Project Summary‍‍

Length: August 2021 – May 2022
Role: UX Research & Design
Team: Individual Project

UX Process

Agile UX:  User Research, Competitive Benchmarking, Interaction Modeling, Storyboarding, Wireframing, High Fidelity Comps & Prototypes, User Testing

User Research

Research Methods: Open Surveys, Questionnaires, Event Site Visits, Planned Interviews, Impromptu Interviews, Guerilla UX, Social Media Post Analysis, User Interaction Observations

Tools Used‍‍

Figma, Procreate, Invision, Photoshop, Bridge, Camera Raw, Google Suite

Project Background

Going out to an event can be exciting and interesting way to meet new people and unlock wonderful opportunities. However, it can be difficult to introduce yourself and network with people if you aren't already established with many of the attendees. Especially when networking can sometimes come off as cold and impersonal. Additionally it is nearly impossible to meet and converse with everyone at a large event. There just isn't enough time to meet everyone.
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Value Proposition

Impression seeks to alleviate these pain points by providing users a way of easily finding and connecting with new professional friends at formal events via augmented reality and activity maps to promote the creation of collaborative and mutually beneficial friendships.

Agile UX Timeline

Impression initially began as a project attempting to help professional photographers overcome difficulties they encounter in their professional lives. However, multiple methods of research revealed that there's a problem with social networking at events that's much greater than any one profession. These findings prompted a project pivot on the agile timeline in October – November of 2021.
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User Research

In order to understand the target audience better, a variety of research methods were employed to discern what issues users were facing.

After the project pivot, the goal of research was geared towards understanding how users networked with each other before, during, and after formal events and what needs and pain points they encountered along the way.

In total 70+ hours were dedicated to understanding user goals and needs.

Methods Overview

Key Data Activities & Takeaways

Interviews & Observations

Multiple methods of interview data collection were utilized including: remote user interviews conducted via Google Meet calls. Planned in person interviews held at Farmingdale State College. And impromptu in person interviews while on site visits.

Site visits were also utilized to gather observational and photographic data regarding the interactions between users at each event.

Site Visit Locations

Fashion Week BrooklynSocceroof Brooklyn, NY
A World of PinkOheka Castle Huntington, NY
Glamour Dance PhotoshootGlamour Costumes Bethpage, NY
Interviews with users indicated a desire for networking to feel natural and friendly while at the same time expressing the desire to easily understand the unique and interesting aspects and experiences other users wish to share about themselves. And being able to contribute to sociability of the event with their own experiences and knowledge.

Interview Quotes

Surveys

Surveys indicated strong user preference to network with people in face to face conversation as opposed to video or message based formats.

Additionally, users reported widespread adoption of technology to locate a place relevant to them when attending events.

User Personas

Based on user research, three personas were developed to represent user goals, needs, and pain points. The personas are: the event attendee, the hired event professional, and the event coordinator. (Select a persona to enlarge it.)

User Empathy Maps

An analysis of what each user group might think, say, do, and feel while at an event.

User Journey Maps

A look at how each persona type might behave and feel during the process of going to an event.

Interaction Models

The initial thoughts and organization of how Impression's design would flow.

Design Fiction

Storyboards made to simulate how a persona (in this case Friendly Felicity) would interact with other users at an event with the assistance of Impression.

UI Sketches

The focus of the UI sketching for this project was to build out as many features as possible that could be useful to people when attempting to network at events. The goal was to understand if these features were a right fit for user needs.

‍Many of these features did continue on to the mid fidelity phase with adjustments made thanks to user testing conducted to determine the validity of the designs.

UI Wireframes

From what was learned in user testing of the sketches, mid-fidelity wireframes were crafted with the goal of acquiring a better sense of flow and UI placement that users could easily navigate. User testing of these wireframes helped inform the UI design decisions and flow considerations that had to be made for the full comp prototypes.
Mid Fidelity Wireframe Prototype

User Testing & Feedback

User testing was conducted remotely via Google Meet calls with Figma prototype links. And in person with an iPad as the prototype host device. The feedback from users in these tests was utilized to craft a more refined final product that better suit their needs.

Final Prototype

The final mobile prototype crafted in Figma from the culmination of the agile UX process and human centered research to provide users with a novel method of easily finding and connecting with new professional friends who share similar interests and promoting the creation of collaborative and mutually beneficial friendships.
View Final Figma Prototype
© Marc Caceres 2020 - 2024
Caceres.UX@gmail.com