TOWER OF
TREASURES
Fall 2024 | Graduate School Studio
in collaboration with Leslie Scherger, Natalie Lim & Rodger Rivera
Professor: Lucas Artusi (Fieldwork in Design) & Alexis Artusi (Service Design)
M.A. in Design focused on Health
University of Texas at Austin
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Research
How might we better understand and address the mental health and wellbeing of returning College of Fine Arts (CoFA) students during the summer break?
To answer this question, we started off our research journey by recruiting students within the College of Fine Arts and by reaching out to Faculty Members for 60-minute in-depth inteviews.
Intercepts with the help of card sorts helped us gain a better understanding of which resources students resort to when facing stressful situations—which as we discovered, were not the campus resources that are available to them.
Secondary research provided us with additional science-backed facts, for example that students experience an anticipatory anxiety spike two weeks prior to the start of classes. (Duke)
“All the stresses came from the places I was, where I couldn’t leave.”
Student A
32.7% of UT students reported being diagnosed with a mental health condition at some point in their lives.
HealthyHorns Statistic Report 2023
“The harder part of summer is having to create your own schedule. It’s hard to stay determined for summer courses.”
Student B
“Students are angrier and more anxious earlier on in the semester.”
Faculty Member
“There is not a lot of UT resources.”
Student C
Healthyhorns enhances the health and well-being of students’ bodies, minds and lives in support of their academic and personal goals.
HealthyHorns Mission Statement
Synthesis
Through identifying patterns accross the board, we discovered seven insights that span throughout the summer timeline.
During the summertime, students’ lives varies greatly. Some travel back home to their families, some have tight schedules due to internships, others might stay in Austin. The transitions might make it even harder as students experience drastic changes in a short amount of time, sometimes without adequate support.
With many students not knowing what resources are available to them during this time, we decided that this would be our opportunity space.
Ideation
Guided by our insights, we decided upon our project’s non-negotiables:
visibility. inclusivity. structure. holistic. feelings of belonging. bridging the gap.
This served as our design principles as we went through round of ideation. We came up with the idea of creating a care package for the summer—one which encourages usage and provides structure over the summer. This took form in an advent calendar for the summer.
We called it the Tower of Treasures.
In order to be able to serve the needs of our users. We made sure that our product features align with our design principles.
Service Prototyping
& User Testing
Our user testing sessions revealed new insights regarding our product curation and flow. In order to ensure that our product and services align with students’ needs, we conducted more intercepts to understand their cognitive and emotional load throughout the summer.
The next iteration of our product allows students to receive the calendar one week before finals—where their emotional and cognitive load is highest. This aims to provide students with support during that time and to gain their trust of the product.
We also reviewed our product curation with Longhorn Wellness Center (LWC) Staff to ensure alignment with their mission.
Outcome
design principles
how do we ensure alignment?
design features
Pilot Launch
How might we better understand and address the mental health and wellbeing of returning College of Fine Arts (CoFA) students during the summer break?
To answer this question, we started off our research journey by recruiting students within the College of Fine Arts and by reaching out to Faculty Members for 60-minute in-depth inteviews.
Intercepts with the help of card sorts helped us gain a better understanding of which resources students resort to when facing stressful situations—which as we discovered, were not the campus resources that are available to them.
Secondary research provided us with additional science-backed facts, for example that students experience an anticipatory anxiety spike two weeks prior to the start of classes. (Duke)
