PRODUCT DESIGN
MOBILE APP
2024
TIMELINE
20 weeks
TEAM
Professor + Student Researcher
ROLE
Student Researcher
SKILLS
Research process + user interviews
OVERVIEW
Guided by principles from Reflective Design and Value-Sensitive Design, this structured deck of cards is designed to support human-centered and ethically grounded use of AI throughout the design process. Some of my goals:
01 Responsible AI Usage
Teach design students how to leverage AI responsibly, using it as a collaborator rather than generator
02 Creative Confidence
Inspire novice designers to approach the UX design process confidently with an AI augmented step-by-step process
03 Critical Thinking
Remind students with reflection questions to thoughtfully analyze AI outputs beyond the surface
CURRENT STATE
AI usage is a large problem in education due to the newness and lack of regulation with ethics and usage in original work.
90%
90% of students use AI in their academic lives (Legatt)
71%
71% of students are not ready to use AI in their workflow by graduation (Whitford)
68%
68% of faculty said that their institutions did not prepare them for AI usage for teaching, mentorships, or scholarships (Whitford)
PROBLEM STATEMENT
The integration of artificial intelligence into UX design workflows is transforming how student designers approach the design process; however, many engage with these tools uncritically, prioritizing efficiency over understanding. This potentially risks weakening core UX principles while limiting the ability to critically evaluate design decisions. With minimal educational guidance on responsible AI use, students may graduate underprepared for professional design roles.
RESEARCH
I conducted secondary research to understand how AI can be best integrated into the design process, and tested our solution with eight 60-minute user interviews that were vetted with a survey.
PROTOTYPE
We printed hard copies of the card deck to be utilized in the interviews and passed out at conferences. Here is the front and back of the cards. The front has a guided prompt, and the back has reflection questions to encourage critical thinking.
AFFINITY MAPPING
I noted findings about the interviewees experience with the cards, then organized it into seven categories.
FINDINGS
Upon these themes, I identified four powerful insights.
NEXT STEPS
For the upcoming Fall 2026 semester, I will be TA'ing my professor's Experience Design course where we will be introducing these cards in lab and measuring their learning with pre and post surveys with these students. Upon their feedback, further printing and iterations of the cards will be done while working with another professor on a grant for eye-tracking research
I presented this work at NCUR 2026 and the BEACoN Spring Symposium. I intend on applying to more research competitions with this work.
