Squeehod is a project I completed for the final design project (Capstone) in the M.S. in Human-Computer Interaction program at Indiana University. I started by researching complex interface design and the tools designers use to design information-rich interfaces. It became clear that a key part of the design process, the early, brainstorming stages, are largely ignored in terms of tools. Squeehod is a tool created to help designers work though the early stages of the design process.

I began with a literature review to understand research done in the area of complex interface design and discovered that there wasn't much. From there I conducted user research to understand what people want in a complex interface. Using the insight that good UI design depends on a solid foundation, which occurs in the early stages of design (before the aesthetics), I began iterating through ideas for a tool to aid designers during the brainstorming stages of design.

Once I had the general concept, I created a paper prototype to use in user testing. User feedback led to a number of design changes and greatly improved the final design. Finally, a high fidelity prototype was created and presented as my Capstone project for my master's degree.