Wherever - Case Study Presentation
Project length: August 15 - August 30 (Roughly 2 weeks)
Position: UX Researcher & UI Designer
Project Objective: Designing an MVP, end-to-end application.
Programs used: Figma, Optimal Workshop, Google Office
Introduction
Background
When it comes to finding a new date spot, where is it that people search? Some people simply rely on word of mouth. Some people scroll endlessly through Instagram or Tik Tok. There just aren’t a lot of apps that offer good, honest suggestions. As a result, we are spending a lot of our time endless scrolling and searching.
Problem
How can we create an app for users to suggest ideal date spots based on their preference? How can we save users’ valuable time and curate a reasonable list of locations based on their area and interests?
Research Goal
My goal is to find out if there are any apps that offer a similar solution, what their interfaces look like, what their flows are like, and what is it that users like about these apps. I’m also wanting to find out from users what their ideal process would be like.
Research Findings
The apps that align closest to what I am visualizing are Google Maps and Yelp. Surprisingly, there weren’t a lot of other apps that were offering the same product. The problems with both Yelp and Google Maps is that there is too much information overload.
With Instagram or Tik Tok, a lot of date spots could be “falsely advertised”. That is the problem with social media. Someone with a high follower count could get a completely different experience from a regular person due to their “clout”. I want to avoid this problem as much as possible.
User Interviews
In this process, I created an interview script consisting of 12 questions and was able to interview 5 participants. I wanted to ask their familiarity with my competitor apps, how they go about finding date spots, and what an ideal date spot finding app would look like to them.
I discovered that ratings and reviews are an incredibly important factor. Simply put, the more ratings and higher reviews a date spot has, the more willing some is to go to that date spot. It’s completely understandable. Not a lot of people would be willing to waste their time on an unknown location.
Pictures are helpful. It helps the user get an even better idea of what they’re about to experience. Whether it’s a restaurant, a museum, or a park, if they are able to visualize something, they are more open to going there.
Feature Roadmap
Once I completed my competitor research and user interviews, I made a list of features that were a Must-Have for my app.
Creating User Flows
I always want the user flows for all my apps to be as efficient as possible. I created a user flow chart for someone that simply searches for a specific category and adds the date spot to their list. Then I created a more complex user flow for someone that is unsure of their first decision, browses again, and finalizes on a date spot.
Low Fidelity Wireframes
I was inspired by the design of some of my competitor’s apps. It was very simple and minimal. Ultimately, for my Lo Fi wireframes, I wanted to create the foundation of my app. It was important to incorporate all of the Must-Have’s from my feature list and then go from there.
UI Design Elements
I decided to call my app Wherever. My competitor apps used colors like green or red, so I chose to go with blue. After adding some icons, images, and typeface to my Lo Fi wireframes, I felt that these new Hi Fi wireframes were ready to be tested.
Testing
I reached out again to the three participants that I had interviewed in the earlier process of this project. I wanted them to test out what I had created so far. I had assigned them all 2 tasks. The first task was to find the LACMA using the categories and add it to their favorites list. The second task was to find the LACMA using the search bar and pull up the directions to it.
All in all, my participants were able to accomplish their tasks without any problems. The process felt very smooth overall. I received positive feedback from most of the participants.
Iterations
Of course, no product is perfect. After a few discussions with my mentor and some participants, I made some final iterations. Most of the changes were UI-related changes.
Final Product
Reflection
With this project being my final capstone, I’m content with what I’ve created so far. I know that there will always be new things to learn along the way and I am ready for it. I’m thankful for all the learning opportunities I’ve received so far and I am ready to take the next step in my journey.