Created by Matthew Barber, Charlotta Hellichius, Clay Kippen, Gaïa Orain in the MFA Products of Design department at SVA|NYC

1. CDC x
x NYC
Matthew Barber, Charlotta Hellichius, Clay Kippen, Gaïa Orain

2. The Brief
We were approached by the Center
of Disease Control to create a design
intervention that addresses unhealthy norms
and attitudes that perpetuate the spread of
Sexually Transmitted Infections.
Online dating is quickly becoming a go-to
platform for setting up encounters with new
partners. While it is not proven that online
dating is the main cause for the rise in STI
cases over the last ten years, there are
several studies that investigate its role.*
CDC x
x NYC
*Blackwell, Tom. “Downside of Online Dating: More STDs, Some Experts say.” Editorial. National Post
http://news.nationalpost.com/2012/03/11/downside-of-online-dating-more-stds-some-experts-say/

3. Research
Primary Sources:
Inteviews
Survey
Secondary Sources:
CDC Reports
Academic Papers
Statistics
News Sources
Magazines
CDC x
x NYC

4. Online
Dating
70%
61%
61%
At
bars
Dating
websites
45%
8.5%
Social
media
CDC x
x NYC
11%
Meet-up
groups
At
work
Through
friends or
family
Pitt, Amy, ed. "Dating." Time Out [New York] 26 Sept. 2013: 8-14. Print.

5. CASUAL
SEX
Reasons for joining
136 respondents in the NYC area.
NEW FRIENDS
PEOPLE ON SITE
LACK OF
BOREDOM
TIME
CDC x
x NYC
CURIOSITY
SEXUAL ORIENTATION
NEW
REBOUND
PLACE
LOVE
FUN

6. Online
Dates in the
Past Year
136 respondents in the NYC
area.
45%
18%
18%
10%
0
CDC x
x NYC
9%
1-10
10-20
20-50
50+
*Orain et al “Hookin’ Up | Online Dating.” Online Survey. Oct. 2013.

7. 136 respondents in the NYC area.
CDC x
x NYC
19%
0
Amount of Sexual
Encounters via
Online Dating
Platforms
27%
+
54%
+

8. The Age
Breakout
41%
136 respondents in the NYC area.
Are 23-27
4%
37%
Are 28-32
ARE 18-22
6%
12%
ARE 38+
ARE 33-37
CDC x
x NYC
*Orain et al “Hookin’ Up | Online Dating.” Online Survey. Oct. 2013.

9. Fear Mongering
The agencies that serve the public health
sector often employ visual media that
discourages their target demographic in
from engaging in the activities that could
put them at risk.
It may be easier to convey messages of NO
rather than YES, however they do not foster
a healthy dialog about the activities that
people will be engaging regardless
of cannon.
CDC x
x NYC

10. Issue
The steady rise in popularity of online
dating platforms and their ease of use
means that more people can meet new
partners than ever before. This increases
the risk of exposure to STI’s.*
CDC x
x NYC
*Blackwell, Tom. “Downside of Online Dating: More STDs, Some Experts say.” Editorial. National Post
http://news.nationalpost.com/2012/03/11/downside-of-online-dating-more-stds-some-experts-say/

11. Steve Dean
How do you inform people without revealing
how little they know?
People expect transparency and honesty from
the services they share personal details with.
The problem isn’t the access to information,
rather the lack of reminders.
There is great potential in offering product
knowledge related to certain
sexual proclivities.
CDC x
x NYC

12. The Real Issue
There are very few online platforms that
are designed to deliver reminders and
relevant information on safe
sexual practices.
Our team’s intervention addresses the
needs of online daters in their 20’s and
30’s in the NYC area.
CDC x
x NYC
*http://www.cdc.gov/nchhstp/Atlas/

13. Positive Examples
Manhunt.com acknowledges their
responsibility to the online gay-male
population and sends their users prompts
to get tested.
Poncho, HULA, and Lulu reach audiences
with novel forms of user experiences.
Pop-up campaigns, positive
advertisements, and mobile testing clinics
can reach people anywhere in the city.
CDC x
x NYC

14. Opportunity
There is an opportunity to facilitate
awareness and offer resources for safe
hook-ups and general sexual health.
CDC x
x NYC

15. Intervention
Canary is an app-less dating companion
designed to compliment the online
dating landscape.
Acting as a subscription service, Canary
delivers upbeat and friendly prompts to
help you establish a positive sexual
health routine.
Canary gets to know you through a series
of simple questions which personalizes the
experience and advice you recieve.
There is no app to install or update, just
friendly and unbiased information
to enjoy!
CDC x
x NYC

16. Behaviors
Our users:
Lack routines and awareness about healthcare resources.
Have sexual encounters outside of their social circle.
Base judgments on intuition and little information.
Do things that are convenient for them.
CDC x
x NYC

17. SEX IN THE CITY
Rebecca is new to the city. She just landed
her first big job, she puts in long hours and
has little for a local social network. Since
Rebecca moved here, she has relied on
the internet for essential information; she
Yelps for date spots, she Seamless for late
night dinners and she google-maps every
trip. Naturally, she choses OkCupid to find
dates.
CDC x
x NYC

18. CANARY
Dating is hard, Canary is easy

19. CDC x
x NYC

20. CUT TO THE CHASE
Due to a string of bad relationships, Tracy
is just not emotionally available and is
not interested in a longterm relationship.
She is busy, yet she is not one to ignore
her desires, despite her loaded schedule.
Thanks to a few apps on her phone, its
easy to hook up with someone she is
attracted to.She used to go to bars to
seek out people for a hook-up, but that
wasn’t always guaranteed. Now she can
orchestrate her dates online beforehand.
Sometimes she will line up two dates
in an evening to better her chances of
getting lucky.
CDC x
x NYC

21. TEAM WORK
All of Chad’s friends are using online
dating platforms to meet new people, and
he decided to give it a go. After all, it’s a
nice alternative to watching Netflix.
He compares potential matches with his
friends because he values their opinion.
These days he is more interested in
his career and his friendships than a
relationship. However, Chad still goes on
a couple of dates a month. With no fixed
agenda, he’s not always prepared for
that steamy catch who wants to take him
home on the first night.
CDC x
x NYC

22. Brand Essence
CDC x
x NYC

23. CDC x
x NYC

24. LOGO FONT:
UPPERCASE
AVENIR MEDIUM
TITLE FONT:
UPPERCASE
AVENIR MEDIUM
Prompt Font:
Sentence Case
Avenir Heavy
Header Font:
Sentence Case
Avenir Medium
CDC x
x NYC

25. CDC x
x NYC

26. Key Features
Canary sends its members friendly,
practical, and non-judgmental sexual health
reminders.
Provides the location of clinics and doctors
offices.
Recommends the proper precautions for
using contraception.
Illustrates where to find sexual healthrelated resources.
Features products and services that
promote healthy sexual practices.
Tells users about weekly events, and good
places to go out.
CDC x
x NYC

27. CDC Value Proposition
Canary can use hyperlinks to send users
over to the CDC’s website for sexual-health
related information.
Canary reaches a population that is at risk
for STI contraction.
This service will increase awareness
around the best sexual health practices.
Canary will help make STI tests more
convenient.
Canary aims to start a conversation around
sexual health awareness amongst its users.
CDC x
x NYC

28. Ecosystem
The goal is to disrupt the current ecosystem by allowing the service to exist
without the hardware of an app.
Canary provides SMS prompts that reach
the user via mobile devices.
CDC x
x NYC

29. Pilot Consideration
Voice, length of message, amount of
information, timing is important as is a
diverse group of users for pilot launch.
CDC x
x NYC

30. Bottom Line
Canary is a dating buddy that provides
relevant sexual health information via
SMS message.

31. CDC x
x NYC
Matthew Barber, Charlotta Hellichius, Clay Kippen, Gaïa Orain