Quality of Life & “Solo-Living” Experience in New York City
Design Research on solo-living women in New York City and quality of life to define the concept of “affordability”
Team
Supanit Loharjun (Pun)
XiaoYu Wang (Twiggy)
Skills Used
Concept Testing, Design Interviewing Guidelines, Prototyping, Workshop Design & Facilitation, Branding Design, Video and Motion Editing, Business Development tools
Scope
Design Research, Design Thinking, Research Design, UX Research
Tools
Figma, Mural, Adobe Photoshop, Adobe Illustrator, Adobe InDesign, Adobe After Effect, Adobe Premiere Pro
Roles
Collaborator
Visual Designer
insights
overview & problem statement
takeaway & synthesis
define & opportunities
Overview
The design research is about the living experiences of solo-living women in New York City—living and settling through different events, recognized and unrecognized challenges, and achieving their life fulfillment.
We aim to understand the experiences of solo-living women in New York City and explore the concept of ‘affordability’ from another perspective.
9-mins video presented the research insights and defined to concept
Full Research Report
Problem Statement
Despite being a tough place to live, many people dream of living in New York City for job opportunities. The expense of living is high. People have to figure out ways to live affordably. It’s becoming harder for people to settle in and find solid financial footing, especially for the solo-living women seeking independence but are framed by society to fall through much easier. They are facing multiple drawbacks, financially and emotionally, recognized and unrecognized.
How might we improve the quality of living experience for solo-living women in New York City?
Defining Term
‘Solo-Living’
Someone who is or is seeking to be financially independent. Their official marital status is single; they are not legally bound to anyone– bearing the responsibility alone. They may or may not be in a committed relationship.
Why is it important?
A significant number of women are facing a similar dilemma of discrimination and unsupportive societal systems, and with the rising numbers of single women, this can be a new trend for women in the future.
Approach
Through a combination of secondary research and primary research, including surveys and interviews with experts and solo-living women, exploring the multifaceted factors that influence the lives of solo-living women in New York City. By comprehending their pain points, daily routines, and aspirations, we can synthesize and find common themes and patterns from the gathered information and data to gain valuable insights.
Assessing the Key Concept
Affordability
Affordability refers to the ability to pay for something without it being too expensive or beyond one's means. It is subjective and varies based on individual income levels. Affordability indexes help gauge the standard of living or attractiveness of a specific region, often tied closely to housing costs, which are a significant component of living expenses.
What does affordability mean for solo-living women in New York City?
insights
overview & problem statement
takeaway & synthesis
define & opportunities
Takeaways & Synthesis
Influencing Factors Diagram
The factors were classified into the inner core of a solo-living woman— values and goals. The inner layers, identity, goals, and values are the factors a solo-living woman has or holds onto. These elements present who they are and life expectations. The following layers, economic status, and life choice, are the elements where the person controls choices to support and draw their well-being. The uncontrollable factors are community, society, and government. These elements are what the person cannot directly control, which may support or antagonize their quality of life.
Common Theme
Based on surveys and interviews with solo-living women in NYC, These two archetypes could be someone who aims for different aspirations with some overlaps and one with less living experience in New York City, and as a solo-living woman could seek a smooth transition to the latter well-experienced one.
Financial resources are the driving force to goal achievement and life fulfillment. However, pursuing success often demands significant time, energy, and emotional sacrifices.
Target Group Interview Key Takeaways
Culture & Identity
● Being solo-living in New York City is common
● Many don’t recognize the pressure of their identity
Goals & Values
● job opportunities and high pay
● the goal of being financially independent, stable, and living comfortably
Support System
● afraid to fall back on their family and friends for financial support, they seek for emotional and mental support
● public policies fail to deliver
Responsibility
● 1-person responsibility
● burdens and sacrifices
Decision Making
determine the balance of best values in different aspects they will receive
The Influencing Factors Diagram 0.2
highlights the layered factors that contribute to success, each requiring time, energy, and emotion. Based on our findings, a critical area lies between Economic Status and Goals & Values, underscoring the significance of time, energy, and emotion in the pursuit of these goals. To ensure sustainable well-being, solo-living women should strive for a holistic balance across various aspects of their lives.
insights
overview & problem statement
takeaway & synthesis
define & opportunities
Insights
In summary, it's not just a personal aspiration but also a breakthrough in the unseen pressure of status. It's about receiving the resources and support that could facilitate them to that life fulfillment.
Insight 01
The goal is beyond money
The ultimate goal is to be self-reliant, independent, and stable, not only financially but also in the aspect of balancing physical and emotional well-being holistically through living experience.
Insight 02
Support systems are essential.
Solo-living women are seeking resources and support to navigate their burdens—physically and mentally. The support can be friends, family, and community, as they can provide a sense of reliability, comfort, and belonging.
Insight 03
Accept the unacceptable.
On top of being resilient and unrecognizing the discrimination, solo-living women have to accept the social structure that doesn’t accommodate them, partially resulting from the public sector putting less priority on their status and gender.
insights
overview & problem statement
takeaway & synthesis
define & opportunities
Define & Opportunities
The findings from the research lead us to the insights and an opportunity area that would be most compelling and impactful for solo-living women. To proceed, we set a HOW MIGHT WE that would help identify the opportunities, considering the concept of 'new affordability' as a core.
How might we fill the gap of stability for solo-living women in New York City?
Redefine “Affordability”
To redefine affordability, monetary value is no longer the only factor to be considered to improve the quality of life for solo-living women. Affordability is decision-making regarded within the scope of prioritizing and finding the balance of other aspects of life, unmeasurable value, e.g., time, energy, emotion, and experience.
affordability ≠ money
affordability = unmeasurable value
All three insights are situated on the influencing factors diagram to identify at which factor and level each is relevant and could further notably explore the opportunities.
We identified what opportunities each level and relevant factors could articulate to fill the gap of stability concerning the issues, and take apart from improving monetary aspects.
Opportunities Ideas
Personal Level
Insight 01: The goal is beyond money
Embrace independency, self actualization, and satisfaction
Improve holistic self-management
Encourage and practice self-exploration
Community Level
Insight 02: Support systems are essential
More inclusive conversation and communication strategy among public sectors
Integrate well-being to improve the quality of life
Create more accessibility to information and benefits
Promote transparent and equal benefits to and for everyone
Generalize social norms and behavior toward solo-living women
Connect and support among solo-living women themselves
Provide a sense of reliability, comfort, and belonging
A mentorship program to exchange, give advice, and learn from one another
Organize and articulate their broader personal and policy needs
Empower and raise awareness of the issues among themselves and the society
Society & Government Level
Insight 03: Accept the Unacceptable
Area of intervention
The influencing factors diagram was later used to support the area of intervention, accentuating the overarching opportunity to move forward during the final design solution. Looking at another perspective, put the matrix of the impact intensity level– how intensive each factor plays a role in affecting a living experience of a solo-living woman, including the issues. The community is in between the other two. It can be considered the bridge creating progressive impact toward the government, society, and personal levels.
The identified opportunities are addressed in the framework considering which factor could be involved. The overlaps display that multiple factors could take part and create an impact. Moreover, the framework also implies that the area with various opportunities could potentially contribute the most impact for solo-living women, which here is densely addressed around the community.
In conclusion, the overarching opportunity may embrace community building to benefit equal rights for everyone, generalize the social norms, and encourage self-exploration and satisfaction.
How might we build community and a sense of belonging to empower and support solo-living women among themselves and society?