HelloData
Background
This project focuses on teaching the basics about online data and privacy through a website with interactive diagrams and illustrations.
Team
My Role
Hannah Hum
UX Researcher
UI Designer
Tools
Figma
Timeline
February-May 2023
4 months
The Problem
Internet usage is vital in our current day to day life. However, despite the reliance on online services, there is a lack of knowledge about how online data is, how it is being used, and how it is collected.
Solution
The goal of this project would be focusing on finding out how aware adults are concerning their personal data and online privacy, find the gaps within their knowledge concerning the subject, and design a solution to fill in those gaps of knowledge.
Research
The initial hypothesis that drove the start of the project was: How do varying levels of proficiency of digital literacy can affect a person’s online experience?
I hypothesized that a person’s usage of technology and can affect their experience, proficiency, and knowledge about digital literacy.
Along with literature reviews pertaining to the topic of internet safety, online privacy, teaching digital literacy, and what online data is, I also conducted a survey to find out people’s awareness towards online privacy and safety and how they treat their data, aiding me in finding a direction to take for my project.
Secondary Research - Literature Reviews
To learn more about the subject and direction of this project, I looked through a variety of literature pertaining to internet safety, online data, online privacy, and existing solutions or precedents about how online data can affect us.
While looking at literature about people’s knowledge about internet safety, I found that there is a lack of confidence towards more specific/in depth digital topics among adults, younger teens do not see sharing personal information online in a negative way, and that digital natives (those that grew up with using technology) are able to adopt new technologies into their learning quite easily.
When it came to online privacy and data, I found that people feel that they lack control over how their data gets used once collected and that having a lack of confidence with a person's technical knowledge can affect their willingness to engage with new forms of digital interaction. There is also a general lack of understanding about data privacy laws among the general public.
On the emotional side, there is also the sentiment among some people that management of online security can be an emotional experience, filled with anxiety. Feel more comfortable carrying out tasks such as engaging in protective online behaviors if they had instructions that they could follow.
Existing/Similar Products/Market Research
I also looked at existing products that relate to digital literacy and educational sites. One site I looked at was Khan Academy, a free educational website where one can learn a variety of topics through short video lessons. Another website I looked at was DataBasic.io, a website that consists of fun, easy-to-use web tools to introduce concepts of working with data for beginners. I have also looked at Data Literacy Project, a site meant to educate people about data literacy through a variety of courses.
Primary Research - Survey
To help narrow down the topic, I created a survey to find out about people's awareness towards online privacy and safety and how they treat their data. Participants were recruited through social media. The survey consisted of three parts: Demographic questions, General Online Safety questions, and Specific example of personal data collector: Cookies, to see how people know and treat their online data.
Demographics
There were 32 survey respondents, mostly consisting of those around the age of 18-25 (young adults), and that almost half of them spend 7+ hours online.
General Knowledge about Online Safety
Overall, when it came to the participant's knowledge about online safety, the majority of participants were confident in their knowledge, However, despite the overall confidence, many felt that their data is not safe and secure, nor do they know where to find information relating to online data collectors.
Knowledge of a specific type of online data (Cookies)
The survey participants were asked about why they accept/don’t accept cookies on a website was used an an example to gauge how people treat their online data.
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Those who accept cookies do so mainly out of convenience or do not care about accepting cookies, with some answers indicating not knowing what exactly cookies are and their purpose.
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Those that dont accept cookies do so because of wanting to protect their data, mainly to avoid being tracked or not trusting who handles their data, indicating some awareness about online data.
Uncertainties concerning Online data
There is awareness about how data is being collected online, there is uncertainty and a lack of knowledge concerning the specifics of what is being collected and why.
User Persona
To further visualize the target audience of this project, a user persona based on the survey participants were made to find that needs and goals they have when it comes to online data and privacy.
Website Details
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The typefaces used in HelloData are Fredoka, Poppins, and Merriweather. Fredoka is a round san serif font that adds a little playfulness to the website’s name in the header. Poppins is used for the main text in HelloData, as it is a geometric san serif font that is also fun and minimalistic, adding to the playful feeling the website is going for. Merriweather was used for the subheadings throughout the website, as it features a very large x height, slightly condensed letterforms within its family and contrasts with Poppins.
The colors used throughout the website are bright in order to make the website feel more approachable and welcoming to the user.
The name HelloData combines the words “Hello” and “Data”. As this is a website that is meant to introduce concepts of online privacy and data, I thought it would be fitting to have a greeting in the name so that the user can introduce themselves to the topics.
Initial Sketches
Initial wireframe sketches to find ways on showing information about online data in an interactive and understandable way.
Mid Fidelity
The initial middle fidelity designs of the landing, and main sections of site along with ending of quiz page.
User Testing
To evaluate the design, I recruited three participants for a usability test. The participants consisted of people who said that they do not know much about online data and privacy to go through the design. The main purpose of the usability testing was to evaluate whether the content (text and interactive diagrams) within the pages was easy to understand and process. The tests were conducted remotely over Zoom, with the participant sharing their screen as they went through the website. The users were given three tasks to carry out: To go through each section of the website and take the quiz for each section.
The results of what the participants thoughts were put into two categories: what was considered effective and what needed improvement. Overall, the website had features that made the of the participants through the use of the interactive illustrations and diagrams
HelloData
HelloData is an educational website for anyone who is interested in learning about the basics of online data and privacy through interactive drawings and short quizzes, along with a small resources guide to other articles if the user is interested in furthering their understanding of the topic.
There are three sections that the user can navigate through: What is online data, Who is collecting our data, and What are some ways to protect your data.
What is Online Data
"What is Online Data?" section is meant to provide the users with a background on what consists of online data. This includes what is online data, and the different types of data that can be collected online.
Who Collects our data?
The "Who Collects our data?" is meant to inform the user on who collects online data, where it can be collected from, what the data is used for, and why it is collected.
What are some ways to protect your data?
The "What are some ways to protect your data?" is meant give users a few easy tools and resources that can help them protect their data.
Next Steps
Moving forward, I would like to work on more UI/UX or other interaction design-based projects similar to HelloData. As for future developments, I would like to add more sections to HelloData, such as current laws or policies that concern online data, or a section with more specific real-world examples about data collection, which can include social media or online cookies. Overall, given the time that I had to work on this project, I think that HelloData fulfills the problem I set out to solve, which is to introduce basic concepts of online data and privacy in an interactive and easy to understand way to those that want to learn.