On the first day of UXmas, Designlab sent to me... the first challenge

Welcome to Day 1 of UXmas! Over the next 12 days, you have the chance to learn about the design process in delicious bitesize UXmassy pieces.

Each day, we'll be setting a user experience (UX) design challenge to help you devise and develop your own winning idea. Once you've completed all 12 challenges, you will have an outline of the design process for your chosen product, that you can package up and share with others.

Today’s task is to think of a project to work on, based around kindness. Think gifts, charity, cheer, peace, and goodwill – traditional Christmas themes. You can choose between two versions of the daily challenge: a short one, which will take you less than 5 minutes; and a longer one, which will take you up to 30 minutes.

5 minute challenge: think of an idea for an app or product that has something to do with kindness – you’ll be working to develop this idea over the next 12 days. (If you can’t think of an idea, here’s one we prepared earlier: an app that prompts the user each morning to donate to a different charitable cause, whether by pledging their time for a specific task, giving a small amount of money, or sharing a message via the user’s networks.) 30 minute challenge: talk or chat online to friends or family, and brainstorm 2 or 3 possible ideas for an app or product on the theme of kindness. Then, conduct some market research online to find out if any similar products already exist. Add notes to your brainstorm based on what you find. Finish by writing up a short description of each idea, noting any similar products you’ve found and what their key features are. Finally, choose the idea you’d like to work on for the rest of UXmas.

More UXmas challenges