Fix-Me Mobile App — Case Study
This case study was written with the sole purpose of documenting my design processes, responsibilities, challenges and solutions. This project was embarked upon to create my design portfolio which will help aid the success of my UI UX Design Career.
PROJECT TASK
Design a mobile application that provides home owners and individuals with professional handymen for their home repairs.
WHY I MADE THIS PROJECT
FixMe Mobile App was designed with the sole aim to provide homeowners with professional handymen for their home repairs. It is quite known that a lot of people suffer from the trial and error services provided by artisans in Nigeria, and there is a dire for a platform where end users can get tested and trusted artisans for their home needs, this is where FixMe came into play. This app aims to provide users with professional workers who will provide services that are of top-notch quality, affordable and also reliable.
ROLE AND PROJECT DURATION
I was the UI/UX Designer of the project, and every step, from the research to the product design was solely carried out by me. The project took about 4 weeks to be completed.
MARKET RESEARCH
The Claim
Every household requires the services of an handyman, from needing the services of a plumber, carpentry, electricians, etc. The need for a handymen service in Nigeria cannot be overstated and as a result, the numbers of handymen keeps growing sporadically each year and it is expected to continue as the need for such services continues.
In 2022, the global handymen market size was valued at $339m and is expected to keep increasing. Through the use of advanced technology, lots of opportunities have opened to help advertise handymen services and also, the use of smart technology makes it easier for the end users to get services online.
The Problem
During the course of the research, i noticed that a lot of handymen do not have the avenue to properly market their craft due to a lack of an adequate platform to do this.
Also, home-owners and individuals who needed the services of handymen complained about not having a means to confirm the expertise of the handymen and as a result are left with the “trial and error ” nature it brings. They also complained about not been able to get handymen available for their urgent needs.
Target Audience
During the course of our research, we focused on homeowners, tenants, and individuals who would need the services of an handyman for their urgent and several home needs.
The Target audience was divided into three groups, and they are:
18–30 age group: These are young individuals who fall in the brackets of students, working individuals who would need the services of handymen for their busy schedules.
31–50 age group: These are adults with extreme busy schedules. They are regarded as those with families and do not usually have the time to do things themselves.
31–50 age group: These are the elderly ones who mostly do not have the ability or the strength to do house chores or repairs themselves, and would need the services of handymen.
USER SURVEY
I conducted a survey on the target audience to properly understand their pain points in order to better understand their needs. I was able to get 20 participants to carry out in the survey, and cited below are some survey questions, responses and statistics.
Q1. How do you get service professionals for your home services and repairs?
Q2. What do you most consider when booking a home service?
Highlighted below are also some notable comments given by users during the survey carried out for the project.
PERSONAS
I created two personas based on two different users of the app. An adult above the age of 40 and the other above the age of 20 years.
COMPETITIVE ANALYSIS
I analyzed three (3) popular apps in the hiring industry — looking both at the booking and servicing experience and also the negative app comments to find patterns.
The Good
All the app give provision for services to end users and they also offer adequate services
The Bad
All the apps do not offer option for recurrent services, GIDN has limited range of services while Handymen users do not have option for emergency booking.
Problems noted from the comments
Great app but not many services are available on it yet. More professionals are needed on the app.
SimonI wish the app gives an option for users to make emergency booking on the app.
RebeccaI want an app that is easy to use while being aesthetically pleasing and also gives good service.
Isaac
Initial Research Shows
After the conclusion of the research, it became quite evident that there is a need to create an app that allow users request handymen services while offering affordability, swift delivery and top-notch quality. I went back to the drawing board to begin working on the prototype.
FLOW DIAGRAM
In a bid to outline all the necessary functionality of the app, i created a flow diagram of the main task a user can carry out. One of the flow is shown below. Fail state flows were also made but are not shown due to space constraint.
LOW FIDELITY WIREFRAMES
After the successful completion of the flow diagram, i started working on the creation of the low fidelity wireframes. The first step i took in achieving this was by sketching my designs on a paper before creating the low fidelity wireframes
After sketching out my thoughts on a paper, i then moved forward to creating the low fidelity wireframes on Figma. This highlighted the layout contents and functionality while putting into consideration the user needs. This is the first step in creating a top-notch product experience.
HIGH FIDELITY DESIGNS
After the completion of the user flow and low fidelity wireframes, i began working on creating the high fidelity wireframes for the project.
TYPOGRAPHY
Color palette
Accent, Primary, Secondary, Background color
FONT
Plus Jakarta Sans
Light, Regular, Medium, Bold
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Other Screens
Highlighted below are some other screens designed during the course of this project.
ALIGNMENT AND GRID
I picked a 4 point grid for the project and set the margins for within the group at 8 and 16, with margins within groups at 24,32 and 48.
PROJECT SUMMARY
During the course of the project, i managed to evaluate the market, conducted a quick user survey, performed a mini usability study online, created a set of low fidelity wireframes, connected them into a prototype and built a high fidelity UI designs.
