Julia Olson's Design Journey

This strain of research will be generative, however, I plan on using surveys and interviews to gather information about this topic.  Which celebrities are most influential to young women in their 20's right now? Questions I can ask for my surveys and interviews: Who is your favorite actress? Who is your favorite singer? Do you have a fashion icon? Who? When you think of a leader, who comes to mind? When I say the word powerful, who comes to mind? How do celebrities influence body image? I think that based off of the results from the surveys/interview I conduct about which celebrities are most influential to young women in their 20's, I can further research how those celebrities have influenced body image in general and then get more specific with my research as it becomes relevant. 

This strain of research will be exploratory, more open ended  What is social media? According to Merriam-Webster: forms of electronic communication (such as websites for social networking and microblogging) through which users create online communities to share information, ideas, personal messages, and other content (such as videos) https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/social%20media Examples of Social Media: Facebook, Snapchat, Instagram, Twitter, Youtube, (Older)My Space Who views social media? People from all demographics view and use social media; however, according to Pew Research center,"… younger Americans (especially those ages 18 to 24) stand out for embracing a variety of platforms and using them frequently."  http://www.pewinternet.org/2018/03/01/social-media-use-in-2018/ While not discriminating by gender, it is safe to say that a large portion of the young Americans that use a variety of social media platforms frequently is female.  ...

Based off of my improved research question:  How can experiential design concepts help young women in their 20's use behavioral modification to improve their perception of their body image? I decided to create a thought map to kickstart the next phase of my research process. Based off of the trends I saw, there are two main components in each trend that I will further research as they relate to body image in young women in their 20's. Two of the three trends have to do with outside influences, but according to research concerning self talk and thought process, internal views and perspectives hold more weight, even though internal views and perspectives can be heavily influenced by external sources. This is one the main reasons I want to further investigate how to empower young women to take advantage of their personal thought processes to help them help themselves.  Social Media and Body Image:   This strain of research will be exploratory, more open ende...

Types of research that I have conducted thus far Preliminary Design problem validation Youtube Ted Talk "A simple way to break bad habits" Use as a future reference for secondary ethnographic research, I can go through the comments and see if people were able to use the techniques described with any success or even wanted to approach the techniques given MIT Journal Transtheoretical Model  This journal describes a process for behavioral change, that there are different phases that a subject goes through as they try and alter their behavior, this model is based around people who are aware that they want to change, not a group of people secretly trying to change their behaviors. The participants in the study laid out in this journal follow the phases suggested by the TTM (transtheoretical model), and in doing so, acknowledge the behaviors they want to change and answer questions that provide the testers with ethnographic research results that supports the theor...

Possible SMEs: Both women listed below work at the CU Denver Counseling Center and have background in mindfulness issues, I was thinking that because Cynthia Chen has a PHD and her bio specifically states working with behavioral issues, she might be the best specialist to work with. Brittany Bouffard, LCSW Outreach/Prevention Coordinator, Psychotherapist Cynthia Chen, Ph.D.   Licensed Psychologist, Crisis Coordinator, Psychotherapist I think for my DME I might reach out to Michael Salamon, as he has extensive experience with design research and he might be able to help me figure out what direction I want to go in with the digital aspect of my thesis. SME Email draft: Hi , I'm currently a senior in the Digital Design program and I'm entering my thesis project for the upcoming spring semester. For my thesis, I'm hoping to explore design solutions for people who want to take advantage of intrinsic motivation to change their habits and behaviors...

How can utilizing design research methodologies (user interviews, surveys, and behavior tracking) prove that design can help users take advantage of intrinsic motivation for behavioral change rather than extrinsic motivation? This question still needs refinement, but it's where I'm starting from. What I would like to achieve: 1. Validate the need for a platform (whatever I end up proposing to be designed) to help people more easily take advantage of personal motivation to change their habits versus external motivation 2. Find a platform that makes the most sense to offer people to help themselves in the best way. 3. Make changing your habits a more personally fulfilling process because you, the user, will be key in helping yourself. Update 11/1/18 Question Evolution: How can utilizing design research methodologies prove that design (what kind of design?) can help users take advantage of intrinsic motivation for behavioral change rather than extrinsic motivation?...