Gather
Make your community feel like home
A responsive website designed to help people who recently moved to a new area find their community through attending events and joining groups.
Background
Moving to a new area can be exciting because it means there are new opportunities and memories to be made in this next chapter.
However, figuring out how to make friends and participate in events and activities can be difficult and stressful, as people often don’t know where to start.
We want to help people feel more connected to their community and meet people who share similar interests, which would help them feel a sense of belonging.
Time Frame: September 2022 - December 2022 (150 hours)
Program: DesignLab UX Academy
Role: User Researcher, UX Designer, UI Designer
Methodology: Design Thinking
Problem: How can I build a community of friends in my area?
In a post-pandemic world, it can feel like there are limited opportunities for socializing outside of work and home, causing increased feelings of isolation and disconnection among young professionals.
Individuals on the introverted side may find it particularly challenging to initiate conversations and reach out to new people.
Feeling disconnected from a sense of belonging can significantly impact an individual's mental health, affecting various facets of their life.
Solution: Meet Gather
Gather is a responsive website that:
enables users to discover events and groups that resonate with their interests in their area, fostering connections with like-minded individuals in their local community.
categorizes events and groups to give users opportunities to browse through options if they don’t know where to begin searching
encourages users to create groups and events, and indicate which events they are attending/groups they would like to join
EMPATHIZE
EMPATHIZE
Research Objectives
Determine current methods people use to finding things to do in a new area and make friends.
Discover possible design features desired by users.
Learn about user pain points while trying to connect with their community.
Explore categories of interests that might be options in the platform.
Research Methods
User Interviews
User interviews were conducted in order to gain an understanding of real-life user experiences of connecting with their community.
I interviewed five different users from various locations around the U.S.
Four of the five users were working professionals, and one user was a graduate student.
Competitor & Secondary Research
Market research was conducted to learn about the current resources out there and determine what is working and what is not.
Secondary research was conducted to discover general statistics on people moving to a new area.
Competitor Analysis
Research Findings
1
According to an article by Forbes, 61% of friendships are made through the neighborhood, 33% through sports/fitness activities, 32% through social clubs or activities, and 24% are made at events such as concerts or sporting events.
2
Users find it more difficult to build and maintain friendships while working than in college because of the lack of proximity and consistency.
3
Most users would like to meet people while doing a shared activity like playing sports or social gatherings.
4
There are currently a few available options related to event-finding, such as Meetup and Eventbrite.
How people are currently making friends
DEFINE
DEFINE
HOW MIGHT WE
help people looking to form connections in a new city to find consistent events and activities to attend?
Defining Goals
Meet Jessica and Marcus
From the user interviews, I chose a particular user to expand upon and empathize with. I created an empathy map to understand on a deep level the motivations and feelings of a potential user. I then created two different user personas that represent the behaviors, pain points, and goals of user types.
IDEATE
IDEATE
Storyboard
In order to place these solutions in context, I created a visual narrative by sequentially illustrating the user's journey and interactions with the platform. By mapping out the entire experience, I can better empathize with the user's goals and pain points, leading to more effective design decisions.
Feature Ideation
Using my research findings and analyzing my goals and user types, I conceptualized possible features for a responsive website. Some of the major features are listed below, including the user stories and supporting research.
Information Architecture
For the sitemap, I wanted the platform to be easy to use and familiar to use, so I took inspiration from current sites on the market. Next, a few user flows were created to further explore the site structure and describe the possible steps a user would take while exploring events and signing up for an event.
PROTOTYPE
PROTOTYPE
Low-fidelity Sketches
Using the information architecture that I created in the Ideate phase, I was able to sketch low-fidelity prototypes for a few key screens.
Wireframes
I then digitized these solutions into mid-fidelity wireframes and made a few adjustments based on space and feasibility and added additional screens where needed.
Visual Design
I then began my branding research to determine the best visual design elements that would line up with my project goals. I started listing out my brand values, then gathered images that would align with those values and created a mood board. I was drawn to images of sunsets because they reminded me of carefree outdoor evenings with friends.
High-Fidelity Screens
The final step of the prototype phase was to incorporate all the visual design elements I created with my wireframes and create my first iteration of high-fidelity UI screens.
TEST
TEST
Usability Testing
After finalizing the high-fidelity screens, I recruited four usability testers with varying experience in digital products. Each usability tester was given the following scenario and corresponding tasks:
Scenario: You have recently moved to San Francisco and are looking to make new friends in your area. You enjoy playing volleyball and would love to find a recreational game to play this weekend.
Tasks:
Find a recreational volleyball event near Ocean Beach.
Indicate that you will attend the volleyball event.
Find a recreational volleyball group that you might want to join in order to attend more events like the one you have indicated that you are attending.
Testing Results
The usability tests were very insightful in terms of what elements worked and what didn’t:
All participants were able to complete each of the tasks, but there were a few participants who struggled to complete the final task of joining a volleyball group.
I realized that because the group was not linked directly to the event page, it became burdensome to go back to the search results page and switch to groups.
These results allowed me to redesign how groups were presented on the platform.
Major Changes
From the usability test results, the major changes I made to my high-fidelity UI screens included:
Modified the CTA buttons on the landing page to separate events and groups.
2. Reorganized the order of the Explore page and allowed users to search for events or groups.
3. Linked the parent group name to the event page, and added suggested events and groups once confirmed attendance.
4. Redesigned age group graphic to show the distribution of age of attendees on the event page.
FINAL SOLUTION
FINAL SOLUTION
Landing Page
The landing page introduces the user to the product and allows the user to choose whether they would like to browse events or groups. Below, there are a few promotional links that specify the actions the user can take with Gather.
Explore Page
The explore page is separated by Events and Groups, and allows the user to browse content in four different methods:
Search by keyword
Browse by category
Browse by location
Browse by schedule
Search Results Page
Once the user has inputted their search keyword or has chosen a category, a list of relevant events is displayed with a map view and sort/filter capabilities.
Event Page
The event page displays a cover photo, date/time info, address, the parent group, and a short description. It also displays the attendee information and event posts. Once confirmed to attend, suggested groups and events will be shown.
Project Takeaways
This project was my first attempt at the design process, and it was as rewarding as it was challenging. I gained several new skills, such as user interviewing and wireframing, which will help me immensely in future projects as I grow as a designer. Overall, I am really happy with my final product in the time allotted. Given more time and resources, I would have made the following additions/improvements:
Created more screens to demonstrate the onboarding process
Designed a personality quiz that would be used to suggest personalized events and groups to users.
Integrated event options with existing platforms such as Facebook events and Eventbrite.
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