SignTime & SignWise

SignTime and SignWise are a duo of complementary products that work together to improve ASL acquisition and communication for deaf and hard of hearing (DHH) individuals. I completed this project as a member of Design for America UW, a student-led design organization at the University of Washington.

DURATION

7 months

ROLE

Product Designer

TEAM

1 PM, 3 Designers

THE PROBLEM

In person immersion is a key contributor to learning American Sign Language (ASL). Yet these opportunities remain inaccessible to individuals who lack time, money, or proximity to classes.

THE PROBLEM

In person immersion is a key contributor to learning American Sign Language (ASL). Yet these opportunities remain inaccessible to individuals who lack time, money, or proximity to classes.

THE PROBLEM

In person immersion is a key contributor to learning American Sign Language (ASL). Yet these opportunities remain inaccessible to individuals who lack time, money, or proximity to classes.

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, and SignTime, a social platform that helps signers find sign 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, and SignTime, a social platform that helps signers find sign 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, and SignTime, a social platform that helps signers find sign partners to practice with.

INITIAL RESEARCH: INTERVIEWS

Engaging with Experts

Our team interviewed a few professionals in the field of DHH studies and technological research to learn more about the DHH community 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)

Toni Stromberg
Coordinator at the Washington School for the Deaf (WaCAD)

Richard Ladner
Professor Emeritus in the Allen School of Computer Science & Engineering

These conversations challenged us to think about ASL education beyond the perspective of hearing individuals who learn ASL as a secondary language. They also revealed to us how diverse the deaf and hard of hearing community is!

SURVEYS

We surveyed 25 individuals (Deaf, Hard of Hearing, and Hearing) to better understand their challenges in learning ASL.

Respondents shared with us their difficulties learning ASL, resources they wish they had, and how their hearing identity has impacted their ASL learning journey.

KEY FINDINGS

1

DHH individuals mentioned that traditional ASL classes felt exclusionary, finding it difficult to feel like they belonged.

1

DHH individuals mentioned that traditional ASL classes felt exclusionary, finding it difficult to feel like they belonged.

1

DHH individuals mentioned that traditional ASL classes felt exclusionary, finding it difficult to feel like they belonged.

2

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

2

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

2

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

3

Lack of practice opportunities was the #1 most frequent challenge to learning ASL amongst all 3 groups.

3

Lack of practice opportunities was the #1 most frequent challenge to learning ASL amongst all 3 groups.

3

Lack of practice opportunities was the #1 most frequent challenge to learning ASL amongst all 3 groups.

View the full research report

MAIN INSIGHT

Practice opportunities aren't just limited. They also lack personalization and fail to accommodate 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 system.

IDEATION

How do we address these challenges?

As a team, we 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 considering our ideas, we 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 SignWise focuses on individualized learning, SignTime encourages real-time practice and connections between signers. I worked on SignTime as part of a sub-team.

SKETCHING

Initial ideas for SignTime: find your sign partner easily

I began sketching ideas for SignTime drawing on the insights from our surveys and interviews. Initial ideas included allowing users to filter signers by ASL experience, hearing identity, and view shared interests.

USER FLOW

Adding personalization to a simple user flow

As a team, 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 (ASL experience, hearing level).
View user profiles that match your preferences.
Request a call with your chosen sign partner.
Enter the call window with your sign partner!

ITERATIONS

Design Improvements

As my team moved towards higher fidelity designs, we made a few improvements to SignTime, focusing on helping signers find commonalities with each other and stay connected long term.

#1

Global navigation

Initially, I put incoming call requests on a separate page to avoid overwhelming the user with requests. However, this actively discourages the intended user behavior (accepting call requests), so we moved call requests to a global nav bar, where it is always visible but not overbearing.

#2

Profile cards

Initial designs of profile cards were very minimalist and left a lot to be desired. The addition of personal identity and interest tags introduces points of connection for users on SignTime, encouraging signers to learn more about each other.

#3

Home page

A text chat and recently called section were added to the Home page to encourage long term use.

Final Designs

After further iterations on SignTime, our team joined forces with the SignWise team to ensure both products had a consistent visual identity. Below are some of the final views of SignTime and SignWise!

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.

Interviewing and surveying DHH individuals taught me how much diversity there is in the deaf and hard of hearing community, and that primary research is extremely valuable for gaining a better understanding of your users' needs. This was my first time exploring a two-solution approach, and I can say that I think about products now as part of a larger ecosystem rather than as standalone tools. While there are lots of challenges about ASL learning that SignTime leaves unaddressed, 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 would've 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 signing partner, adding support for group calls could foster community and reduce the isolation that 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.

Thanks for visiting! Let's connect.

Thanks for visiting! Let's connect.