Research
I used a survey to get an idea of what my LGBTQ+ audience used, as well as what people in the tech industry were already doing to help the community.
The LGBTQ+ community were bothered about data collection, 100% of my LGBTQ+ survey respondents being concerned about data privacy. A key insight is that they wanted to build community, without having to worry about the dangers of data sales in AI & tech. The community advised that they were not fond of tech and AI systems, believing they did not have enough protections for their community - which was reflected in my review of similar papers regarding LGBTQ+ protections in technology.
I also discovered that companies and individuals overall involved in tech and AI for work did not involve LGBTQ+ users in their process regularly. As one LGBTQ+ participant said "these teams often lack diversity, and therefore the diversity of thought required to spot these issues before they arise."
Ideation & Development
I'm passionate about getting the right idea on board, using both digital and hand-drawn methods.
Going through multiple phases of ideation, I tend to have a ideas informed by what I think, and then will develop that based on user research, or even just start with research to inform the idea! I will also use existing technologies and development to determine if I will proceed with an idea. For example I was initially considering some kind of physical platform to allow for a multiplayer game, however such similar devices already existed and I did not think I could develop an idea that substantially developed on the existing technologies.
In this case, I compared using an Arduino with a Raspberry Pi to mimic some device functionality and eventually went with an Arduino due to cost constraints.
Design
Using the agile method, I designed a product that I called 'Lemon' and app belonging to the business FruTea.
FruTea itself being a tongue-in-cheek reference to the colloquial term for the LGBTQ+ community - 'fruity'. The 'hidden in plain sight' tagline is another clever reference to closeted community members and especially trans individuals, who are often told they are identifiable by their cis counterparts usually proving themselves wrong moments after.
For the can itself, I looked at old fashioned labelling to lean fully into old technologies that did not rely on data collection. Combining this with 'hidden in plain sight' I developed a can that became the permanent design and a coverable light band indicator for off, on, do not disturb etc.
