Design for Discomfort / Final Project


Map to an IVF Baby: Slide Presentation

Map to an IVF Baby is a place to start a conversation about the process of In Vitro Fertilization. The map above provides a visual terrain of what it’s like for a person to go through the IVF steps of trying to conceive a baby if they are unable to do it naturally. It’s a roller coaster ride of emotions and physical discomfort and I’m hoping to create an experience for the user going through the IVF process to help them cope with the anxiety and disappointment that comes with the procedure. These journeys can also help the friends and families of a person undergoing the IVF process to understand what goes into the IVF struggle and help them empathize to provide the right kind of support. My intention is to model a visual terrain of the map in a program like Unity and attach videos or interactive scenes to describe pieces of the process, which will be triggered as the user moves through the landscape. Below is a video of one part of the IVF journey:

 

IVF Journey: Injections

This video was taken from 2 instructional videos on YouTube on how to mix the powder and liquids with the syringes and how to give yourself the one of many hormone injections.

 

Documentation: Initial Idea / Progress Report / Final Presentation

 

Reflection: There are lot more steps to building this, but I also want to take my time and plan the journey in a more thoughtful way. I also plan on taking the feedback from the in-class presentation to help shape this. As a tool for people going through the IVF process and using my teacher’s constructive comments, the scenes can be more interactive by providing a sort of ritual or practice that the user can do in each mini journey, and by layering testimonials in combination to the video storytelling to further describe that particular moment. For myself, this practice of taking the discomforts that I’ve experienced in my own IVF failures and designing an experience around that created an outlet for myself to numb the sadness that comes along with IVF. I’m hoping to create that outlet for people experiencing the disappointments to do the same.

AUDIO SOURCE: AudioBlocks  /  IMAGE SOURCE: iStockPhoto  /   VIDEO SOURCE: YouTube