GATHR

This case study focuses the Capstone 2 project for the development of a social app. Gathr is a startup company that has created an app that helps people meet new friends. The goal of the product is to create a social user experience that will allow users to get out and do activities in person.

JUNE 2023: This is another end-to-end project that incorporate each stage of the design process I learned throughout my bootcamp. I applied all of the methods I learned from the course while working with real-world constraints. 

ROLE: Designer & Researcher

INDEX

  • THE CHALLENGE

  • RESEARCH & PLANNING

  • DESIGNING THE SOLUTION (Phase 1)

    • User flows

    • Low fidelity sketches

  • TESTING

    • In person testing with wireframes

  • DESIGNING THE SOLUTION (Phase 2)

    • Branding

    • High fidelity designs

  • CONCLUSION

OVERVIEW

THE CHALLENGE

Getting an accurate count from an original sign-up to actual attendees has been challenging, and the follow-through needs to be a higher percentage. The solution also has to be cost effective because this is a startup.

RESEARCH & PLANNING

The research & synthesis techniques I used were:

  1. Competitive research

  2. Secondary research

  3. Affinity mapping

COMPETITIVE RESEARCH

EVENTBRITE

  • Eventbrite offers an extensive event search and discover functionality, allowing users to find events based on location, interests, and dates.

  • The notification features and options are not easily accessible.

  • I want to include a chat feature for event attendees and make the notification features more accessible.

During my competitive research I wanted to understand the competition and identify opportunities by assessing likes, dislikes and action items. The apps I focused on were Eventbrite and Meetup.

MEETUP

  • The chatroom is a great feature that allows those who are nervous to connect with others before the event so that they are comfortable.

  • This app did not have the best event discovery. If users have difficulty finding relevant events it can be frustrating.

  • I want to enhance the event discovery process by improving the search filters, recommendations, and sorting options. I want it to be easier for users to find events that align with their interests.

SECONDARY RESEARCH

Research questions I wanted to be answered:

  1. What is the best way to effectively communicate with an attendee about an event?

  2. Why do users sign up for events and then not go?

  3. What is social anxiety? What causes it? And how does it play a role in avoiding contact with others? 

  4. How can someone anxious feel more comfortable at an event?

  5. What are the fears users have when going to an event?

  • Push notifications are better than email updates because notifications are more disruptive and catch users' attention.

    Events should follow an 80/20 rule where 80% of the information is valuable and essential, and 20% is promo/deals.

    Keeping users notified about what’s going on and letting them help each other.

  • Fear of the unknown, improper dress, getting lost, not knowing anyone, no media showing prior events, and nothing being offered.

  • “Social anxiety disorder is a common type of anxiety disorder. A person with a social anxiety disorder feels symptoms of anxiety or fear in situations where they may be scrutinized, evaluated, or judged by others, such as speaking in public, meeting new people, dating, being on a job interview, answering a question in class, or having to talk to a cashier in a store. Doing everyday things, such as eating or drinking in front of others or using a public restroom, also may cause anxiety or fear due to concerns about being humiliated, judged, and rejected.”

    - National Institute of Mental Health

  • Prioritizing an attendees well-being by making a safe and inviting environment.

    Encourage attendees to invite friends.

    Have an idea of what to wear.

    Showing pictures of the venue beforehand.

    Make mingling for group activities optional.

    Consider providing accommodations to support individuals with social anxiety. This can include creating quiet spaces for relaxation, using clear signage and instructions, allowing for flexible seating arrangements, or providing a buddy system where attendees can pair up for support.

    If you have guest speakers or presenters, communicate with them beforehand about social anxiety and its potential impact on attendees. Encourage them to be understanding, patient, and inclusive in their presentations, interactions, and question-and-answer sessions.

  • According to eventtia.com these are some of the thoughts attendees may have before the event that would stress them out:

    “Will I find the venue?”

    “Did I register correctly?”

    “Will I have to wait a long time to check in?”

    “Will I have a good seat?”

AFFINITY MAPPING

I wanted to extract insights while finding themes within these insights. The main issue is follow-through with attendance after signing up.

THEME 1: Fears

One of the most prominent reasons I found in my secondary research was social anxiety. The first theme concerned fears and feelings surrounding attending events and socializing. I noticed that many of these concerns could be solved by having more intentionality in making an inclusive/ accessible event. This means creating a space and experience with social anxiety in mind.

THEME 2: Challenges

The next theme had patterns referencing covid and how it could present some challenges. Humans have had decreased in-person experiences and lower percentages of social skills with the app's target age group.

THEME 3: Comfort

To combat some of these challenges, the next theme focused on connection. Humans are inherently social creatures, but social anxiety makes it difficult to feel comfortable in new spaces with new people. Comfort is critical, and most of the points under this category concern creating a safe environment, clear communication, and connection with friends. This theme made the idea I later implemented, where users could communicate with others attending the event. This exercise was eye-opening because these solutions are attainable and cost-effective, a critical requirement the start-up asked for. These insights and themes created a path forward for me to begin to develop solutions.

DESIGN THE SOLUTION: PHASE 1

The hope with these user flow choices is that it solves the issue of users not following through with attending events by making the experience more manageable and encouraging.

  • ALERTS: For example, one of the issues I was working with was the need for follow-through with attending events after sign up. I learned from the secondary research and affinity mapping that push notifications are more helpful than emails. I also knew that planning and lack of communication about information could be a turn-off for users that are already anxious. To solve these issues, I wanted alerts (notifications) on the main home screen instead of tucked away in the settings. Easily accessible notifications could give users quick and easy-to-access updates about specific events and change their notification preferences.

  • CHAT: Adding a messaging feature was essential for a user to feel connected with other users, but I did not want to crowd the home screen, so I placed it under the profile settings.

  • EVENTS: Putting “My events” as a main icon on the navigation helps guide the user to a one-stop shop for all the information they may need.

LOW FIDELITY SKETCHES

The user flows, and competitive analysis clarified how and what I should prioritize in the design.

For a closer look:

  • I wanted the messaging system for each event to show how many people were going so users had an idea and felt comfortable going.

  • I wanted the notification feature to be displayed on the home screen and display a dot to show that there are new notifications.

  • The G allows the user to connect to the home screen from wherever they are

  • The idea behind displaying themes for events on the front came from the filter feature. I wanted users to interact with the themes and get curious about what else they may like. This may encourage them to look further into all their options and explore the rest of the app.

  • Because users need more reason to go, I added a plus sign next to the calendar icon on the event page to give them another opportunity to add it to their calendar. There are two reasons for this:

    • The user could have added the event to their favorites and need to know whether they want to go. This feature allows them to remember when this event occurs and still buy a ticket later if they're going to. Although this doesn't directly solve the issue with the ticket-buying conversion rate, it could still encourage more users to attend. Depending on the day or how social they may feel, the user can always send this event to their friend and keep it in their calendar.

    •  The other reason is that those who bought the ticket can ensure they remember the event and even add notifications later.

TESTING

I did an in person usability test with paper wireframes and asked my 5 participants to complete a few tasks:

  1. Sign up for an event

  2. Get in contact with event attendees prior the the event and ask a question

  3. Find pre-event information: tickets, address, time

FINDINGS:

  • Providing explanations for icons was needed

  • Improve ticket storage & add quick access

  • Enhance attendee profile information because participants wanted to know more about attendees

  • Participants wanted to be able to have group chats

  • Participants asked how they would be notified or if they would if there were new interest filters offered

  • One of the participants asked if they could add an event to their calendar before purchasing. Although they enjoyed the saved feature to add events to favorites, they wanted a way to see the event on their calendar so they would not forget the event while it was sitting on the favorites screen.

DESIGNING THE SOLUTION (PHASE 2)

BRANDING

The Gathr app is:

  • Caring

  • Familiar

  • Humorous

  • Optimistic

I wanted to strive to create a visually appealing and intuitive user experience that encourages users to connect and participate in real-life activities.

LOGO & COMPANY NAME:

Being surrounded by others who we have common interest with often bring us joy. Gathering strengthens bonds between us and allows for the chance to reconnect as humans first and hopefully has friends later. The logo is an abstract of two humans connecting with their arms continually extending.

“Connect as humans…leave as friends”

COLOR PALETTE:

PRIMARY

  • Purple- stands for courage and sometimes that is what it takes when you are meeting new people.

SECONDARY

  • Orange- is energizing and optimistic which is how I want users to feel when they are with their friends

ACCENT

  • Yellow- is friendly and inviting

HIGH FIDELITY SCREENS

  • HOME SCREEN

    Descriptions for the icons were added

  • SIDE MENU

    I improved the ticket storage and gave it its own section on the side menu. A notification will also pop up on the hamburger menu to clearly show alerts

  • FILTER

    Multiple filter features were added like the ability to pick the date from a calendar or even manipulate the price range

  • PURCHASE TICKET

    Participants can now add an event to their calendar before purchasing. This is another way for users not to forget an event because they will see it on their calendar and sign up later

  • EVENT CHAT

    The event chat provides profile photos along with head count of how many people form the event are online. Users can click each of the profile photos to lead them to the users profile. Creating a group chat feature is now provided

  • MAP

    The map coincides with interest for easy exploration of events

  • TICKET

    Users can now add their ticket to theirs wallet for easy access

  • USER PROFILE

    Users can find out about each other’s interests though their profiles. Users can also see their personal event that are pending attendance and see past events they’ve been to keep track

  • CALENDAR

    The calendar now allows for notifications to be edited directly on the calendar so that users can add reminders right away

  • NEW INTERESTS

    When new event filters arise a pop up will come up with all new choices of interests

CONCLUSION

If I could do this project again there are a few things I would have done differently:

  • I would have liked to have a better file management system to keep track of all my research, design elements and information

  • Even though there was a time constraint next time I would like to create a wireframe prototype vs a paper wireframe

What I learned:

  • The case study concludes with the belief that the insights and solutions developed during this process are attainable and cost-effective, aligning with the startup's requirements. The secondary research called attention to social anxiety and how it could inform the behaviors and decisions of users. Overall, this project highlighted the importance of effective communication, an inclusive environment, and promoting user connections to increase the conversion rate of event invites to attendees.

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