SignTime & SignWise

Sign System consists of two complementary products, SignTime and SignWise. This duo works together to improve ASL acquisition and communication for deaf and hard of hearing (DHH) individuals and their surrounding ecosystem.

Duration

7 months

Role

Product Designer

Team

1 PM, 3 Designers

Context

Created as part of Design for America UW, our design team explored the current landscape of DHH communities, relationships, and technologies. Through conversations with deaf and hard of hearing individuals, as well as professionals in the DHH technological space, we identified opportunities to make ASL learning more accessible, enjoyable, and inclusive.

Challenge

Traditional ASL learning can be ineffective and inaccessible for many.

In person immersion is a key contributor to learning American Sign Language (ASL). However, in person classes aren't available to those who lack the time or money, and may not suit everyone's learning style.

Challenge

Traditional ASL learning can be ineffective and inaccessible for many.

Challenge

Traditional ASL learning can be ineffective and inaccessible for many.

The Solution

A complementary pair of products that encourage ASL learning retention and community building.

Our solution consists of 2 digital services: SignWise, which gamifies the experience of learning ASL independently, and SignTime, a platform that helps signers find signing partners to practice with.

The Solution

A complementary pair of products that encourage ASL learning retention and community building.

Our solution consists of 2 digital services: SignWise, which gamifies the experience of learning ASL independently, and SignTime, a platform that helps signers find signing partners to practice with.

The Solution

A complementary pair of products that encourage ASL learning retention and community building.

Our solution consists of 2 digital services: SignWise, which gamifies the experience of learning ASL independently, and SignTime, a platform that helps signers find signing partners to practice with.

Initial Research: Interviews

Engaging with Experts

Our team started by interviewing a few professionals in the field of DHH studies and technological research to learn more about the DHH space and how we could better include deaf and hard of hearing users in our design process.

Cristina Lew

Programs Operations Specialist for UW DRS (Disability Resources for Students). She connected us with the UW ASL Club, where we spent some time learning ASL.

Toni Stromberg

Coordinator at the Washington School for the Deaf (WaCAD). She shared with us her personal experience with being deaf and regional/cultural differences across and within sign languages.

Richard Ladner

Professor Emeritus in the Allen School. He shared with us current innovative technologies for DHH individuals and emphasized the importance of engaging with DHH individuals throughout the design process.

Surveying

We surveyed 25 individuals (Deaf, Hard of Hearing, and Hearing) to understand obstacles to learning and communicating in sign language.

We were interested in each person's individual sign language journey – difficulties, resources they wish they had, and their preferred learning style. Our goal was to understand gaps in the current ASL learning landscape, and what factors made learning ASL frustrating.

Key Findings

1

Financial barriers and a lack of real life opportunities were the most common barriers to those wanting to learn ASL.

1

Financial barriers and a lack of real life opportunities were the most common barriers to those wanting to learn ASL.

1

Financial barriers and a lack of real life opportunities were the most common barriers to those wanting to learn ASL.

2

Many ASL learners, particularly DHH individuals, found it difficult to find a community in which they belonged in.

2

Many ASL learners, particularly DHH individuals, found it difficult to find a community in which they belonged in.

2

Many ASL learners, particularly DHH individuals, found it difficult to find a community in which they belonged in.

3

Regional variations, age at hearing loss, exposure to DHH individuals, and many other factors can affect the ASL learning experience.

3

Regional variations, age at hearing loss, exposure to DHH individuals, and many other factors can affect the ASL learning experience.

3

Regional variations, age at hearing loss, exposure to DHH individuals, and many other factors can affect the ASL learning experience.

View the full research report

Main Insight

Practice opportunities aren't just limited. They also lack personalization and tailoring to a learner's personal interests and preferred learning environment.

HMW

How might we improve ASL acquisition and communication for deaf/hard of hearing individuals and their surrounding ecosystems?

HMW

How might we improve ASL acquisition and communication for deaf/hard of hearing individuals and their surrounding ecosystems?

HMW

How might we improve ASL acquisition and communication for deaf/hard of hearing individuals and their surrounding ecosystems?

Our research revealed that while there are many obstacles to ASL acquisition, deaf and hard of hearing individuals face unique challenges such as lack of a built in community / support and classes that are tailored to hearing individuals.

Ideating

How do we address these challenges?

Our team brainstormed different ideas for how to bring personalization to ASL learning, with a focus on DHH individuals. We found that our ideas fell into 2 general categories: helping signers learn ASL (ASL acquisition) and helping signers find a community to practice with (ASL communication).

Proposed Solution

2 different problem spaces … 2 different products?

After lots of discussion, ideation, and participant feedback, our team realized that our solution would work best as a system of complementary digital products, rather than a single, overloaded one.

1. SignTime: A communication platform that helps signers find signing partners based on interests, hearing identities, and skill level.

2. SignWise: A gamified solution to learn ASL (including workplace signing & other useful topics suggested by DHH respondents)

While both solutions could coexist and share users, the SignWise focuses on individualized learning, whilst SignTime encourages real-time practice between signers and community building. I worked on SignTime as part of a sub-team.

Sketching

Initial ideas for SignTime: find your sign partner easily

With our proposed solution in mind, we began sketching ideas for SignTime. Our goal was to make finding a signing partner as straightforward and personalized as possible. Key features included allowing users to filter signers by ASL experience, hearing identity, and view shared interests.

Bringing it together

User Flow - simple, engaging, and personalized

As we expanded on our ideas, we sketched more detailed pages and created a user flow that helped signers find the right ASL practice partner:

Input your preferences for a sign partner.
View online / active sign partners that match those preferences.
Request a call with your chosen sign partner.
Enter the call window with your ASL partner.

Iterating

Design iterations

As we continued to prototype, our team made a few improvements to enhance the usability of SignTime.

Final Designs

Below are a few of the final views from SignTime and SignWise. While both products can be used standalone, they share the same design system and are meant to be complement each other!

Start your search

Select filters for your sign partner, including ASL Experience and Hearing Identity.

Browse profiles

Find your live signing partner by exploring shared interests and identities.

Time to sign

Enter the call with your new sign buddy!

Start your streak

Complete your first lesson to unlock additional topics, and visualize your progress.

Multimodal instructions

Learn not just the correct hand gesture, but also expressive and contextual nuances from real instructors.

Quick Quizzes

Answer short questions based on real-life scenarios to retain what you've learned!

Reflections

Learnings and what I'd do differently.

Learning from DHH individuals showed me how important it is to involve users early and often, and encouraged me to rethink some of my assumptions. Additionally, this was the first project I worked on where my team had a two-solution approach, which encouraged me see products as parts of a larger ecosystem that support each other, rather than standalone tools that exist in a vacuum. Along the way, I became more comfortable with Figma features like Auto Layout, Components, and Libraries. While SignTime doesn’t solve every challenge in ASL learning, I believe it's a good start at making ASL learning and communication more accessible.

What I'd do differently…

Interview individuals with lower ASL proficiency & engagement in the DHH community: Including users with lower ASL proficiency could have provided deeper insights into why existing ASL learning tools fall short of meeting the needs of many deaf and hard of hearing individuals.
Explore multi-person calling: While SignTime’s main goal is to help users find a single signing partner, adding support for group calls could foster community and reduce the isolation many DHH individuals experience. Our team would need to consider how to best spotlight active signers in the interface when multiple people are signing at once.

THANKS FOR VISITING! LET'S CONNECT.