Overview
SUDA is more than an app; it's a movement towards safer, united, and informed activism. Our mission is to empower activists, fostering a sense of community, and ensuring their safety during protests.
The Problem 🤔
Protestors face significant safety risks and stress due to inadequate safety measures and communication gaps, resulting in losing contact with their group and unsafe situations.
The Solution 💡
Develop an app that promotes safe and informed activism, empowering activists with collaboration tools and prioritizing safety during protests to foster a collective and informed experience.
Case Study Video
This video provides a quick summary of the SUDA app, showcasing its purpose, key statistics, and main features
Process
Initial Problem Discovery
During the COVID-19 pandemic, the Black Lives Matter protests highlighted a critical need for better protestor safety and real-time information. Traditional methods like social media were often unreliable, contributing to significant safety risks and stress. For example, Recognizing the absence of a dedicated app for protestors, we developed SUDA to provide real-time updates, verified information, and connectivity tools, ensuring protestor security and supporting informed activism.
93% of BLM protests involved peaceful demonstrations,
yet protestors still faced dangers due to misinformation and lack of real-time updates.
Empathy Interviews
We conducted empathy interviews as a crucial step in understanding the unique needs, challenges, and aspirations of activists. These interviews were designed to understand the lived experiences of individuals engaged in various forms of activism.
Competitive Analysis
In our competitor analysis, we examined popular apps to gain insights into their user experiences and overall functionality. While the competitors provide some basic location-sharing or safety alerts, they lack the specialized features needed for activist safety and community engagement.
Key Themes
POV & HMW
Brainstorming
We conducted multiple brainstorming sessions to explore various solutions for enhancing protestor safety and ensuring effective communication during protests. Our goal was to generate a wide range of innovative ideas that could address the unique challenges faced by protestors.
Empowering Safe and Informed Activism
To tackle the significant safety challenges faced by protestors, we developed three core features for SUDA. These features are designed to provide real-time updates, verified information, and reliable communication tools, ensuring protestor security and enhancing their ability to engage in safe and informed activism.
FEATURE 1
Enables real-time location sharing with trusted contacts during protests, along with viewing fellow participants' statuses and locations. Provides live updates on ongoing events for enhanced awareness and preparedness.
FEATURE 2
Facilitates collaboration and knowledge exchange among activists through discussion forums that provide credible sources. Easily connect with other activists and chat directly with them.
FEATURE 3
Provides practical knowledge to empower users to protect themselves and others during demonstrations with AI-curated lesson plans and quizzes.
Takeaways
• User empathy is a must, collaborative design leads to better outcomes and that research is critical when it comes to designing.
• Consistency is key
Next Steps
• Create a live calendar feature to find local protest dates.
• Develop a a functional prototype and official design system.