Rightbrain
Democratizing small businesses and helping art enthusiasts book their next creative outlet through crowd-sourced reviews
Passion Project
iOS Mobile App
PROJECT TYPE
THE TEAM
1 Product Designer
Product Strategy
Brand Identity
User Research
Wireframing
Prototyping
Usability Testing
MY ROLE
Figma
Maze
TOOLS
2 Months (2020)
DURATION
Overview
How might we provide users with a practical solution of gathering information about local art studios in order to make their research process quick and seamless?
In my UX Design bootcamp at General Assembly, I was tasked with creating an app from 0 to 1. I’ve always been artistically-inclined but found it difficult to use popular location-based search platforms to find art classes and studios in my area. I wanted to validate whether other like-minded users felt similar pains, and create a solution.
From my research, I found that users had lots of frustrations with with the process of finding art classes itself, and wanted a one-stop shop to find and book art classes. I created Rightbrain to streamline the search process for art classes, studios, and provide users with the option of reserving classes. The app offers honest reviews from friends and enthusiasts, making the hunt for a user's next creative outlet a quick and seamless one.
Research
Before diving into the details of my app, I wanted to uncover whether others felt frustrations with finding art classes and studios, and what are those frustrations?
To understand user’s frustrations and motivations, I conducted six user interviews. There, I was able to uncover my users’ feelings, problems, and begin finding solutions to their frustrations.
“The process of finding an art studio is not as easy as going to Yelp and looking for a restaurant. I get very distracted if the process of something is not easy.”
“I feel like I had to do my own research and it was a lot harder to do myself.”
“[Finding an art studio] was honestly annoying. If everyone had an updated website, hours, and numbers, it would’ve made the process way easier.”
Feature Prioritization
Based on user feedback, I brainstormed multiple features to address their primary challenges.
To optimize the solution, I created a feature prioritization map and user flow that helped me understand which key features to focus on and how users would get from one point of the app to another. This approach ensured that the features chosen would effectively tackle my problem statement and that the final design would be well-crafted and impactful.
Designing Solutions
After deciding on the features that would help users the most, I began exploring my solutions.
With the user insights I gathered, I chose key features that would tackle their pain points, like studio locations, crowd-sourced reviews, photos, basic information about studios and classes in an easy-to-read layout, and the ability to reserve a class and checkout. I used user heuristics to guide my solutions at every step of the exploration phase.
Iterating with User Feedback
I created prototypes to conduct 15 usability tests and found ways to improve the flow, functionality, and visual design.
The usability tests I conducted tested whether users could easily navigate and purchase an art class. I received feedback and found multiple improvements I could make to my next iteration, including user flows, colors, checkout pages, and filters. From there, I reworked user flows, created a style guide, and redesigned my high-fidelity wireframes.
Style Guide
Originally, I wanted Rightbrain to feel fun and exciting. While utilizing a fun yellow-orange color as the brand’s color made the app feel bright, it also felt too loud to many users, and reminded them of “a schoolbus yellow”. As a result, I shifted brand colors to explore more subtle, yet bright colors and ultimately decide on lighter, pink hues.
Final Designs
Along with a new style guide, I addressed user feedback by adding other entry points and more comprehensive details to each feature.
By providing diverse starting points, users could begin their exploration with broader options and gradually narrow down their preferences, whether it be studios or specific classes they were interested in. Additionally, I enhanced the app's functionality by including more comprehensive details, resulting in a more detailed and refined MVP. With this approach, all aspects of feedback from prior usability testing were addressed and yielded a thorough and well-crafted final design.
Results
Check out the full prototype here.
Creating Rightbrain was an exciting opportunity for me. By consistently involving users throughout the design process and staying true to the problem statement, I crafted an MVP that not only effectively addressed the initial user problem but also delivers a delightful and enjoyable user experience.
Challenges
As a first-time app designer, this was an incredible feat, but it did not come without its challenges.
I initially struggled with becoming too fixated on my initial solutions. It was challenging to let go of certain ideas after user testing revealed their limitations. To overcome this, I found that engaging in rapid design exercises, jotting down incomplete thoughts on paper, allowed me to explore various solutions quickly. This process enabled me to revisit the ideas with a clearer mind and determine which solutions effectively addressed user problems. In many instances, these rapid iterations proved fruitful, highlighting the importance of embracing a more agile approach rather than dwelling excessively on singular concepts.
Reflections
Some lessons that I’d take for my next project…
During the design process, I faced challenges when trying to iterate on well-developed ideas. Making significant changes to color schemes and user flows proved difficult, leading to indecision. However, I discovered that rapidly trying different solutions by testing one or two wireframes at a time, rather than all frames simultaneously, helped me overcome this hurdle and make more decisive progress in the design direction.
Rapid design approach > Indecision