The objective of this project was to design and develop a mobile app prototype, targeting new students arriving to study in Glasgow. The focus of the app was to showcase the attractions and cultural diversity that Glasgow has to offer, providing essential information and guidance to enrich their student experience.
The Double-Diamond Framework (DDF) was used to bring this project to actualization. This iterative approach involved four phases: Discover, Define, Develop, and Deliver. Each phase informed the next, allowing for continuous refinement and improvement throughout the research process.
Client research was conducted virtually, and key insights were uncovered—these included a summary of what the council was about, her mission, values, SWOT analysis, and her needs with regards to the project. These needs included; Information, Integration, Support, and Collaboration.
User research was also conducted virtually, and key insights were uncovered—these included a summary of the demographics (Millennials & GenZs)—who they are, how they consume content, products & services they use, and their wants and expectations with regards to the project.
From this demographics and what I now know about them, I created 2 personas representative of the demographics. These personas helped me curate an empathy map, POV statements, and 'How Might We' questions corresponding to the POV statements in the second phase.
The UIs and user journeys of close competitors, whatsonglasgow website, Yelp and Eventbrite apps, were reviewed for strengths and weaknesses. This led to uncovering an opportunity for a new product.
By amalgamating features such as event discovery, local attractions, and academic resources, this new product would serve as a one-stop solution, streamlining the often fragmented process of settling into a new city. This unified platform would offer a curated and personalized experience, seamlessly integrating event listings, academic information, and local insights. Features like inclusive accessibility options, tailored event recommendations, and real-time updates could further enhance the user experience.
At this phase, I put together the product needs, and goals using insights from the personas. I then went ahead to curate potential features of StudentLife Glasgow app using PoV statements, HMW questions, and Kano and MoSCow Models.
The processes at this stage culminated into a design brief to be used to inform the next phases. The design brief had the vision of the client for the app, the audience, the stakeholders at this point, the reason for the app, the features to be embedded into the app and the design principles to be used.
The full research slides can be accessed here.
This phase had me bouncing ideas off my head using the crazy 8s. The initial UI ideas were for the home screen. The goal was to push beyond my first idea, frequently the least innovative, and to generate a wide variety of solutions to the challenge.
These initial sketches helped explore ideas of the structure and placement of information which led to the design of the information architecture (IA) for the entire product. IA helps users find and understand information, which improves their experience.
Informed by the IA, I went on to sketch lo-fi wireframes for the onboarding flow and other flows.
I transitioned the lo-fi wireframes into mid-fi prototypes to enable me run initial user testing scenarios using task flows. These scenarios and flows helped validate the information architecture and initial sketches.
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After iterating on the flows and wireframes and implementing the insights gathered from user testing, I went ahead to create styles and assets for the hi-fi mockup. These included a style tile, logo, icons, components, fonts, colours (picked from the city council logo), grids, and CTA buttons. The colour combination for the CTA and other scenarios were run through the WCAG contrast checker and they passed.
The iterated mid-fi wireframes were then developed into hi-fi mockups with guidance from assets and styles. The six(6) major flows chosen after research were fully implemented - Onboarding, interactive city map, wellness resources, Glasgow exploration, event booking, with an addition of settings & accessibility.
StudentLife Glasgow app would be a 1-stop shop for students in Glasgow.
".. I think overall it’s a very good product considering what it is trying to achieve..."
Designing user experience for social good requires a degree of empathy with users and understanding exactly how you can solve their problems. Research and accessibility are of utmost importance to ascertain where you can make a significant impact through your design.
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