Home Aid- A UX/UI Case Study
Roles: Product Designer, UX Researcher
Method: Double Diamond Process
Project Duration: 2 weeks
What is homelessness?
Being without a permanent, secure, and functional place to live is referred to as homelessness or houselessness. Rough sleeping, which includes sleeping in vehicles or other non-human habitations like stairwells or public spaces, is often its most obvious form. Nevertheless there are other types of homelessness as well, which are frequently overlooked such as hidden homelessness. This is due to the fact that the majority of individuals who experience homelessness are not included in official statistics; as a result, they are unlikely to request or be eligible for housing assistance. Numerous individuals sleep in public transportation, hostels, squats, and other inappropriate places, or they “sofa surf” with friends and relatives.
For an array of factors, individuals are more probable to become homeless. Social factors include things such as lack of affordable housing, unemployment, distinct personal circumstances, and issues with mental and physical health. Individuals that are driven into homelessness include people who leave prison, care facilities, or the army without having an adequate place to live, as well as those who are in domestic violence situations, refugees, and many more groups, according to crisis.org.uk.
How has it changed over the past 10 years?
Based on information gathered by the Ministry of Communities Housing and Local Government, there are currently 12 persons sleeping on the streets for every ten that there were ten years ago. The population of people experiencing hidden homelessness is constantly increasing, consequently the actual figure is likely substantially higher and indicates a significant increase in the issue in recent years. Along with its rise has come an increase in the need for healthcare for those without a stable address — a group that shares many characteristics with rough sleepers. Recent data shows that this increase has increased to a factor of roughly 3.5 since 2010/11. This is consistent with the mostrecent study on the precise medical issues observed in people who were rough sleeping in Westminster in 2023.
What impact has COVID-19 had on the homelessness?
Globally, COVID-19 has had a positive impact on homelessness. Under the “Everyone in” campaign, the government’s primary approach to the issue was to support those who were sleeping on the streets. The initiative gave local authorities broad instructions to accommodate the “37,000” people who were being evacuated to hotels and other accommodations in the UK in order to safeguard them during the pandemic.
However, Anderson 2022 claims that, considering the scope and intensity of the program, the overall drop in the number of persons observed sleeping outside was less than anticipated, therefore in the long term, this did not matter. This was partly brought about by the expansive scope of the Everyone In response, a large number of individuals were found who, in the past, would have been assumed to either not meet the legal requirements for accommodations or to not have been contacted by outreach teams. Some individuals decided that the provided shelter was unsuitable and returned back to sleeping outside.
What am I going to do?
I intend to develop an app for this project that will attempt to relieve the burden that comes with homelessness. I’ll suggest a user experience that helps and informs users about essential information that can help someone who is in risk of homelessness. The application ought to be user-friendly and captivating, taking into account hardware-enabled components like social media capabilities, NFC, Bluetooth, and geolocation services, among others, as means to expand the app’s functionality.
The deliverables I will be presenting will be 3 screens: the home screen and the two other screens. In addition, I’ll be using the Double Diamond Process approach to offer significant information regarding my user research and design methodology. Additionally, I’ll be performing my own research on other websites and apps created to tackle homelessness, which I’ll then utilise and integrate into my own design configurations to meet user needs and lessen the burden of homelessness.
The problem statement
In order to lower their chances of homelessness, people who have just been released from care, prison, hospitals or fled from domestic situations, need some way to guarantee successful local community integration.
Hypothesis -
To achieve the objective of the project, I will carry out a variety of research methods, including user, secondary, and business research, in order to create an app that supportsand educates those whose lives are at risk of homelessness. With the support of useful resources, I hope this app will serve as a long-term guide that will eventually assist users in lowering their risk substantially or in getting off the streets entirely.
My outcomes for the app are to make it simple, easy to use, accessible to those with cognitive, auditory, and visual impairments, age- and gender-neutral, and provide a seamless user experience.
Research Phase
Competitor Analysis -
Conducting a competitor analysis, which is a method for gathering quantitative and qualitative data about a company’s direct and indirect competitors and their goods and services, will be my initial point of research. Indirect competitors, on the other hand, are businesses that may make comparable goods but do not operate in the same industry as direct competitors. Direct competitors are businesses that share the same industry, products, or services. This analysis aids in determining their strengths and weaknesses as well as what specifically propels company success and what can be avoided. In regards to the app, this will aid me in making adequate decisions for its’ design and function.
My analysis on competitors associated with combating homelessness can be viewed below;
Competitor Analysis Findings
All of the apps have a fairly comparable layout. They are user friendly, and within first use, they immediately request GPS location to find the best options for the user and provide local services that offer support and in the case of Too Good To Go- local cafes/restaurants. These are excellent illustrations of applications that prioritise the requirements of their users — in this case, rough sleepers and individuals who face homelessness — by considering all relevant factors from their point of view. They understand how crucial it is to make their apps fully functional, particularly in emergency situations and for the purpose of safeguarding individuals.
Furthermore, the apps employ icons, particularly on their landing (home) pages, to promote interaction and provide a rapid flow of information. They also utilise the addition of hamburger menus, which are a typical element of mobile app designs. With the exception of Street Link, every app has a filter function that lets users save time by selecting only those that meet certain requirements.
It was unexpected to learn from my research that there hadn’t been many apps created to help the homeless, or that there were some that had not yet been built or were not available in my region. With the exception of Street Link and Too Good To Go, two applications had not received any reviews out of all the ones I was able to locate and analyse. In a Charity Crisis evaluation, it was found that although 87% of outreach teams had a “positive impression” of Street Link, just 33% of rough sleepers shared this sentiment, with more than half viewing it negatively since it was not quick or simple.
Furthermore, It was surprising to discover that, despite being an indirect rival, Too Good To Go was the most popular app of the ones I had chosen. Users have given the app a high rating of 4.9/5 because they consider it to be highly useful and convenient. This has led to great engagement and positive feedback, which you can see below.
User Research
Since I lacked the means to undertake primary research, I made the decision to concentrate only on acquiring secondary data in order to obtain a better accurate picture of homelessness in the modern world and the problems that affect those who experience it.
I have discovered that one issue that homeless individuals frequently deal with is the deterioration of their health and access to medical care. Homeless.org claims that such individuals have lower physical and mental health than the general public, which results in poor diagnoses and more obstacles to receiving care. Additionally, a report from the Office of National Statistics in 2021 backs up this claim. When compared to the general population of England and Wales, the findings demonstrated that over twice as many persons who were classified as homeless reported having poor or very poor health.
Similarly, a local HealthWatch report from recently on 1,200 homeless people discovered that one of the problems keeping people from accessing healthcare assistance is that they cannot provide a valid address or appropriate identification. Furthermore, some GP practices decline to register persons without an address, despite the fact they are not legally required to do so in order to become a patient. This highlights covert prejudice in the healthcare system towards those who are homeless.
As I conducted this research, it became abundantly evident to me from the previously mentioned issue that the repercussions of homelessness vary from case to case. In the words of one homeless person who spoke with the Guardian, “No two stories are similar and there seems to be no predictable path from a comfortable home to a life on the streets.”
In addition, basic needs, income, and access to food and shelter are major problems faced by the homeless population. Living on the streets puts additional pressure on them due to their lack of resources, namely income. They also lack a place to call home and are consumed with finding a way to feed themselves constantly. All of this causes their fundamental needs — clean clothes, water, and food — to be disregarded, which makes it harder for them to escape this situation.
User Persona
In ux design, user personas are an essential element that stem from qualitative user research. Making a persona will assist me as a designer in comprehending the demands, experiences, behaviours, as well as goals of my users. It will enable me to provoke strong emotions while encouraging connection with the audience I am targeting. I was able to develop a persona that will direct me through my ideation process and help me develop ideas that offer a fairly positive user experience by leveraging the secondary research I gathered.
Ideation Phase-
Mind Map
I created a mind map as my initial ideation technique. Mind maps are useful for swiftly adding and arranging ideas and thoughts in a format that is easy to look back on and expand upon. It was helpful to me in my instance since it provided me with a better understanding of the features, functionality, and scope of my application.
User Flow
I had a much clearer notion of the features I wanted my app to include given that I had previously constructed a mind map, therefore my next ideation technique was to develop a user flow. I was able to map out the user’s journey through the application using the user flow, including every step they took from the point of entry to the last interaction.
It was essential to me to take into account the user persona I developed and the findings from the secondary research when creating the user flow. By doing this, I was able to ensure that I remained on course while addressing the demands of the users throughout the design process, and I also gained a deeper understanding and empathy for users.
Crazy 8s
I choose to brainstorm ideas into visual designs using the crazy 8s method. Using an 8-minute timer, this technique involves drawing 8 distinct designs, ideally spending 1 minute on each design. This method makes it possible for non-designers to participate and generates a large number of concepts quickly. I found it difficult to precisely arrange the content of my designs, so after experimenting with this method, I also used the straw man proposal to add further details to improve the clarity and visual appeal of my designs.
Straw Man Proposal
The straw man approach is frequently used to address user issues in a more methodical way. Design teams can discuss, breakdown, and refine their work using this technique, which focuses on potential innovations, improvements, or adjustments based on an initial draft. The process involves getting participants together and having each person work on a design for ten minutes at a time. The group gets together when the allotted time is up and discusses insightful feedback. In my instance, I drew up one of my crazy 8s home screen concepts once more and spent ten minutes refining it.
Wireframing Phase
In this phase, I took care to develop designs on frames that, assuming their
circumstances, homeless individuals likely would own. In this case, it was the iPhone 8 frame. Furthermore, in an effort to gradually diminish the problem completely, I made sure to incorporate features that catered to all users, regardless of whether they had become homeless or not.
Low Fidelity Wireframes
Sketches from my crazy 8s and Straw Man proposal served as a foundation as I developed three app screens into low fidelity wireframes. The home screen, the support screen, and the profile screen formed made up the three screens. I chose to create the screens from the perspective of my user persona as I wanted to make sure that I addressed all the problems that I found during my research and that I kept the user at the forefront for all of my decisions. In order to add to the final screen layouts, I also made the decision to incorporate various elements from my brainstorming sketches into my designs.
Mid Fidelity Wireframes
I modified my low fidelity wireframes into mid fidelity wireframes for the following step. During this phase, I made significant adjustments and added more text and icons to my designs, which enabled me to observe them more clearly and provide more depth. I changed the original placeholders for the profile, settings, search bar, map, and navigation bar on my first screen (the home screen) to match their corresponding icons. To improve accessibility and provide more clarification, I also made sure to add additional text to the navigation bar. In addition, I chose to add heart icons to represent the user’s ability to favourite their locations and additional arrow icons in place of the original wording “slide for more” to make it easier for users to identify and enable them to take action instinctively. Additionally, I learned that by doing this, I had more room to add more content.
Following this, the process for my other two screens was essentially the same, with a few minor adjustments. I used the exact corresponding symbols that I had originally intended for my placeholders on my support screen, along with new icons like emojis that display the user’s daily mood, a donation and share icon, and additional text to reflect the amount donated and the number of supporters. The For You-Explore sidebar was an additional element I created; it was not on my original low-fidelity wireframe. During the design process, I aimed to distinguish between user-specific and non-specific support content-which users may pursue and contribute to their “For You” space.
Regarding my profile screen, I used the appropriate icons next to the text to further demonstrate proficiency and allow for the overcoming of language hurdles; likewise, I intended for my settings feature to include language preferences for users, allowing them to navigate more freely. Furthermore, I included a calendar icon to assist users stay organised, schedule appropriately, and act as a reminder.
High Fidelity Wireframes-
I added my chosen colour palette to the high fidelity frames and swapped out all the placeholders with imagery that complimented my user persona. In addition to other colours, brown was a crucial component of my frames since I knew how important it was to make use of such colour to influence emotions onto my users as I wanted to ensure that they felt supported as they navigated the app and to know that they could always rely on it to meet their needs. In addition, I was able to prepare my designs for users at this stage by making them as realistic and vivid as possible.
Final Interface
UI Phase
Design Fundamentals-
Hicks Law- Hicks Law was a principle I applied to each of my designs. This is seen on the home page, where I utilise the GPS location scout capability to offer users resources that are in the vicinity for them to use. By reducing content that may possibly overwhelm users and making it simpler for them to select their preferred option, I have increased user engagement with the app. This is also visible on the support screen, where I offer recommendations based on the resources that are specific to them. By doing this, I have reduced cognitive load and made it easier for individuals to look into other resources for support in order to achieve their personal goals.
Aesthetic Usability Effect- This alludes to the users’ perception that aesthetically pleasing designs are more functional and accessible at first glance, making minor usability concerns more bearable. In order to make my designs better suited to users’ visual preferences, I used this law when creating the colour palette and imagery for my designs. Additionally, I made sure that the app’s purpose was still being pursued and that the primary function was still given priority.
Jacobs Law- This refers to the notion that users carry over their expectations from one familiar product to another, assuming identical functionality. To implement this law, I looked at the layout within the Our Calling app, which provided the user nearest facilities on their home page. I then replicated this layout for my own home page. My UI will be easier for users to locate exactly what they are searching for by being designed similarly to a direct competitor like Our Calling, optimising time efficiency and offering users a pleasant, easy-to-navigate experience.
Miller’s Law- This law alludes to the “magic number seven,” which is the idea that the average person can retain about seven objects in working memory. It is known to be more beneficial to divide content into manageable chunks so that individuals can comprehend, absorb, and recall it quicker. Using my support screen, I implemented this law by dividing the support content into “For You” and “Explore” sections. In order to help users process the information more easily and without feeling overwhelmed, I also made sure that there was a limit of three assistance resources visible to them at any given moment within the personalised area of the screen.
Typography
I decided to utilise the Roboto typeface, which is part of the sans-serif family. This is because it is known to be a worldwide typeface with a straightforward style, allowing for a more natural reading experience. It is also recognized for functioning well with a variety of devices, sizes, and resolutions, which I make use of. I find it highly valuable because it can be seen on devices such as iOS or Androids, which are widely used today and are therefore more likely to be owned by a homeless person. In addition, I used the font styles for a variety of purposes, including highlighting essential information for the user. By switching between styles and using more kerning, I was able to build hierarchy where it was required in my designs.
Style Guide
WCAG, Accessibility, and Inclusive Design
It was essential to me to create my designs in accordance with the Equality Act of 2010, which encourages an equal society. It was my responsibility to make my designs more accessible for those with disabilities, as studies have revealed a significant increase in homeless people becoming disabled due to a lack of care. Furthermore, in order to adhere to the WCAG standards, I ensured that my text/font sizes were as perceivable as possible for users, allowing them not to be misread and robust enough to be deciphered by the most commonly used assistance technology such as screen readers/magnifiers. Moreover, I used the figma mirror plugin to guarantee that my icons were large enough for users to tap and did not pose any usability concerns.
Conclusion
Overall, I believe that this case study was a success, allowing me to uncover and learn so much. I was able to successfully follow the double diamond process and create designs to solve my initial problem statement. Through the research, I was able to determine what was a priority for homeless individuals and proceed to concentrate on building fitting screens to assist combat this. However, one surprising finding from my research was the lack of apps meant to combat homelessness and meet the needs of those who are homeless, despite the fact that the issue was at an all-time low during the pandemic due to the public’s goodwill in assisting those persons.
Furthermore, it would have been more beneficial to have conducted primary research through questionnaires distributed to those who were or are currently homeless, a red route analysis to gather genuine data on what features would be essential to users, along with interviews with charities working to combat the issue. Moreover, I would have preferred to focus on creating my identity page rather than my profile page, which would have enabled users to identify other homeless people by submitting an image/location for members of neighbouring shelters to launch a search and rescue to assist them. I believe this was a fantastic feature that I introduced promptly in my mind map concept, although it would have been good if I had shown how it would have been visually built.
Lastly, if I had the ability to launch this project, I would have worked jointly with the NHS to provide an outreach service specifically tailored to the primary care of homeless individuals, made up of nurses, therapists, and volunteers.
References:
Homeless Link. (n.d.). What is homelessness? [online] Available at: https://homeless.org.uk/knowledge-hub/what-is-homelessness/.
The Connection at St Martin’s. (n.d.). Is homelessness increasing or decreasing? [online] Available at: https://www.connection-at-stmartins.org.uk/facts-about-homelessness/is-homelessness-increasing-or-decreasing/.
www.homelessness impact.org. (n.d.). Homelessness and the pandemic: London. [online] Available at: https://www.homelessnessimpact.org/news/homelessness-and-the-pandemic-london.
Broomfield, M. (2018). New Figures Reveal How the Government Is Failing the Homeless. [online] Vice. Available at: https://www.vice.com/en/article/ywxj5k/new-figures-reveal-how-the-government-is-failing-the-homeless
Buchan, K. and Olmos, A. (2016). Gimme shelter: stories from London’s homeless. The Observer. [online] 6 Mar. Available at: https://www.theguardian.com/society/2016/mar/06/homelessness-rough-sleepers-interviews-westminster-london.
design.shelter.org.uk. (n.d.). Shelter’s accessibility guidance and best practices. [online] Available at: https://design.shelter.org.uk/digital-framework/shelters-accessibility-guidance-and-best-practices
Office for National Statistics (2023). People Experiencing homelessness, England and Wales — Office for National Statistics. [online] www.ons.gov.uk. Available at: https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/housing/articles/peopleexperiencinghomelessnessenglandandwales/census2021.
