Min Jea Seo and Darae Kim, both user experience designers, collaborated to create ‘dot.,’ offering a refreshing perspective on menstruation for women. Their goal is to deliver a reliable product that empowers women to utilise their menstrual blood as a health-check tool.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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Q1. Please give us a brief bio of yourself and your design background.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Min<\/strong>: I am Min Jea Seo, a User Experience Designer with a diverse portfolio spanning industries like finance, membership (identity and privacy) and medical technology. I have held design roles at renowned companies such as Yahoo and Amazon.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Darae<\/strong>: I’m Darae Kim, a UX designer at Amazon based in Silicon Valley. Originally from South Korea, I moved to the United States in 2017 to dive deeper into interaction design, emphasising human-centred principles.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Q2. What made you become\/why did you choose to become a designer\/artist?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Min<\/strong>: I’ve always had a passion for understanding user behaviours and crafting solutions that enhance their experiences. The creative process of design allows me to merge my analytical skills with creativity, making products more intuitive and user-friendly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Darae<\/strong>: From a young age, I’ve been captivated by design and art. My father was a passionate enthusiast of Korean traditional painting known as “Sa-gun-ja” and often crafted his own pottery, sharing these passions with me. These cherished memories ignited my interest in art and design.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Pursuing a career as a designer felt not only like fulfilling a dream but also a natural progression for me.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Q3. Tell us more about your agency\/company, job profile, and what you do.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Min<\/strong>: In my current role as a Senior Product Designer at Yahoo, I specialise in improving the user experience of privacy features and internal tools. As a designer, I aspire to broaden my knowledge by delving into various sectors and industries, continually seeking new perspectives.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Darae<\/strong>: I’m currently a member of Amazon’s Design and Service Group, where my primary responsibility revolves around enhancing the user experience for the Echo device family integrated with Alexa. Throughout the past several years, I’ve played a significant role in shaping end-to-end user experiences, contributing to the successful launches of new devices and the development of innovative Alexa features.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Q4. What does \u201cdesign\u201d mean to you?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Min<\/strong>: To me, design is the bridge between user needs and innovative solutions. It’s about understanding challenges and crafting intuitive, functional, and aesthetically pleasing experiences that resonate with the target audience.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Darae<\/strong>: Design, to me, is a powerful form of communication that transcends mere aesthetics. It embodies the creator’s intent while speaking directly to the user’s emotions and perceptions. Maybe something like road signs: their clarity and design can mean the difference between clear direction and confusion.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In today’s digital age, design decisions dictate what captures attention amid a sea of information. In essence, through design, we bridge the gap between intention and understanding, making it an essential tool in our interconnected world.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Q5. What\u2019s your favorite kind of design and why?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Min and Darae<\/strong>: We have a special affinity for user experience design, given its pivotal role in shaping user interactions and determining overall satisfaction with products.<\/p>\n\n\n\n However, our passion extends to diverse design realms, including interior, fashion, furniture and so on. It’s fascinating to observe the contrasting approaches between digital and physical product design.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Q6. To you, what makes a \u201cgood\u201d design?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Min and Darae<\/strong>: We define a \u201cgood design\u201d as user-centric, intuitive, and meets the business goals all while enhancing the user’s experience. It should be adaptable, future-proof and offer a seamless experience across platforms.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Q7. How did you come up with the idea for your award-winning design?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Min and Darae<\/strong>: We often immerse ourselves in various media sources for inspiration and make it a point to discuss our findings with everyone we encounter, valuing their perspectives. Such interactions frequently spark new ideas for us.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The concept for this entry emerged in a similar fashion, sparked by a conversation we had about menstruation and picket lines in New York, which we came across in various articles.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Q8. What was your main source of inspiration for this design?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Min and Darae<\/strong>: We cherish our personal experiences and equally appreciate insights from articles, books, and conversations with others. We believe inspiration could be anything around us.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Winning Entry<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n dot. is a smart menstrual cup service to manage women\u2019s health. The service includes a mobile app, smart menstrual \u2026 (Read more at London Design Awards<\/a>).<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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