iOS Mobile App Concept
Developed mobile app experience for new social app
Overview
The goal of this project was to create a new lifestyle app concept which addresses a current user problem and design an innovative solution. My role consisted of conducting research, design and testing a mobile app MVP.
Bilby is a new platform for users to discover and connect with others about podcasts. Finding new content should be fun and engaging. By learning the user’s interests, Bilby will recommend new content and groups to connect on similar topics and genres. Users can interact with other fans of their favorite podcasts, asking questions about topics and solicit suggestions from others on what to listen to next.
My role consisted of conducting research, design and testing of the mobile design.
My Role:UX/UI Designer, UX Researcher
Tools Utilized: Pen and Paper, Figma, Zoom, Maze.co, Google Forms, Google Drive
Duration: 2 Weeks
The Problem
Podcast listeners need a way to discover new content that is personalized for them because it takes a lot of effort and time to browse through so many podcasts which makes it difficult to choose and listen to one.
The Proposed Solution
By curating content options into tailored suggestions to the user, we will reduce information overload and increase user ability to make a decision quickly, thus increasing user conversion rate and future retention.
Market Research, Competitor Analysis, Research Survey, 1:1 Interviews
I performed various methods of research in order to obtain as many qualitative and quantitative data points as possible for the Bilby mobile app. I began with market research looking at podcast statistics as well as trends in personalization of content, then performed a competitor analysis of direct and indirect competition of podcast apps and lifestyle apps. I created and conducted a survey of podcast listeners to understand user needs and gather information about their motivations and influences for discovering new podcast content. Finally, I conducted brief 1:1 interviews with participants within the target demographic.
Summary of Findings
User Persona and Journey Map
After collecting my research findings, I crafted my user persona that best represented my ideal user’s goals and pain points.
Meghan is a 34 year old mom who works as a Marketing Manager in Washington, DC. She listens to podcasts regularly and her podcast interests include mental health, motherhood, and business. She is an optimistic person and values the opinions of others in her decisions. She has been looking for an app to download that would give her more personalized recommendations, read reviews, browse suggestions from friends and podcast experts. She is also interested in joining a listening group with her friends through an app that would allow her to discuss content together in one location.
To conceptualize the persona further, I developed a journey map detailing the initial download experience with the app. This helped me paint a picture of what Meghan needs to fulfill her goal of discovering new podcast content, saving shows, and connecting with others about podcasts she likes.
Feature Roadmap, Site Map, and User Flow
Following my research, I created a feature roadmap based on categorizing user insights and market research information in order to guide my design process. More details can be found in the Feature Roadmap. I also designed a site map to visualize the organizational structure and user’s potential options within each page of the app.
User Flow
I created a user flow in order to imagine how my persona Meghan would navigate through the Bilby app. My flow involved Meghan creating an account, completing her onboarding quiz, reviewing her matches, finding a podcast show, saving it, joining a group, and creating a new ask to the community.
Brand and Logo Design
Because Bilby is a new concept, I designed a logo and defined their branding. The idea for the name Bilby comes from an adorable animal from Australia that is a rabbit-bandicoot hybrid. The key words I felt embodied Bilby were “friendly,” “witty,” “cheerful,” and “youthful.” I took these adjectives and created a mood board using Pinterest, curating images, typography, logos, and color schemes that evoked my vision. I developed a color palette and started searching for a typeface that felt in line with my idea.
Sketches
Next I began sketching out some key screens: sign in flows, onboarding interest quiz, homescreen, and podcast show pages. I also developed wireflow sketches to visualize the user flow. During this process, I considered what important information needed to be displayed, how users would interact with elements on the page, how information should be arranged, and kept in mind the visual goals of the brand (friendly, witty, cheerful, and youthful).
Lo-Fidelity Wireframes & Style Tile
I iterated on my sketches and I moved onto wireframes for each screen. I made sure to have consistent formatting and strong wireframes before incorporating styled elements.
After I created my wireframes, I put together my mid-fidelity UI screens in Figma. I decided to design the app in a darkmode palette to appeal to users who are now shifting towards darker app interfaces. This process took me several days to ensure I was keeping with usability standards and accessibility.
Once I was happy with the visual aspects of my design, I compiled my elements into a comprehensive UI kit.
Hi-Fidelity Prototype and Usability Testing
To test my Bilby app experience, I converted the screens into a prototype using Figma and included different interactive elements like hover states, button states, and overlays in order to make the experience feel like a real mobile app.
I chose to perform my usability testing unmonitored through Maze.co. I recruited five participants to complete 5 missions and provide feedback in open ended questions after each mission and at the end to rate their experience. Because this was my first time using this platform to perform usability testing, I found it difficult to obtain detailed responses from participants and probe deeper into their thoughts as you could with a moderated test. Users struggled with completing missions laid out for them and led to missed opportunities.
Affinity Map
I compiled the responses of my usability test from Maze.co into an affinity map. This helped me synthesize the results into a visual manner and determine wins, struggles, and suggestions. I identified areas of improvement by importance based on the number of similar comments and the severity of the failure.
.png)
Summary of Feedback
Iteration & Implementation
Based on these results, I decided to go back and implement changes to those issues I identified as top and high priority. The following changes were made to the prototype to accommodate my findings:
This project taught me two important lessons:
