Pooled
Roles: Solo UX/UI Designer, Research
Scope: Conceptual mobile app, Social/Listing platform
Duration: 12 weeks
Scope: Conceptual mobile app, Social/Listing platform
Duration: 12 weeks
PROBLEM
Efficient use of household items...
Think of how often you’ve seen a garage sale, with the entire front yard littered with items practically being given away. Or better yet think of the items you have stashed away in your own household. Finding a use case for these items is important, and can benefit others at the same time.
THE SOLUTION
Reusability is key
A platform allows users to borrow and lend items within their community, allowing avenues into more meaningful interactions.
LITERARTURE REVIEW
Seeking ways to explore reusability
To better understand the topic I dove deeper with secondary research. As a result I was able to define the scope of the problem, and gained insight into what a potential solution would look like.
80% of household items are used less than once a month
COMPETITIVE ANALYSIS
Not working for mutual benefit
I analyzed the 3 of the most popular apps surrounding this social/listing space to get a pulse on the existing market. What I found was that most of them had difficulty balancing the desires of users on both sides of a transaction; the experience was driven by two independent purposes instead of communicating to achieve a net positive.
Facebook
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eBay
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Nextdoor
SURVERYS & USER INTERVIEWS
Narrowing things down
With information gathered in the literature review, I wanted to find out exactly what the biggest pain points and highlights were for homeowners. After a screening survey I interviewed 5 users to explore their wants, needs, and reasonings behind their actions.
INSIGHTS & SYNTHESIS
Users were on board with the idea of reusability but not sure how to act
Research showed that behavior was dictated by a few common factors: convenience, opportunity cost, and underlying social expectations. When making purchases, consumers have to consider the retention cost on top of the actual price.
Also, oftentimes people hold themselves to different standards than they do others. Most said that they take better care of borrowed items than their own. In cases like these, perception of social situations is key
Also, oftentimes people hold themselves to different standards than they do others. Most said that they take better care of borrowed items than their own. In cases like these, perception of social situations is key
PERSONAS
Representing user voices
Defining the personas helped me propose user-centric solutions and define of their goals and problems throughout the design process.
PROBLEM STATEMENT
How might we make it easier for residents to share tools with their neighbors?
USER FLOWS & HIERARCHY
Mapping potential journeys
Next, I wanted to visualize how the app is laid out and how users interact with the app. I created flows to flesh out the features and functionalities in different scenarios, and a sitemap to define the architecture.
ROUGH SKETCHES
Shaping the designs
I started designing with some rough sketches and conducted informal tests with friends and family to shape the initial product.
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MID-FIDELITY WIREFRAMES
Setbacks and re-focusing on reusability
I designed wireframes and conducted initial tests for the experiences that would most commonly be encountered by users. I had immediately tried to build out solutions without prioritizing research insights. The result was an unfocused design that was more confusing than beneficial. Trimming and integrating features allowed for a more intuitive experience.
The Style Guide
USABILITY TESTING
Two rounds of tests...
The first round was done after building out my initial wireframes and the second round was done after completing the initial prototype. Seven out of eight participants mentioned having excess of household articles.
Participants were given various scenarios to complete such as borrowing an item or adding a listing. I observed their actions and asked follow-up questions to explore their reasoning. This combined with feedback from my mentor allowed me to iterate my design over the course of the project.
Participants were given various scenarios to complete such as borrowing an item or adding a listing. I observed their actions and asked follow-up questions to explore their reasoning. This combined with feedback from my mentor allowed me to iterate my design over the course of the project.
"I like that it's centered specifically around where I live."
"The steps in the listing process make it pretty clear where I am."
PROTOTYPE ITERATIONS
Three important changes in the design
Based on feedback from 8 interviewees and my mentor, I continually iterated my design to streamline flows and improve visual elements.
Final Product
NEXT STEPS
Moving forward
While I’m very happy with how the product turned out, there is always room for improvement. If I gave myself more time, here are some of the next steps I would take:
- Adjust onboarding to collect data that can enhance app experience. (Survey for location data and automatically input parameters into search)
- Add in-app banners for important notifications and point values.
- Flesh out interactions like swiping, holding, and hover/pressed states.
LESSONS LEARNED
My main takeaways
- Do your homework. This was far and away the most research that I’ve done for any project. At times some of it could feel unnecessary, but it paid dividends when I actually got to the designing stage of the process. I largely avoided the headache of overhauling designs since I always had references to fall back on and guide me.
- Find a balance. When creating a design there is only so much real estate to work with. It’s not well defined but users can definitely tell when screens are too cluttered or are missing something. Elements need to be designed with purpose and balance the cost of screen real estate with their function for the user.
- Take it in stride. Also far and away the most feedback I had to process I’ve had to process for a project, some of it seemingly conflicting. It is shockingly easy to try and defend your designs, immediately categorizing feedback into “useful” or “not useful” and writing things off. Criticisms that you don’t agree with can hold the best insights as they provide a different perspective.
