Overview
The concept of this project was born because of a realization I made of the need in the Dominican Republic of educating the youth about the importance of their Afro heritage. I realized the importance of this when I was growing up in the Dominican Republic and I experienced a series of identity crisis regarding my afro heritage. I was taught by society that “good hair” was straight silky hair. I want to be able to educate and help those interested in being educated about how to embrace their afro identity in full force with providing them the right resources to do so.
Duration: September 2020 - April 2021
Team: Daniela German (myself)
Role: Researcher and Designer
Tools: Adobe XD, Adobe Illustrator, Adobe InDesign, Procreate
Process: Research, Ideate, Branding and Prototype
Problem
The lack of education in the Dominican youth about their afro heritage.
Goal
1. Help educate people about the importance of embracing their natural hair.
2. Provide access to specific tools to maintain or start hair journey.
3. Give and receive support from other people also looking to start their hair goals.
Research
I began my research process by searching the root of the problem and where it all started. I started to learn more about the history and culture of Afro hair in the Dominican Rep. From the research, I was able to find information that helped me gather quantitative and qualitative data from interviews with users of Dominican descent. Their answers gave me a better understanding of their pain points and how possible solutions could look like.
Key Research Findings
Interview Insights
I did a series of quantitative and qualitative interview questions where I asked 5 people of Dominican descent that consider themselves to be in the Afro hair community.
Here are some of the results of said interview:
"Your hair doesn’t define you. do whatever you want to do as long as it brings you happiness and makes you feel confident and comfortable in your own skin"
- "You can be yourself! When you start to accepting and loving yourself great things started to happen."
- "....I would always have to straighten my hair when going to parties to feel pretty or accepted by the crowd. Also, having my hair straighten would look better on my party outfits, what I was taught."
-"Your curls represent your roots, your cultural roots. Never forget that. Curly hair is always fun and bouncy."
The Nappy Club Project
Poster Series that will be located throughout the city. People will be able to view the different illustrations that show the various curl patterns. If the person is intrigued to know more, they can easily scan the QR code on the poster that will direct the user to The Nappy Club app.
Sketches
Here's a bit of my thought process when creating the illustrations for the posters. I came to the conclusion it was crucial to include the different curl pattern types that exist, as I wanted the users that viewed the poster to feel identified with their hair.
The Nappy Club App
The Nappy Club App was designed to create a platform for people in the Afro Hair community to find resources, support, and record their hair journey.
Ideate
These are the initial sketches that brought up to the final product. Through my thought process I wanted to create a fun, dynamic, yet simple layout that would encourage the user to want to engage with the app. After my research I had pinpointed the parts I thought were the most important to include into the app. Those were:
- "Note to self" blog: this page will allow the users to add and receive encouraging messages.
- "What's your type?": this section comes after the user first signs up for the app. It allows the user to select their curl pattern type, that will then direct them to pop up of recommended products for the type of pattern selected.
Wireframe
The sketches were created to showcase an ideal user scenarios. I wanted to focus on the main functions of the app that include- selecting your curl type, "note to self" blog, and finding hair products.
Design Styles
Final Solution
High-Fi Designs
The following are a few features from the completed screens prototype and a description of their function.
The following are a few features from the completed screens prototype and a description of their function.
This section comes after the user first signs up for the app. It allows the user to select their curl pattern type, that will then direct them to pop up of recommended products for the type of pattern selected.
"Note to self" blog page will allow the users to add and receive encouraging messages.
Prototype Demo
Nappy or Nah? Brochure
I created this brochure Nappy of Nah? as educational marketing for The Nappy Club with content relating to Afro Identity. This issue in particular focuses on the Afro discrimination in the work field.
