Adding a layer of Context to the internet for people navigating new countries.
Oct 2022 - Oct 2023
Duration
RCA MA project
Project
Service & Product Designer
Role
UX
User Research
Service Design
Skills
Teammates
Amruuta Supate
Claire Henery
Madison Ciluffo
Ivana Monson
Context is a browser extension which supports refugees by overlaying cultural interpretations of information onto existing websites.
It allows a community of individuals and organisations to provide insights and tips based on their lived experiences, in their mother tongue, to newcomers who need a know-how from someone who can relate to their situation.
My role & Results
Together with my peers and a group of Ukrainian refugees, I co-designed a service concept. I then designed the UX and UI for Context which was developed by an industry partner; we validated the online prototype through a series of in-depth interviews, workshops and feedback sessions.
Key results
Study participants want to use Context again*
80%
Would recommend Context to a friend*
90%
*User study on live prototype with Ukrainian refugees in the UK;
30+ participants
Project awards and nominations; SDN, Helen Hamlyn
2
Challenge
Refugees face a myriad of barriers to accessing trusted information, which leads to vulnerability and reliance on their first point of contact.
Process
Interviews with refugees
15
Interviews with organisations
20
30+
6
Refugees fed back on prototype
Prototyping sessions and workshops
Key insights
These three insights from became design principles which drove the design and development of the project.
Cultural interpretation
is key.
Advice from lived experience is the most trusted by the refugee community.
Refugees heavily rely on the first point of contact in the new country.
Community contact helps.
Connective tissue is missing.
Services are disconnected and inefficient at reaching their audiences.
Ideation
Based on these insights, we organised a co-creation session with Ukrainian refugees.
Together, we brainstormed 6 potential directions for the project. We then went to get feedback and validation from the Ukrainian refugee community at the White Eagle club.
Below: early design ideas we reviewed with the focus group
Design solution
“Based on my personal experience as a Ukrainian refugee in the UK, I believe that something like context would have a great practical value in real life.”
- Anya, Context prototype user
Access relevant content from your community without arduous Google search
Request content from your community members directly at the source
Service ecosystem
Context has a three-way value exchange; it is a bridge between refugees, volunteers, and charities.
Refugees and asylum seekers can pose questions about settling in the UK.
Mission-obsessed volunteers are incentivised to answer questions because the platform creates an efficient way to maximise what they’re already doing through unofficial means.
Organisations can pay small fees to contract translated content; access data on information gaps and needs; share technology services to reduce promotional costs, increase accurate referrals, reduce administrative burdens.