My Senior Thesis Project, which combined my Industrial Design major with my Social Anthropology major, focused on finding areas of profitability opportunity in mobile phone development through the lens of gender distinction. I ultimately propose that in a design world that is becoming progressively universal (meaning a one-size-fits-all mindset), perhaps we should be taking a step back and refocusing our energies on the individual user. I began the project by conducting an ethnographic study on male and female Smartphone users, gathering behavioral data regarding their interaction with their phone. Using this feedback to determine the significant gaps between how males vs. females communicate, what their underlying motivations for communication are, and when they most often use their phone, evolved my project into an overarching examination of the user and how they operate uniquely from others. The project takes off from there.

Throughout the process, I question what makes a Smartphone "Smart", and how can the next generation of Smartphones become even more intuitive and personal to each user. My final conclusion suggests that we can use behavior information to improve user experiences by implementing a phone that can collect and learn a model of human behavior with each interaction it detects. Phones that can adapt to our routines and expect our next move are truly the next Smartphones.