SafeZone
A prototype for an application, designed to assist young women who want an extra bit of security when walking home alone late at night.
The Brief
SafeZone is the product of an individual project to create a functioning prototype for a mobile application. The app was designed with the aim to help young women to feel safer as they walk home alone. This was going to be achieved by allowing the user to share their location with friends or family, alerting them of recent crime reports in the area, and using GPS to show the user the best route home during unsociable hours.
I scoped the market to see what apps like this already existed and understand how popular they are amongst women. Additionally, I created a survey and received a number of responses that include a crucial insight from the views of potential users. With this information, it was much easier to determine what would be expected from an app like this, and the likelihood of someone finding it beneficial to their safety.
From here, I created an empathy map and a user journey recognise the steps a user would take as they navigate the application. I found it important to create the empathy map, as the app would be addressing a topic that can be sensitive for a lot of women and so it should be approached cautiously and compassionately.
Next, I drew out rough sketches of the prototype and took it into the Marvel to test, and then created a more solid framework using XD to demonstrate the functionality. After messing around with some visuals, I established a brand that was suitable, and applied this to my prototype.
Afterwards
Aesthetically, I was delighted with the way the prototype turned out. It has a consistent design that is suitable for the audience I had intended. There was enough usability included so that the product could be tested accurately, and you could begin to imagine it working as a genuine application. A piece of feedback that has stuck with me from this project was a from a dad whose daughter when to university over 2 hours away. He recognised the app as insightful and understood how it could be beneficial to the young women who used it. But he acknowledged that – even if his daughter was in trouble, and an alert was sent to his phone, there was little he could do from 2 hours away. It wasn’t something I had considered during production, but it shows ways the app can be improved in the future. Perhaps rather than alerting (and worrying) everyone the user has on the app, it alerts the person within the closest radius – and if this is not an option, then 111 or a local ‘women’s safety service’.
