Case Study: conTEXT

Our first week at RED Academy is about exploring different UX techniques and rapidly prototyping a mobile app. Using this newly attained knowledge, we are assigned to apply the skills we have learned to solve a problem our partner has by designing an app for them.

The Opportunity

The anxiety over the fear of missing out is what inspired me to design this app. Let’s set Brian as an example.

Research

I conducted an interview with my client, which is represented by the persona of Morti Hideaway, and found that he is a perfectionist, and has a fear of failure. He had been distressed over not relating to his partner whenever they would reference a quote from a movie, TV show, song lyric, or literature. Consequently, he would feel critical towards his self-image.

He wishes to have a tool that could search quotes/lyrics referenced from all types of media, so when a situation comes up again, he won’t feel left out. A mobile app is something he is most likely to be interested in, because he spends a lot of time on his phone and also needs it the most when text messaging.

Checking out search tools and apps out in the market currently had shown that there is no app for this particular need yet. Yes, there may be different avenues for searching quotes, but they are not a well-organized, all-inclusive database of all media, nor are they intuitive and helpful to the user. I have compared my ideal app to five existing apps, and barely any of them live up to what Morti needs.

Planning

To address this problem, I have designed conTEXT, a reference finder app that would search quotes/lyrics from all media sources (film / TV / music / literature), and is intuitive, quick, and thorough. Search results are organized in order of appearance (release date), and will not only include specific information such as the source and script, but also the video of its origin and an explanation of the article to fully understand its context. All search results will provide suggestions of other related media that can help further explore the genre. In addition, they can use this app to create GIFs out of their searches, and share them through text messaging or on social media.

Design

The user interface I have sketched can deliver results in a minimum of 3 screens (given that there are no errors in their search) which makes the search quick, simple and intuitive.

Usability Testing

Tool: Marvel

To test the usability of this app, I prepared a clickable prototype, and had a handful of people from different demographics use the app with this scenario in mind:

In the middle of a group text conversation, one of your friends quoted a reference you’re unfamiliar with, and everyone we’re playing along except for you. This made you feel ostracized. Luckily, you have access to an app that can help you understand the context just in time to come up with a response. Search it up in the app and find the context behind the reference.

Testers found that the app was straightforward and easy to use. They were able to extract the information they needed with less amount of time compared to when skimming through Google search results.

Summary

The main feature of this app is to provide context on a reference from all media sources in a quick, intuitive and thorough mobile interface, so the user can relate to others by utilizing newly attained knowledge. Additional features that is proven useful are the ability to create GIFs out of references, as well as share contexts through text messaging or on social media.

conTEXT helps relieve the frustrations created by traditional search engines when looking for contexts behind references. It also takes away the burden of having to do research when all you want is an instantaneous delivery of specific information to be able to relate to others. This app would be perfect for knowledge-hungry, mobile, on-the-go, and active social media users as per my research.

Click on the image below to try it out for yourself!