two silhouettes of faces facing each other with a shooting star in between them. The second icon on the top right depicts a staircase with four steps and a flag at the top, with two hands holding each other on the steps. Below, there is an icon of a road leading to a shooting star at the end. Next to it is an icon of a toolbox with a question mark on top. Another icon shows a door with a lock above it. The final icon is a rectangular box containing a phone, a stove, and a microwave, with a checkbox in the top-right corner.

Third Phase:  For my 3rd phase, I decided to transfer all my icons and questions onto Canva to see how I would organize everything. This booklet was not meant to serve as my final modality, I just wanted to organize and put all my work together. 

Fourth Phase:  

I decided that my final modality would be a website. I decided to code my website using React JS and VSCode. 

Reflection Questions:

  1. Why did you choose this modality?
    • I originally wanted to make my survey submission on either GameMaker and Unity as my intention was to gamify the survey experience. I eventually pivoted over to a website since I wanted to flesh out my questions more and I wanted to explore the possibilities of front-end coding and accessibility together.   
  2. Which elements of the original did you keep, if any? Why? 
    • I kept the main skeleton of each question and added more follow-up prompts to get the interviewee to reflect more.
  3. Which elements of the original survey did you change? How did you change them? Why? 
    • I altered the icons and worked on the fleshing out the immersion and personalization aspect by allowing the interviewer to interact with the survey more. 

Post-evaluation reflection:
Did you get the information you wanted? Do you feel that certain elements of your redesigned survey worked for you in eliciting information? Do you think that certain elements worked against you in discovering information? Is there anything you would change or add to your survey for a next iteration of it, based on feedback from HeartShare?

  • Overall, I’m proud of the finished product. I feel like I fleshed out the questions in a way that felt more personal and inviting. I also appreciate the opportunity that this project gave me- to learn more about web development accessibility practices such as how to add alt-text, how to dynamically change font-size and how to switch between dark-mode and light-mode. 
  • For future iterations, I definitely want to work on adding audio description to the survey, implementing more images, reworking some icons and personalizing the survey more through an avatar system. Based on the feedback I received from HeartShare, I want to expand my survey to include a chatGPT API so that it can personalize the follow-up questions more. For example, If an interviewee were to mention wanting to learn a specific skill- the AI would personalize the follow-up questions accordingly.