Emilie Skytta MFA Collaborative Design Practicum 2014

MīMonster : a design inquiry and intervention for pediatric migraine sufferers

The neurological disorder labeled ‘migraine’ affects between seven and ten percent of children before the age of fifteen and about two percent of children before the age of seven. The disorder is difficult to diagnose in children due to their cognitive development and language/communication abilities.

This projects asks: is it possible to create a set of developmentally appropriate tools focusing on young children that will aid in pain assessment and diagnosis, migraine tracking and symptom coping? This body of work is three-fold in scope and applies interaction and product design principles to the development of a set of tools called MīMonster Finder, MīMonster Tracker and MīMonster Trap. The overarching goal is to give young children agency over their disorder.

Children between two and seven years of age are still in the pre-operational phase of cognitive development. During this stage of development, children do not possess a concrete verbal language, and their thinking is decontextualized. Assessment is difficult since the child is unable to provide a self-report of their pain in words much more descriptive than “it hurts”. Designs supporting this specific stage of cognitive development will allow children to better communicate to adults and deal with their disorder in a way that makes sense for them.

Winner of the 2014 MFA in Collaborative Design Thesis Writing Award

SJ Bowden MFA Collaborative Design Thesis 2021

Inbar Sharon MA Design Systems Thesis 2022

Ameenah Carroll MA Design Systems Thesis 2022

Maddy Silberger-Franek MFA Collaborative Design Thesis 2022

Katie Vellman MFA Collaborative Design Thesis 2023

Miguel Rodriguez MFA Collaborative Design Thesis 2023

Brendy Hale MFA Collaborative Design Thesis 2023

Betsy Lance MA Design Systems Thesis 2021

Samantha Caruthers-Knight MFA Collaborative Design Thesis 2021

Katherine Mitchell MFA Collaborative Design Practicum 2018

Amelia Bauerly MFA Collaborative Design Practicum 2019

Andrew Mears MA Design Systems Thesis 2019

Ophir El-Boher MFA Collaborative Design Practicum 2019

Amber Marsh MFA Collaborative Design Practicum 2019

Mijounga Chang MA Design Systems Thesis 2020

Emilie Jensen MFA Collaborative Design Thesis 2020

Audrey Lewis MFA Collaborative Design Thesis 2020

Leah Payne MFA Collaborative Design Practicum 2020

Katie Scott MFA Collaborative Design Thesis 2020

Alicia Navarrette MFA Collaborative Design Practicum 2015

Jake Mcintire MFA Collaborative Design Practicum 2015

Jessica Stein MFA Collaborative Design Practicum 2015

Jessica Riehl MFA Collaborative Design Practicum 2015

Olivia Guethling CD MFA Practicum 2015

Crystal Rome MFA Collaborative Design Practicum 2015

Emilie Skytta MFA Collaborative Design Practicum 2014

Peter Tichnell MFA Collaborative Design Practicum 2014

Colin Cheong MFA Collaborative Design Practicum 2016

Celina Coppetti Collaborative Design MFA Practicum 2017

Joel Newman Collaborative Design MFA Practicum 2017

Michelle Vorce Collaborative Design MFA Practicum 2017

Amanda Schurr Collaborative Design MFA Practicum 2017

Kailey Fry MFA Collaborative Design Practicum 2015

Alicia DeMellier MFA Collaborative Design Practicum 2018

Jacob Richardson MFA Collaborative Design Practicum 2014

Katie Mays CD MFA Practicum Spring 2013

Emma Conley CD MFA Practicum Spring 2013

Shannon Paine MFA Collaborative Design Practicum 2015

Melody Rowell MFA Collaborative Design Practicum 2015

Luke Zimmerman MFA Collaborative Design Practicum 2016

Matthew McCasland MFA Collaborative Design Practicum 2016

Asa Wright MFA Collaborative Design Practicum 2016