Stormsense is a mobile application designed to educate and empower individuals residing in disaster-prone regions. Through the use of storm simulations, Stormsense quantifies preparedness levels and offers tips and suggestions to equip the user with the tools to proactively protect their home and families against local natural disaster risks.
In my 15 years growing up in Pennsylvania I can only remember one significant natural disaster, hurricane Floyd in 1999. The funny thing is that I know there were more over the years, more recent ones like Sandy and Irene, that had significant impacts on the area, but for some reason Floyd stuck with me. I remember the foot of water in our basement, my dad’s insistence on always having a shop vac handy from then on and the modifications he made to the house as a result of the event. I remember waterlogged toys and Christmas decorations that needed to be thrown away. Floyd stuck with me.
2 years ago, I moved to Seattle, where I would encounter a new threat. In October of 2022 the air quality reached over 240 in Seattle, the worst in the world at that time. Wildfires lit up the sky and for the first time in my life I saw ash fall like snow. I had to close my windows and limit my time outdoors. When I would go outside, my skin felt dirty and my eyes became red and watery. Camping trips were cancelled. The last few sunny days of the Seattle summer were turned into apocalyptic hellscapes, something I had never seen before growing up on the east coast. I learned that the end of summer wildfire smoke was a somewhat recent occurrence, building in the last 5-10 years to what it is now.
There is no doubt that climate change is impacting the frequency and severity of natural disasters in both areas that are used to them, as well as areas that are not. I wanted to discover ways to enhance individuals' preparedness for the emerging challenges of natural disasters in the face of a worsening climate.
I began my research by reaching out to people residing in areas prone to natural disasters via reddit. I found many people were interested in sharing their stories, much more than I anticipated. Below is a breakdown of the common threats in the areas of the participants I spoke with.
My first instinct was to synthesize the research findings by sorting frequent comments and themes according to timeline, before, during and after the natural disaster event. I hoped this would reveal insights and potentially a direction I could take the project. That didn’t quite seem to work though. Certain themes were recurrent and not specific to the timeline of events.
It was then I began noticing a pattern. What made more sense was grouping comments and themes according to location or their proximity to the individual. Recurrent themes were specific to the individual, the individual's home, the community that the individual resided in, the government in charge of that community and lastly the weather which impacted all former categories.
There was a disconnect between many of these layers. It seemed as though some did not effectively communicate with one another. I wanted to focus on one of these disconnects and try and come up with a solution. Below are some examples.
How can we effectively convey the potential threat of a disaster to individuals without them requiring firsthand experience or exposure to it?
Now that I had my 'how might we' statement, an affinity map and list of insights gained from my initial interviews, I dove into competative analysis. I understood that there were many other apps that offered amazing natural disaster support, A TON in fact. Some of them did an amazing job at providing relief support, information on how to protect yourself in the face of a threat and notifying users of upcoming threats. The one issue I kept seeing is that most of these apps were useful once in a while, users would download them when a storm was approaching and then loose interest or forget about it.
I saw an opportunity to create a solution geared towards educating the user over the course of time while using the app. The more the user used the app, the more detailed information, tips and resources would be provided.
I decided to develop an app centered around simulating the impact of natural disasters on a user's property and well-being. This platform would enable users to assess the potential damage based on their current state of preparedness. The user's journey would begin with an initial set of fundamental questions concerning their home. To maintain user engagement and facilitate ongoing learning, subsequent simulations would prompt them to provide additional data, gradually enhancing their readiness levels.
Additionally, users would have the option to peruse historical storm data, access insights from survivors, and simulate the potential consequences of prior storms on their residences.
This, of course, was a heavy topic and one that needed carefully designed graphics to entertain the user and hold their engagement, but not distract too far from the gravity of the subject matter. For the simulation I wanted to create a fun and light graphic representing the user’s home to balance out the heaviness of the potential damage. This would be a challenging balancing act.
I needed to validate these concepts by subjecting them to user evaluation. Due to the sensitive nature of the subject matter, I wanted to test the user's reaction to the simulator graphics. I wanted to convey the value of these features in enhancing the user's preparedness without causing disinterest in the app as a whole. Transitioning into the user testing phase, I focused on gaining clarity on the following key questions. I conducted both unmoderated testing via Maze and moderated in person testing.
This project presented significant challenges, not only because of my limited knowledge about natural disasters but also due to the application's focus on simulating the potential impact of natural disasters on a user's home and family. Designing graphics proved to be particularly demanding, as it required a delicate balance between a soft and serious tone. Moreover, it represented a steep learning curve for me, as I had no prior experience in graphic design. The next phase involves revisiting users, conducting testing, and implementing necessary improvements. I intend to explore various iterations of the simulator to discern the user's preferences and refine the application accordingly.
There is still so much to learn about the topic. I'd like to speak with designers who have experience building similar applications. I'm curious to know what insights they uncovered in their design process, what problem were they trying to solve? I'd like to speak with professionals who have experience with weather patterns, disaster relief and home insurance.
The core strength of this project lies in the valuable insights unearthed during the research and synthesis phase. Although Stormsense was conceived as a mobile application, its applications extend beyond this platform. Government officials can leverage it as an educational tool to empower their communities and mitigate financial strain. Real estate developers operating in disaster-prone areas can utilize it to inform safe construction practices. Additionally, educational institutions can incorporate it into their curriculum to enhance children's safety awareness. The potential of this idea is immense and promises to deliver substantial benefits to the individual and larger community. This is just the tip of the iceburg.
