Historically, the design of medical identification jewelry has failed to
consider the needs of paramedics, a major user group. Medical jewelry designs mimic
contemporary jewelry styles and often feature irrelevant information, qualities that
reduce their visibility and usefulness in an emergency. My thesis outlines a set
of design recommendations, accompanied by a list of design requirements and a
compliancy table, for medical jewelry that the user needs of paramedics.
The thesis draws upon open-ended interviews with paramedics from
around the province of Ontario, to analyze the tacit and explicit knowledge that
paramedics use when gathering information in medical emergencies. The analysis
is used to develop a first iteration of design recommendations, which are presented
to focus groups for feedback. Using a list of design requirements and a compliancy
table formulated from my interview data, I judge three concepts to be especially
promising, and have developed them as high-fidelity prototypes.