About
I'm a UX researcher and PhD candidate in Human-Computer Interaction at the University of Cape Town, specialising in community-centred participatory design in developing contexts, mostly in South Africa. My work bridges academic research rigour with practical product design, focusing on healthcare, education, and AI innovations and ethics in under-resourced environments.
With 5+ years of field research experience across South African communities, I bring deep qualitative expertise combined with user-centred design methods. My research has been published in peer-reviewed journals, including PLoS ONE, BMJ, and ACM proceedings, and I've led projects ranging from mobile health apps to AI literacy initiatives.
I'm passionate about designing technology that respects community knowledge, builds on existing social structures, and collaborates with communities to create situated and community-owned initiatives. In my PhD work, I combine Ubuntu philosophy with participatory design methods to create ethical, sustainable solutions.
When I'm not conducting research, I garden, experiment with film photography, and read campus novels. I briefly maintained a book blog where I wrote about literature and ideas.
Portfolio
UX research specialising in developing markets and under-resourced contexts. Published researcher with 5+ years experience in community-centred product and service design.
TB Screening App
Mobile health tool for Cape Town healthcare workers
Role: Lead UX Researcher
Duration: 6 months
Methods: Contextual inquiry, Usability testing
Maternal Health Study
Community research in four South African communities
Role: Co-lead Researcher
Duration: 24 months
Methods: Interviews, Iterative co-design workshops
AI Literacy Workshops
Speculative design in Ocean View
Role: Co-lead Facilitator
Duration: 12 months
Methods: Speculative design, Iterative co-design workshops
Academic Publications
View my full list of peer-reviewed research.
TB Screening App
Overview
Challenge: Healthcare workers in Cape Town townships needed to assess tuberculin skin tests for TB screening, but the existing app was complex, untested with users, and required capturing 9 images.
Context: Under-resourced clinics with less than 5 minutes per patient. Many workers had varying English proficiency and smartphone literacy.
"We don't have time. We just need it to work quickly and clearly." — Community Health Worker
Research
- Contextual Inquiry: 3 clinics, 10 healthcare workers
- Iterative Prototyping: 3 iterations with student proxies
- Validation: Testing with 10 healthcare workers (PSSUQ)
Key Insights
1. Time scarcity dominated. Any feature requiring over 2-3 minutes wouldn't be adopted.
2. Visual > Text. Pictorial instructions + video with audio dramatically improved comprehension.
3. Context-specific concerns. Safety (device theft), data privacy, language preferences emerged.
Solution
Iteration 1: Pictorial instructions, removed jargon, single-page overview
Iteration 2: Audio narration, better contrast, scrolling indicators
Iteration 3: Reduced to 5 images, real-time guidance overlays
Impact
What I learned: Proxy testing allowed rapid iteration while respecting end-user time. Context factors (safety, language, time) often matter more than usability metrics.
View Publication
Maternal Health Study
Overview
Challenge: Digital health solutions fail in rural contexts because they assume individual information needs and smartphone access. I needed to understand how health information actually circulates.
Context: 18-month study in rural South Africa exploring maternal health information seeking.
Research
- In-depth Interviews: 25 rural mothers
- Co-design Workshops: 3 participatory sessions
- Community Partnership: Working with local health liaisons
Key Insights
1. Communal information needs. 18 of 25 mothers sought information on behalf of absent family members.
2. Trust through community validation. Information credibility came from the community, not app credentials.
3. Infrastructure constraints matter. Offline-first and feature phone compatibility are non-negotiable.
Impact
Framework for community-centred maternal health tech design. Ongoing partnership 2+ years later. Published in PDC and ACM CSCW.
What I learned: Building trust takes time. Consent must be renegotiated continuously, not just collected once.
View Publication
AI Literacy Workshops
Overview
Challenge: AI technologies deployed without community input or awareness. Communities needed tools to understand AI and imagine alternative futures.
Context: Speculative design workshops in Ocean View, Cape Town.
Research
- Speculative Design: Future scenarios to make AI concrete
- Story Circles: Collective sense-making about AI
- Participatory Activities: AI impact scenarios
Key Insights
1. Job displacement, not privacy. Unlike Western framing, concerns are centred on economic impacts.
2. Collective decision-making. People considered AI impacts on family, neighbours, and future generations.
3. Local control matters. Trust tied to understanding who controls AI, not technical sophistication.
Impact
Workshop methodology for AI literacy. Community gained vocabulary to discuss AI. Insights inspire an Ubuntu-informed relational co-design framework (PhD in progress).
What I learned: Speculative design helps communities engage abstract concepts. Facilitating futures conversations requires holding space for uncertainty.
View Publication
Publications
Peer-reviewed publications from my research in HCI, mHealth, and participatory design.
Journal Articles
Coleman T., Till S., Farao J., Shandu L., Khuzwayo N., Muthelo L., Mbombi M., Bopape M., van Heerden A., Mothiba T., Norris S., Verdezoto N., Densmore M. 2023. Reconsidering Priorities for Digital Maternal and Child Health: Community-centered Perspectives from South Africa. Proc. ACM Hum.-Comput. Interact. 7. CSCW2. Article 290.
Till S, Mkhize M, Farao J, et al. 2023. Digital Health Technologies for Maternal and Child Health in Africa and Other Low- and Middle-Income Countries: Cross-disciplinary Scoping Review. J Med Internet Res 2023;25:e42161.
Farao J., Malila B., Conrad N., Mutsvangwa T., Rangaka M.X., Douglas T.S., 2020. A user-centred design framework for mHealth. PLoS ONE 15(8): e0237910.
Farao J., 2020. Digital health communication in South Africa during COVID-19. Global Health Innovation, 3(1).
Conference Papers
Farao, J., Van Riel, S., Till, S.,..., Densmore, M. 2026. . I Participate, Therefore We Benefit: Ubuntu as a Relational Compass for Ethical Compensation in HCI. Proceedings of the 2026 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems (CHI ’26). 18 pages.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1145/3772318.3791981
Oluwatuyi, R., Pillay, V., Mazwi, J., Castro, A., Farao, J., Srivatsa, S., Bagalkot, N., Densmore, M. 2026. Collectively Reimagining Artificial Intelligence with Marginalized Communities. Proceedings of the 2026 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems (CHI ’26). 21 pages.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1145/3772318.3791421
Nanthanasit, A., Ppali, S., Farao, J.,..., Sukittanon, S., Covaci, A. 2025. Building a Digital Ecosystem for Community-Based Rehabilitation: Insights from a Multi-Platform Social Media Strategy in Thailand. Proceedings of the 2025 ACM Designing Interactive Systems Conference. 19 pages.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1145/3715336.3735802.
Farao, J., Pillai, A. G., Mthoko, H., Samuel, M., Atwa, M., Lazem, S. 2025. "This Journey is Never Truly Over, For the Ball I Carry is Always Moving": Future Obituaries and End-of-Life First Design. Proceedings of the Extended Abstracts of the CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems. 10 pages.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1145/3706599.3716237.
Farao, J., Mthoko, H., Densmore, M. 2024. Transformative Narratives: Fostering Ubuntu-Inspired Participatory Design Practices. Proceedings of the Participatory Design Conference 2024: Exploratory Papers and Workshops - Volume 2. 7 pages.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1145/3661455.3669878.
Till S., Farao J., et al. 2022. Community-based Co-design across Geographic Locations and Cultures: Methodological Lessons from Co-design Workshops in South Africa. Participatory Design Conference 2022 (PDC 2022).
Farao J., Burse M., Mthoko H., Densmore M., 2020. Stakeholder Relations and Ownership of a Community Wireless Network: The Case of iNethi. InterSol 2020. Springer LNICST, vol 321.
Conrad N., Farao J., 2020. Emergency remote teaching for design thinking in health innovation. Global Health Innovation, 3(2).
Workshop Papers
Farao, J., Pillai, A. G., Mthoko, H.,..., Lazem, S. 2025. Weaving Indigeneity and Culture into the Fabric of HCI Futures: African Threads. Proceedings of the 5th Biennial African Human Computer Interaction Conference. 6 pages.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1145/3757232.3757276.
Ppali, S., Constantinides, M., Liarokapis, F., Farao, J.,..., Covaci, A. 2025. Cite Your Well-being First: What Happens When Personal Life, Mental Health, and HCI Research Become Entangled?. Companion Publication of the 2025 ACM Designing Interactive Systems Conference. 5 pages.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1145/3715668.3734181.
Pendse, S., Wong, N., De Choudhury, M., Farao, J., Kumar, N.,..., Reddy, M. 2025. Beyond Culture: Centering Power, Reciprocity, and Justice in HCI and Mental Health Research. Proceedings of the Extended Abstracts of the CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems. 5 pages.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1145/3706599.3716292.
Farao, J., Pillai, A. G., Mthoko, H., Samuel, M., Elmimouni, H., Lazem, S. 2025. Weaving Indigeneity and Culture into the Fabric of HCI Futures. Proceedings of the Extended Abstracts of the CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems. 6 pages.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1145/3706599.3706737.
Farao, J., Pillai, A. G., Mthoko, H., Lazem, S., Samuel, M. 2024. Embracing Ubuntu: Mapping Communal Ecologies in Participatory Design for HCI Practice. Proceedings of the Participatory Design Conference 2024: Exploratory Papers and Workshops - Volume 2. 5 pages.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1145/3661455.3669899.
Theses
Master's: User-interface design and evaluation in a mobile application for detecting latent tuberculosis.
Honour's: Applying multi-layer perceptron methods to hand gesture control in robotics.
CV
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Contact
Interested in collaborating or discussing community-centred design? I'd love to hear from you.