Get To Know Your City
About the Project
I designed Zone as part of CareerFoundy's UX Designer Course.
The goal was to create a scavenger hunt app that is compelling and makes users open the app, not just do a scavenger hunt.
My Role
Product Conception
Market Research
User Research & Analysis
Persona Creation
User Journeys
Architectural
Wireframes
UI Design & Prototyping
Usability Testing
Problem Statement
Our scavengers need a way to engage in a scavenger hunt specific to their developmental level because they want to participate in a hunt that they can succeed in. We will know this to be true when we see a spike of downloads and when our users give us positive reviews.
Solution Statement
Users will have the option to scroll through our pre- programmed hunts, or create their own. We will create hunts friendly for younger users, and more advanced ones for older individuals.
Personas
When coming up with the needs that this project had, I created multiple user personas. These personas were lifelike examples of who our users could be. This allowed me to imagine what their needs/desires would be for the app, and build from that.
- When brainstorming about the needs that the app had, I created the user personas so that I could imagine what the needs of those personas would be, and then improve the app according to those needs.
- When creating my personas, I conducted user research and surveys, allowing me to learn about the type of audience that would be using this app.
- When presenting this information to the product team, I first asked them who they thought the target audience for this app would be. From there, I introduced them to these personas, and the potential needs they each had.
- These personas influenced the design process in many ways. For example, when conducting user research I learned that people of this target audience wanted to end up in a location where they could eat or have a treat. From there, I created the options for the scavenger hunts, according to those found desires of the personas.
Interviews
When conducting my research interviews for this project, my goal was to get valuable information from the users by keeping things simple and straightforward and helping the user to feel comfortable. To accomplish that, I created an interview script that I followed, introducing myself and explaining the purpose of the interview and exactly what would happen throughout the interview.
- I chose this research method because I love working with people, and this method allowed me as the researcher to get to know my audience on a personal level.
- I tried to use mostly open-ended questions, in hopes to understand more about the user and their preferences when using apps.
- I interviewed 5 individuals for this project.
- I was most curious about whether or not people had ever participated in a scavenger hunt, and what they liked about it.
Wireframes
Example
At the beginning of my design process I created wireframes for testing purposes.
Guiding Questions
Why was it useful to do this?
What kind of wireframes did you make?
Low fidelity or high fidelity?
What tool did you use for this?
Did you use them for testing?
How many iterations did you have?
User Journey
I mapped out the user's journey in order to see what their priorities and goals were when using the app. This allowed me to make adjustments to the app in order to help users reach their goals more efficiently.
During the interview process, I asked users what their main goal would be when using the app. This helped me to create meaningful goals for the personas.
To demonstrate how the users feel throughout their journey, I created a graph that shows the fluctuation in their emotions. That graph helped me to understand the emotions that are felt while using the app.
Understanding the thoughts that the user had while using the app helped me to improve certain steps to make the app more directed to their needs.
Card Sorting
I used card sorting to help me prioritize categories in the app.
- The home page had the most challenges, as we started out with too many options on that page. We were able to narrow down the options by card sorting.
- The card sorting method I used was the closed online method.
- The participants grouped the information by creating their own groups, pairing some of the features together into categories.
- The new navigation method I suggested was a new system for app and website. This new system included three options at the bottom of each page, and the other options were included on a screen that they could scroll through.
Sketches
I usually start the design process with low fidelity wireframes. This is the way I iterate through many design options quickly.
The main purpose of my sketches was to keep programming costs down.
The knowledge I gained about the user's goals helped me to add the features that were most desired by them to my prototype.
I chose to use a low fidelity prototype and then tested. I then moved on to use a high fidelity prototype and then tested again.
Wireframes
At the beginning of my design process, I created wireframes for testing purposes, and to keep costs lower for the project.
This was useful to put ideas on paper, and then test it on potential users.
I made low fidelity wireframes, as well as high fidelity wireframes.
The tool I used to accomplish this was Adobe XD.
I used these wireframes for testing.
I had four iterations of the wireframes.
User Testing
I love conducting user testing because it helps me to see if users understand what we as a team came up with. It allows me one last opportunity to be a user's advocate, and make improvements to the project before launching.
- The main aim of the user testing was to see if the user was able to complete designated tasks.
- Nearly in each phase of the project, some form of user testing was conducted in order to check the progress of the project and to ensure that we were heading in the right direction.
- The test subjects were potential users, chosen from the type of target audience we were aiming to serve.
- The methods I used for testing were remote as well as in person. I found that the most effective method was by far the in-person method of testing.
- The user's insights impacted the design of the project immensely because if the user didn't understand how to navigate through a certain part of the app, I would go back to the drawing board and make corrections.
Main Takeaway
I learned that each of these skills can be so valuable in certain situations and that it is important to learn to recognize which skills to use in each project because not each of them is necessary for every single project.
- My biggest struggle with this project was that it was theoretical.
- I overcame this struggle by focusing on the valuable skills I was learning throughout this process.