lofo
DURATION
8 WEEKS
the task
User Research
UI/UX design
Wireframing
Prototyping
Iterating
ROLE
ME
MYSELF
I
TEAM
october 2023 - november 2023
DATE
FIGMA
PHOTOSHOP
ILLUSTRATOR
TOOLS
‘Develop a novel mobile application based on user research. You are required to develop a novel mobile application idea based on user research.’
It may relate to any area of University life e.g. finding food on campus, money management, sports facilities, social life, charity work etc.
Aim to support a specific activity rather than a broad range of activities.
The application must be different to the functions within the myLboro app.
Choose a focus for your design that relates to a particular activity rather than University life in general.
the problem?
students find it hard to find events going on on campus without proper direction.
BREAKDOWN OF THE PROBLEM
Students who are new to the university, suffer from things like anxiety, or those who may not have access to large numbers of people may have difficulty meeting and starting friendships with people outside of their course or their living spaces. Although a number of events can be discovered through the Freshers fairs, some people may not attend, and they may not know where to find information on what's going on around campus afterwards.
Collecting people for events is a common need. From students needing a certain number of people from a specific demographic to complete a research survey to wanting enough players for a team game at the last minute -the situation comes in many forms, but the issue is the same. Needing people for something.
Students feel like they are alone
As students prepare for freshers’ week, new research commissioned by the Government has found that while loneliness is experienced by almost all students (92%), nearly half (43%) worry they would be judged if they admitted to feeling lonely.
Students feel like they don’t have a comfortable way to seek out remedies for their loneliness.
The research, collected by YouGov, has indicated that over half (53%) feel more uncomfortable seeking help for loneliness; a higher proportion than any other concern listed.
however, research showed that joining a society or club was the most helpful intervention, with (42%) of those who did this as a result of feeling lonely saying it was the most helpful action they took.
Students struggle to find events to attend for several reasons →
time limitations
No social connections
Lack of awareness
Money concerns
Lack of interest in events available
BREAKDOWN OF THE PROBLEM
I conducted interviews with 8 students to find out more about their approaches to finding events happening on campus. I also conducted a survey which received a further 14 responses.
In order to develop a better understanding of the approaches employed by students who are successful in discovering events, in comparison to those utilised by students who face challenges in finding events, I asked them the following questions, which i then organised through affinity mapping:
When was the last time you attended an event on campus?
How do you normally find events to go to on campus?
When you attend these events, do you prefer to go solo or with others?
How often do you go to an event only to find out that the venue is overcrowded?
Do you find it challenging to find events that align with your interests?
when was the last time you attended an event on campus?
how do you normally find events to go to on campus?
Users will most likely find out about events directly through other people.
✶ 64% of students voted that they normally find events to attend by accompanying a friend who knows of them.
“I usually just go with my friend. I don't even know how she finds the events but if it sounds fun then i don't really mind going”
“I’m new so i dont actually know where to find stuff to do… they're always over when I see ones im interested in”
“I joined a fresher group chat so people usually drop things in there”
When you attend these events, do you prefer to go solo or with others?
Students prefer to attend events with others rather than on their own.
“If it’s more of a social event, i can try to go on my own but for sports I usually take a friend so I have someone to partner up with”
“I usually text my mate to ask if hes doing anything”
“Ive been trying to get out of my comfort zone so ive been going to a bunch of freshers tasters on my own to make friends there since I haven't really made any yet”
WHEN YOU ATTEND EVENTS, WHAT IS THE ROOM CAPACITY LIKE?
Events tend to attract a larger crowd than venues can comfortably accommodate.
“I remember when I went to a clay modelling tester session and there were so many people that there wasnt even enough clay for me to participate”
“If i knew that events were too busy i would just save my time and do something else”
“I get kind of anxious when the place is too filled”
IS IT HARD FOR YOU TO FIND EVENTS THAT ALIGN WITH YOUR INTERESTS?
Students find it hard to find events that they’re interested in attending.
“No offense but im only really interested in doing fun stuff at the moment”
“I scrolled through the societies list on the website but i didn't really find anything i wanted to try that i haven't already”
“I have a really niche hobby so i dont think anyone would host an event about it. I wish i could”
“I want to find events to take part in but its excessive to keep checking many different sources all the time”
Key pain points
“I want to find events that are actually related to my interests but its hard to know which filters these are under because they're described vaguely on the site.”
“I don't hear about some events before they happen and that means i miss out on them”
“Sometimes I want to go to busy events but other times i'd prefer something more peaceful.”
Key Insights
Students want to be able to find events on time through a centralised system.
THEME 1: SYSTEM
Students are reluctant to spend too much time scrolling, feel that this time could be used for other things.
Complicated, outdated designs leave them feeling unsure of themselves.
Users want to find events that are within their range of interests.
Theme 2: interests
Although recommendations provided by friends might bring a few events to light, suggestions may not be able to cover all possible interests users may have.
When provided with clear genre filters, the chances of students successfully finding events to attend are increased.
The current design of the website isn't streamlined enough which discourages students from utilising it.
Theme 3: efficiency
When designs are modern and user friendly, students say they feel encouraged that details are kept up to date and accurate.
Interviewees were adamant on the fact that university is a busy place, so their time is limited.
USER PERSONAS
The fresher student Danielle, 19
“I'm excited to be able to have a completely fresh start. I moved across the country to go to university here, so I don't know anyone, but I hope to make great friendships and memories!”
Danielle is a fine arts student who is currently living in off campus student accommodation. She wants to make the most of her university experience and try many new things, including joining a few societies. At her previous school, she had a small friend circle due to her introverted nature, but she hopes to be able to put herself out there and get to know many different types of students. She enjoys watching videos about interior design and enjoys baking for people, and finds it easier to study when she's around other people, as their presence motivates her to be more productive.
Goals
Find events to attend where there are a large variety of people
Try some new activities out
Find comfortable study spaces
Make some long term friends
Motivations
Finding a studying routine that works well
Healthy work and personal life balance will improve mental health
Finding potential new hobbies to work on
Learning about the facilities available on campus
Frustrations
Hard to find events because she doesn't know the layout of the university yet
Doesn't really see the people on her accommodation floor due to conflicting schedules
Sometimes forgets to attend events if she doesn't set a reminder
Gets distracted easily
Feels guilty for sometimes not committing to group outings
The determined third year student Jay, 22
Jay is a third year student in his penultimate year of study. He lives in a shared apartment with three friends he met during his time at the university. He enjoys lively social events where he gets to enjoy different forms of media, from music to spoken word and theatre performances. He and his roommates host a weekly game night every Friday, where they invite a few friends over and play games together on the tv in their living room. While living on his own in his second year, he felt overwhelmed when his studies were getting tougher, and isolated himself a lot. He feels much better in his current living environment, and is content with his current work rate.
“I want to make sure to balance work and rest this year - last year I got completely overwhelmed with work and isolated myself. I’ll work hard and play hard!”
Goals
Find group study spaces that work well for him
To spend some dedicated time exercising weekly to improve his physical and mental health
Work on maintaining an organised weekly schedule
Save money towards getting a new car for work after graduation
Devote time to mindfulness and meditation to prevent being overwhelmed by stress
Motivations
Avoiding a negative emotional spiral and falling into old ways
Feeling accomplished and guilt free when resting
Doing well in coursework tasks and exams
Reassuring self of ability and preventing imposter syndrome
Frustrations
Sometimes feels guilty about doing fun things when work is not finished
Feels like he's missing out when he has to miss events to study or complete coursework
Sometimes ignores mental health for responsibilities
Feels like his routine is repetitive and boring
Feels like hes spending a lot of money on events that hes not enjoying enough
WHATS THE CURRENT PATH LIKE?
what we have vs what we want
the current user journey on the university site
events that are fully booked don’t inform you of this until you reach the booking page.
the news and events section does not provide the type of events we are looking for!
theres no indication that a filter has been applied when it has been… applied.
the activities list is more of a list of genres. its also extremely long.
storyboard
proposed information architecture
i started off with a series of quick sketches ON PAPER TO HELP ME GENERATE SOME IDEAS. For the first IDEA iteration, the images were quick photoshop mockups. We were not allowed to use figma for the task to allow a fair playing ground. I have now created these in figma alongside my improvements for the next iteration ->
the design process
i conducted studies with the paper prototypes that i had created, interviewing four students from the university. below are summarisations of the first version and second iteration paper prototype testing. i had them complete multiple tasks, involving the main user flow that the app would follow, and a few other features that were designed to be the most frequently used.
checking in with the users
MAJOR FEATURES THAT WERE DECIDED ON WERE..?
Search for events using a campus exclusive map
When using a list of all events initially, users are discouraged and unsure about the total length of the page, making them reluctant to even start.
Providing a visual of where events as well as listed options provides instant gratification for the user by allowing them to see live activity
Event creation facilities
Students may sometimes like to find guests for events, or collect surveyed information. This feature allows students to host events by filling in a form to give other students more information when they are browsing the app.
Event recommendations
Events that are filed under the categories that the student has selected as their favourites will be shown on the screen with priority.
Adequate filtering options
Feedback from users allowed us to discover that the original filtering systems for event searching were not comprehensive enough. They were confusing and caused frustrations for the user.
Filtering options have been designed to include visual aid and more specific options to help file down potentially larger lists of information.
FIRST (OLD) ITERATION - PHOTOSHOP
WIREFRAMING STARTS!
connecting the pages together
(SEVERAL ITERATIONS LATER)
As stated before, this was a revision of my first ever UX project - I was really excited when the module coursework was announced, and I'm grateful to have been able to go back to the project after learning more from the google UX design certificate. Here are a few takeaways from my experience:
takeaways
Quality over quantity - sometimes having too many features when trying to create an app that solves every problem causes more issues than it solves.
There's no such thing as a dumb question - every student is unique and in order to create a product that takes all users into consideration, we need to ask questions. Our personal experiences aren't universal - understanding each user type requires me to speak to others with an open heart and a determination to understand. I shouldn't expect myself to already know how everyone's experience is - that's unrealistic. And in the end, pushing myself to ask questions, even those that may be seen as ‘dumb’ helped me to collect the information that I used to make the app better for everyone.
newer doesn’t mean better - sometimes you don’t have to change things just for the sake of changing them. for the sake of saying theyre ‘brand new’. if something is done well, you can just polish it up while keeping the essence the same. remember - you’re aiming to make things better.