KENNESAW, Ga. | Sep 4, 2024

The trajectory of Vignesh Mullaguru’s academic journey truly began taking shape four years ago.

In 2020, as student experiences shifted online out of necessity, Mullaguru was unexpectedly ushered into an era of discovery.

Mullaguru,  who recently earned a degree in interactive design from  Kennesaw State University, had always been interested in design. As a student at Johns Creek High School, Mullaguru thought he might leverage that interest into a career in architecture.

However, as his high school career progressed and teachers increasingly relied on programs such as Zoom or Microsoft Teams to deliver lesson plans, Mullaguru couldn’t help but notice the gaps in technology.

The idea of accessibility began to occupy space in Mullaguru’s mind.

“I didn’t know there was a specific field called UX or UI, but I was always thinking about it subconsciously, especially when I was in Zoom meetings online,” Mullaguru said. “I realized that a lot of students had trouble joining Zoom meetings, first of all. A lot of people never used Zoom and found it difficult to navigate. But when we used Google Meet or some other platform, it was a lot easier. I started making comparisons between the product-market fit and analyzing the UX/UI in that aspect.”

User experience (UX) and user interface (UI) are fundamental components of the overall online experience. UX refers to creating designs that are useful, usable and engaging, while UI is concerned with the look and feel of those experiences.

These ideas are at the crux of Mullaguru’s research, which is primarily concerned with making sure the UX/UI experience is accessible for all.

“I’ve seen a lot of people struggle to use smartphones and that motivated me,” Mullaguru said.

Mullaguru presented his research, “Designing a Virtual Reality Prototype for Designers: A Model for Accessibility Testing,” at the Spring 2023 Symposium of Student Scholars, hosted by the Office of Undergraduate Research.

The project aims to use simulations based in virtual reality to help designers increase their empathy and knowledge for users requiring designs that are accessible and inclusive.

Through Mullaguru’s VR-based prototype, uniVRsal, users can create designs that are graded for accessibility through the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines, which is a set of standards developed by the World Wide Web Consortium to enhance the accessibility of web content for people with disabilities.

Mullaguru conducted this research under the guidance of Laura Palmer, professor of technical communication and rhetoric.

In fact, Mullaguru contacted Palmer before he had started his first class at KSU.

“My first ‘meeting’ with Vignesh was an email,” Palmer said. “He'd looked at my research on Google Scholar and wrote me; he discussed a bit about what I'd written and indicated he'd like to be my research assistant. Now, that's normal for a grad student, but this was an 18-year-old undergrad, who'd done dual-enrollment and was coming to KSU for the first time in the fall. Needless to say, I was curious about whom I'd be meeting in a couple of weeks.”

Palmer proved to be essential in guiding Mullaguru’s research experience.

After presenting at the Spring 2023 Symposium of Student Scholars, Mullaguru shared his work at the Association of Computing Machinery’s Special Interest Group on Design of Communication (SIGDOC), a national conference hosted in Orlando, Fla.

Mullaguru gained research experience in high school through a dual-enrollment program but admitted to being somewhat intimidated prior to SIGDOC because he had never presented at a research conference.

“I went to Spring 2023 Symposium of Student Scholars, and I was a little bit more comfortable because it was just other KSU students and faculty,” Mullaguru said. “But when I was going to Orlando, I didn’t really know what to expect because I had never been out of the state to do a research presentation.”

Mullaguru’s poster naturally stood out given his background in visual communication. So, through the 90-minute poster presentation, Mullaguru fielded inquiries from conference-goers who were initially lured by his poster and ended up staying to chat with Mullaguru about his project.

By the end of the conference, Mullaguru had won first place in the undergraduate research division and pocketed $500 in prize money. The award means Mullaguru will have an opportunity to present his research at a larger ACM conference in June.

“Dr. Palmer definitely helped guide me through that,” Mullaguru said. “If she hadn’t, I don’t think  I would have won anything.”

In addition to his excellence in the classroom, Mullaguru also established the UX/UI Design Club at KSU, serving as president for 1½ years and helping grow the club to 240 students.

“It was just me and a few other friends starting out, so we had to do a lot of marketing and promotion,” Mullaguru said. “But we were able to host some cool events and had guest speakers come from Microsoft, Google and Home Depot, so we were able to get that industry connection. When you take classes in UX/UI you understand the theory, but talking to industry professionals shows you how design works in an industry environment.”

Mullaguru now plans to embark on an internship with Dick’s Sporting Goods as a product design intern before enrolling in the fall at the University of Michigan, where he will pursue his master’s degree in human computer interaction.

“All of us in the Office of Research celebrate Vignesh's impressive achievements,” Scarpinato said. “As he continues his educational path, we send him our best wishes."

This article also appears in the current issue of Summit Magazine.

– Story by David Roberts

Photos by Matt Yung

 

A leader in innovative teaching and learning, Kennesaw State University offers undergraduate, graduate and doctoral degrees to its more than 45,000 students. Kennesaw State is a member of the University System of Georgia with 11 academic colleges. The university’s vibrant campus culture, diverse population, strong global ties and entrepreneurial spirit draw students from throughout the country and the world. Kennesaw State is a Carnegie-designated doctoral research institution (R2), placing it among an elite group of only 7 percent of U.S. colleges and universities with an R1 or R2 status. For more information, visit kennesaw.edu.