#Figma
#Casestudy
#web
Gramcity
Gramcity
Gramcity
Gramcity
Gramcity
Gramcity
For this solo sprint, I’ll be using the Google Sprint approach developed by Google Ventures and serving as both the researcher and designer.
For this solo sprint, I’ll be using the Google Sprint approach developed by Google Ventures and serving as both the researcher and designer.
For this solo sprint, I’ll be using the Google Sprint approach developed by Google Ventures and serving as both the researcher and designer.
For this solo sprint, I’ll be using the Google Sprint approach developed by Google Ventures and serving as both the researcher and designer.
For this solo sprint, I’ll be using the Google Sprint approach developed by Google Ventures and serving as both the researcher and designer.
For this solo sprint, I’ll be using the Google Sprint approach developed by Google Ventures and serving as both the researcher and designer.
5 days
Timeline
Product Designer & Researcher
Role
5 days
Timeline
Product Designer & Researcher
Role
Background
Background
GramCity is striving to create a community where their users are able to find and share favorable “instagrammable” locations. In this design sprint we are trying to solve an endless supply of great photogenic locations that are somehow tracked and accurately shown to users based off their nearby location. For this project, my goal is to create an MVP iOS app that can test this feature before it launches.
GramCity is striving to create a community where their users are able to find and share favorable “instagrammable” locations. In this design sprint we are trying to solve an endless supply of great photogenic locations that are somehow tracked and accurately shown to users based off their nearby location. For this project, my goal is to create an MVP iOS app that can test this feature before it launches.
Goals
Goals
1
Help users find physical places and locations
1
Help users find physical places and locations
1
Help users find physical places and locations
2
Help create an active community of users who find and share their favorite locations
2
Help create an active community of users who find and share their favorite locations
2
Help create an active community of users who find and share their favorite locations
Day 1 - Mapping
Day 1 - Mapping
As the engineers began building a technical proof-of-concept for the functionality, I simultaneously started to design the first prototype in Figma. This prototype aimed to validate the solution and facilitate discussions about the feature during the scheduled user interviews, but also help us to prioritize our resources.
As the engineers began building a technical proof-of-concept for the functionality, I simultaneously started to design the first prototype in Figma. This prototype aimed to validate the solution and facilitate discussions about the feature during the scheduled user interviews, but also help us to prioritize our resources.
Target Audience
People who are comfortable with using mobile apps
Photographers and photography enthusiasts
People who like to travel or explore their city
User Research
GramCity’s objective is to create a feature within their app to help their user’s find awesome places to take photos, wherever they are. When it came to determine what would create the best experience for users, I had needed answers to the following questions:
How does the target audience find interesting places to photograph?
Do the users plan their trip around places they want to photograph, or are users more interested in finding photo ops along the way?
What sorts of things are our users interested in photographing?
Personas
Based on the user interviews provided by Gramcity, I was able to map out the potential customer experience for the new feature using the two personas, Nick and Sara.
Sara - 27, traveler. Plans ahead and wants to schedule her photo ops around what other people are taking photos of and based on which photos look the best.
Sara’s actions is based on Sharing:
Launch the app
Upload a photo onto CityGram
Add optional caption
Share location information from where photo was taken
Share image with online community
Nick - 24, traveler. Doesn’t plan ahead, wants instant results that are close by without missing anything good.
Nick Focuses on discovery:
Launch the app
View trending locations
Search for photo inspirations in their desired location
Select image type- art, architecture, landscape, nature, food, nightlife, etc.
Flowmap
Day 2
Day 2
Lightning Demos
Before starting to sketch out ideas on pen and paper I did some research on already existing apps. Specifically, I looked at the functionalities found on Instagram, Yelp and VSCO as they’re popular apps that allow users to showcase images, easily access locations, and share content. Using these as inspirations, I was able to see how GramCity could use similar elements to help it’s users find and create images while traveling.
Lightning Demos
Before starting to sketch out ideas on pen and paper I did some research on already existing apps. Specifically, I looked at the functionalities found on Instagram, Yelp and VSCO as they’re popular apps that allow users to showcase images, easily access locations, and share content. Using these as inspirations, I was able to see how GramCity could use similar elements to help it’s users find and create images while traveling.
Crazy 8
Once I had my inspirations down and narrowed down what I wanted to design for, I spent 8 minutes hashing out 8 different variations/ideas for the screens, after which I was able to decide which ones stuck out the most.
Crazy 8
Once I had my inspirations down and narrowed down what I wanted to design for, I spent 8 minutes hashing out 8 different variations/ideas for the screens, after which I was able to decide which ones stuck out the most.
3 Panel Board
My three-panel board includes a screen that comes before the critical screen, the critical screen and a screen that comes after the critical screen. The critical screen for this app is the map with results. The previous screen is the page where users enter what the search criteria and the screen after is the detail page of the selected pin on the map.
3 Panel Board
My three-panel board includes a screen that comes before the critical screen, the critical screen and a screen that comes after the critical screen. The critical screen for this app is the map with results. The previous screen is the page where users enter what the search criteria and the screen after is the detail page of the selected pin on the map.
Day 3
Day 3
Storyboard
For this day of the design sprint I decided to focus on two of the main functions of the app, discovery and planning. By limiting my focus to these two main elements I was able to really play around with ideas and functionality of these pages.
Storyboard
For this day of the design sprint I decided to focus on two of the main functions of the app, discovery and planning. By limiting my focus to these two main elements I was able to really play around with ideas and functionality of these pages.
Homepage/Explore page, Search Landing Page, Map with results, Location Details, and Favorites List
Homepage/Explore page, Search Landing Page, Map with results, Location Details, and Favorites List
Day 4
Day 4
Prototype
For the visual design, I followed iOS design principles as this will be an iOS app. I followed a more modern approach when it came to designing the screens and wanted to incorporate gram city's original color. When it came to determining what would create the best experience for users, I made sure to incorporate these specific cases:
Using the app while traveling and looking at nearby photo locations
Exploring photos from different users and saving photo inspos for later
Creating an itinerary with saved locations for a planned trip
Prototype
For the visual design, I followed iOS design principles as this will be an iOS app. I followed a more modern approach when it came to designing the screens and wanted to incorporate gram city's original color. When it came to determining what would create the best experience for users, I made sure to incorporate these specific cases:
Using the app while traveling and looking at nearby photo locations
Exploring photos from different users and saving photo inspos for later
Creating an itinerary with saved locations for a planned trip
Search & Discover
The main goal of the search screen was to provide users an easy way to discover new locations and users. I broke down the main tabs by Locations, Photos, and Users on the main screen to provide users a way to quickly filter their selection.
Search & Discover
The main goal of the search screen was to provide users an easy way to discover new locations and users. I broke down the main tabs by Locations, Photos, and Users on the main screen to provide users a way to quickly filter their selection.
Location Profile
Users have the ability to view location pages and find out more information. Since one of the goals is to allow users to discover from other users, a photo tab is located on every location page to give users quick access to discovering photos captured at the location.
Location Profile
Users have the ability to view location pages and find out more information. Since one of the goals is to allow users to discover from other users, a photo tab is located on every location page to give users quick access to discovering photos captured at the location.
Navigation
The bottom section of the navigation screen includes a list of nearby locations to provide users more options. Users also have the option to save a location in case they want to plan a future visit.
Navigation
The bottom section of the navigation screen includes a list of nearby locations to provide users more options. Users also have the option to save a location in case they want to plan a future visit.
Home page & Favorites
The home/explore page was designed with the intention of allowing discovery-based users to visually select their desired content. Users also have the option to click on the ‘friends’ tab to look at what their friends have been posting. The favorites screen provides users an easy way to access previously saved location and the ability to add them to an itinerary (planned trips) or pull up directions immediately for spontaneous trips.
Home page & Favorites
The home/explore page was designed with the intention of allowing discovery-based users to visually select their desired content. Users also have the option to click on the ‘friends’ tab to look at what their friends have been posting. The favorites screen provides users an easy way to access previously saved location and the ability to add them to an itinerary (planned trips) or pull up directions immediately for spontaneous trips.
Day 5
Day 5
Usertesting
I began recruiting test participants on day one of the sprint. Luckily, I had a few photographer friends that were interested in participating in the test. I tested 5 users, each for half an hour with the intention of seeing if they were able to successfully manage a few simple tasks.
Usertesting
I began recruiting test participants on day one of the sprint. Luckily, I had a few photographer friends that were interested in participating in the test. I tested 5 users, each for half an hour with the intention of seeing if they were able to successfully manage a few simple tasks.
Task & Goals
Task & Goals
1
Checking out the explore page
1
Checking out the explore page
1
Checking out the explore page
2
Searching and saving a location
2
Searching and saving a location
2
Searching and saving a location
3
Checking out photos from that location
3
Checking out photos from that location
3
Checking out photos from that location
3
Viewing location directions
3
Viewing location directions
3
Viewing location directions
⭐️
To check if the current features are intuitive to the users.
⭐️
To check if the current features are intuitive to the users.
⭐️
To check if the current features are intuitive to the users.
⭐️
To check if the navigation between pages is user-friendly.
⭐️
To check if the navigation between pages is user-friendly.
⭐️
To check if the navigation between pages is user-friendly.
⭐️
To check if the current design is visually appealing
⭐️
To check if the current design is visually appealing
⭐️
To check if the current design is visually appealing
Findings
Findings
All five users were able to complete the tasks without any trouble. Some feedbacks I got included the following:
To gear it towards photographers, possibly add sections including camera settings the photo was captured on.
Messaging function to connect with other users
All five users were able to complete the tasks without any trouble. Some feedbacks I got included the following:
To gear it towards photographers, possibly add sections including camera settings the photo was captured on.
Messaging function to connect with other users
Learnings
Learnings
I absolutely love photography and traveling so this design sprint was very fun for me. It was my first time turning a solution into a prototype and performing testing in such a short span of time. I learned a lot throughout this week by learning to prioritize the most important features I wanted to showcase in my final solution. Moving forward, If I were to continue this design, I would definitely adjust some flows to make the overall experience more intuitive and simple. I want to incorporate more features and also restyle the favorites page.
I absolutely love photography and traveling so this design sprint was very fun for me. It was my first time turning a solution into a prototype and performing testing in such a short span of time. I learned a lot throughout this week by learning to prioritize the most important features I wanted to showcase in my final solution. Moving forward, If I were to continue this design, I would definitely adjust some flows to make the overall experience more intuitive and simple. I want to incorporate more features and also restyle the favorites page.
Tools
Tools
Figma
Usertesting.com
