When designing my first board, I had discussed in my previous blog post about the four questions I was going to ask myself when considering the background for my project.
These four questions were:
What
- What
- Why
- How
- Challenges
These questions were important to answer, as it gave anyone who I discussed my project too, a good general idea about what or who I was trying to design for. It is important for Guru’s day, which is not far away.
Here is how I answered the questions I have set myself:
What?
Physical activity is important for everyone. Whether you are young or old, people need to be active for a certain period every week. It has been reported that over 37,000 deaths would be prevented if people had exercised more, with their lives being shortened by 3-5 years. Walking also reduces depression by 30%. Walking can also help with social interaction while being more cost-effective than other methods of exercising.
Why?
Walking clubs have been around for decades and are viewed as a fun and inexpensive way of getting fit. I have also witnessed first-hand through primary investigation that walking can help people heal mentally as well. Walking should be viewed more as a social experience than exercising, although the health benefits are obvious. By bringing a more social based platform to the experience, we can maybe encourage more and more people to take part in social walking groups, not only getting more people to exercise but to improve people’s wellbeing, confidence and happiness.
How?
Using smartphones for navigation is not new or original. Google maps or Apple maps have dominated this area for about a decade. Which is why I don’t want to have a duplicate of such a system. I think smartphones are by far the best way to utilise my chosen area, as social platforms have proved, we can connect to other people much easier.
Challenges
The main challenges lie with different age groups and how capable they are using new technology. Therefore, having someone in the family or a friend who knows how to use such devices could be important in bridging that gap between the two. Although I want to consider all my users and at this early stage, it is very open. Also staying close to my original concept is important so the idea does not get too complicated.
The other parts of the brief included an existing project which included the organisation for Paths for All, whom I spoke to earlier in the project.
I will also link up other projects in the class which I find interesting or researching in a similar in the field.
I will post up the PDF after presentation week.