This article is essentially a detailed documentation of a 3-week UI/UX project done as a part of the UX Mastery with my mentor UX Anudeep. The project brief was provided with set 6 milestones and defined deliverables. Here is the core problem I solved -
The complexities of the project are detailed in the following sections.
Section-1: The Solution.
Section 2: The process.
Section 3: The lessons.
Now let’s dive deep!!
Section-1: The Solution.
In today’s world where borders are increasingly becoming lines on a map rather than barriers to connection, the digital nomad lifestyle has emerged as a compelling choice for a diverse array of professionals. For those who embrace the nomadic lifestyle, it’s not just about making work remote; it’s about being a part of a global community seeking connection, collaboration, and a sense of belonging in their shared pursuit of an unbounded work experience.
Presenting an ultimate solution -Nomad me. Take a look.
👉Click to See the prototype here
Let’s see how Nomad Me paves the way for nomads to truly work from anywhere.
- The app seamlessly assists users in three primary domains — Planning, Renting, and Connecting. All its features neatly fall under these main functions, providing a comprehensive experience.
Here is how it helps in the planning stages of Nomad’s trip
The ever-evolving category Explore strives to be a valuable hub for nomads in search of destinations, providing support for both big-picture planning and minute details.
- The “Discover” and “Nomad Life” tabs offer curated packages and content, listed articles, and shared experiences for overall trip planning, while the “Local Guide” ensures detailed day-to-day itinerary planning.
- Posts within the “Local Guide” section may include text, cover images, and links to other social platforms such as blogs, YouTube, or Instagram for a comprehensive experience.
This is how this platform could help find workspaces.
The Workspace category presents properties to users for customization to meet their unique needs, while also highlighting available workspaces in a given area.
This is how this platform could help build connections.
Co-working apps fall short by restricting users solely to workspace offerings, while social apps often miss the mark with their localized outreach, potentially escaping the notice of nomads.
- This provides centralized social opportunities for remote workers to connect based on their interests, professions, etc.
- The volunteer section focuses on enhancing community interaction in formal methods for digital nomads for an immersive experience.
Here are a few Critical decisions that shaped this project
The usability testing phase had a significant impact on how the UI of the final product appears now. It also helped me validate the initially hypothesized macro task flow and gave me a chance to observe micro-interactions for gaps. The observations and feedback were incorporated into the initial design. Let’s understand these iterations in detail:
This is how I re-designed the home screen to make information easily scannable and accessible for increasing conversion rates.
The app offers services to help users directly in stages of pre-planning, during and after trips which was not being communicated effectively.
Solution 1: simplification of layout by grouping related actions (in categories) and features (at navigation).
The categories card on the screen was unclear and insufficient to describe the features contained within.
Solution 2: Improving categories card to communicate at a glance.
Impact on User: This redesign ensures that both one-time and recurring users stay well-informed (aware) about the app’s services, and are easily accessible whenever needed.
- It would encourage users to scan and explore the app and updates.
Impact on Business: Improved recognition of brand for increased conversion rate. User retention, Daily active users.
This is how I iterated the macro flow to enhance discoverability and reduce dropoff.
The app has 3 kinds of searches to meet the user’s needs in outlined categories.
For Searches by listings
Assuming search by location or by interest could be popular leads of users trying to find listings (space, event, work) both options -map search (with filters) and search by cards (genre-based) were included in the same screen. However, in usability testing, the users struggled to interact with one while using the other on the same screen.
Solution 3 : Integrating a map screen to present daily scheduled events, availability, and the collective distribution of noteworthy listings in one comprehensive view.
Solution 4 : Simplifying navigation within app to encourage taking speedy decesions without exiting the app .
Section 2: The process.
This 3-week sprint project had defined deliverables for regular submissions. Despite the structured timeline, the process followed a non-linear approach, involving iterations across multiple stages. Here’s a brief overview of the work done each week.
The entire project process could be summarized across its 3 crucial stages:
Stage 1- Brief analysis
Stage 2- Identification of the target users and their pain points
Stage 3- Product ideation and design
The purpose, methods, and outcomes of studying each individually are listed below.
Stage 1: Brief Analysis
This is how analyzed brief to define the problem statement of the project
This brief immediately propelled me into secondary research. After multiple iterations of product ideation, I honed in on a final problem statement.
- In addition, I delineated the essential tasks for the sprint, defining the project’s limitations and prioritizing the key screens that I should highlight.
Stage 2: Who is my audience?
This is how I identified my target users and empathized with their pain points.
In essence, digital nomads leverage technology and the internet for remote work, affording them the flexibility to travel and reside virtually anywhere globally. This emerging group embraces a location-independent lifestyle, seamlessly blending work and travel.
- Technically, digital nomads possess special Visa permits from host countries, enabling longer stays without the need for multiple exits, distinguishing them from traditional travelers.
- My exploration began with identifying the individuals who embody the digital nomad lifestyle and outlining their potential needs and priorities.
- Digital nomads exhibit diverse motivations, spanning from a craving for adventure to entrepreneurial ambitions. However, their journey typically follows common stages, as depicted.
What matters to the Digital Nomads?
- I dove deep into popular Nomad blogs, vlogs, and social media to uncover the tiny yet crucial details of their journey. This helped me understand nomads’ needs through each stage outlined before.
- It also aided me in listing and pinpointing the go-to products and popular product categories that nomads depend on to meet their peculiar needs.
- To comprehend the array of products utilized by nomads, I systematically listed and categorized them based on industry sectors.
What product sector to focus for project ?
- Realizing that a product could belong to any of the 5 sectors I used project brief guidelines to narrow down the focus to Travel-Hospitality and Work and Training categories.
- Conducted a targeted examination of popular products within the two categories, analyzing them for task flows, best practices, design elements, and more.
- Observations from this stage provided me with a crucial starting point to develop this app along the lines of co-working apps.
- Listed challenges from the nomad’s social platforms (blogs, vlogs, YouTube, etc), coupled with articles providing advice and guidance, for enhanced contextual awareness.
- Although issues were listed thoroughly, to truly empathize with users I needed to ask for specifics about their journey and this is where I hit my the 1st roadblock — I couldn’t find any digital nomad to interview.😮🤯😵💫
- Alternatively, I devised a strategy to gather insights from diverse users sharing similar experiences from parts of their journey.
- A targeted question guide was created to extract specific details resembling those of nomads, and interviews were conducted.
In what aspect should this platform make a difference for digital nomads and buisness?
- Insights collected from both primary and secondary research were categorized.
- As the brief mentions “ central app for nomads” with the business goal to have more conversion rates it only made sense that the app provides meaningful values in each of the diverse categories.
- Insights also made me realize that nomads are not looking for specific services designed for them when they travel to different destinations. They want to opt for locally popular quality services.
- This prompted me to find ways to include users of popular co-working spaces and then expand to include any working professional. Thus the project Hypothesis came to be.
- I recognized the significance of not just attracting diverse potential users but ensuring they found value in the first place. This realization led me to develop user personas, delving into their motivations, aspirations, needs, and frustrations.
This is how I anticipate the hypothesis will influence both the business and users.
For business more users = higher conversions.
The expected impact on users would be an Increased User base for Better connection opportunities on trusted a platform. With the target audience in mind, User personas and stories for the project were crafted.
Stage 3
- This stage commenced with a brainstorming session focused on the challenges outlined in the brief to surpass surface-level issues.
- This session played a pivotal role in crafting a comprehensive macro task flow for the platform.
- Macro Task flows with journey mapping across stages of Pre-planning, and booking, during and after the trip resulting in outlining the basic information architecture of the app. Or so I thought until I had to discard it!😅
Here is why I had to discard my first macro-flow for the app
- Reflecting now I feel initially I placed a lot of importance on booking features (for workspace/ stay) and the options to engage with other features would have been enabled after a booking was made.
- As I outlined the user journey step by step, two crucial realizations emerged — firstly, any user should have the ability to connect with others, even without booking spaces. Secondly, incorporating features to facilitate trip planning is an essential component of any booking, particularly in this case
- To meet different kinds of users’ interests the initial app flow was revised.
- I then detailed each category’s complete task flow and prioritized to complete important screens( P1) that would provide an overview of the app’s layout.
- Scoping the project for this sprint: My priority was to emphasize concise requirements and demonstrate how the product and its key features seamlessly integrate as a cohesive whole. In each section that was denoted by tag P1.
- With that, I sketched a few low-fidelity wireframes as displayed.
- Translating insights from users’ journey of each category into design features
- With just two days remaining, I opted to assess user experience through usability testing. Additionally, I conducted a peer review with two of my classmates to gather feedback.
- From users, I got the following feedback:
- The screens were then modified on feedback and all of the changes made are captured in the prototype available above.
Section 3: The lessons.
The three-week sprint had come to an end, and I made significant progress in completing what I intended to showcase. However, I am aware that there is still a need for extensive fine-tuning.
This is what I plan to do before I conclude this project:
✅ Document the process in the case study.
◻️Make UI improvements as per my mentor’s feedback.😅😅
◻️Update the Final presentation as per revisions.
◻️ Detailing complete flows mainly onboarding, profile details, bookings catalogs, actions, and payment screens. Designing for edge cases.
The completion of this sprint highlighted my weaknesses and provided a clear path for improvement through dedicated practice in the following areas:
➡️Project file organization.
➡️ Micro-interactions of UI elements for a seamless experience.
These are a few valuable learnings this exercise helped me internalize:
- The magic of sprint, I finally understand how a lot could be clearly defined and achieved in a short time. I feel enabled to have been a part of the approach multiple times in the course duration.
- The design process is dynamic and non-linear. Starting with assumptions and refining through tests, feedback, and iterations are crucial at every stage.
- After establishing the macro flow is strategic and provides insightful feedback on user interactions at the initial stages.
- Prioritizing with the 80/20 Principle for effectiveness helps focus efforts on impactful aspects.
- Insights from research contribute to a broad understanding. Identifying constraints at each stage helps refine, narrow down, and prioritize actions for each stage.
- Connecting Research to UI Elements.
- Recognizing the importance of micro-interactions in the core journey emphasizes fine-tuning for a better user experience.
- Innovation through Micro Detailing. Innovation occurs by delving into micro-details, highlighting the importance of attention to finer aspects for improvement.
- The Milestone Submission assisted me in effectively conveying and presenting initial findings and developing concepts to others throughout the process.
Thank you for sticking around and reading! I hope you found the information helpful. If there’s anything you don’t quite agree with or if you have additional thoughts, I’d love to hear them. Let’s connect and chat! Feel free to reach out — I’m always up for a friendly and upbeat conversation. Looking forward to hearing from you! 👋