UX was here
🏆Selected within Top 3 Finalist at ux design jam
Project Duration
My Role
Tools
Team
March 2024
UX/UI Designer
Figma
Ana Rodriguez, Aoi Netsu, Grace Sun, Jane Choi
Project Overview
This project was selected by within top 3 finalist on Eunoia Design Jam at SFU university among
43 teams over 150 participants.
Our client was ‘UX was Here’, it is a dynamic community-based platform that brings together UX enthusiasts from diverse backgrounds under on virtual roof. With
features like explore, job listings, messaging,
posts and event.
-Matt Karakilic Founder & CEO @UX Was Here
CLIENT PROBLEM STATEMENT ↓
High turn rate, low usage rate
As UX Was Here strives to fulfill its mission of creating a vibrant
and inclusive community for UX enthusiasts, several key challenges
and needs have emerged, each presenting unique opportunities for
innovation and improvement within the UX domain.
The main challenge from the client’s perspective.
Beta version
Our First Approach
How might we develop an inclusive, community-centred platform while increasing user engagement and
retention rates?
Define the Problem
“UwH” struggles with understanding the needs and motivations
of its diverse user base, resulting in low user retention rates.
- Lack of personalization
- Invaluable content
- Disconnected community
- Generic features
Solution
1. Spaces (community group)
Spaces are communities within the UX Was Here platform where users
can join or create groups based on shared interests, backgrounds, or roles
such as geographical communities (e.g., Korean Designers in Canada), interest-based
groups (e.g., AI tools enthusiasts), or professional affiliations
(e.g., UBC students and alumni, Recruiters).
2. Upvote system
An upvote system will allow users to vote on posts, with the most upvoted
posts appearing first in the message board. This system empowers the
community to highlight valuable content and serves as a form of crowdsourced
moderation, reducing the burden on the moderation team.
3. Improved profile
Enhanced profile pages allow users to showcase their portfolios,
personal interests, job placements, nationality, and location.
This comprehensive profile setup facilitates better user connections
and is a conversation starter.
Final Design
Home page
Home page – in other space with saved side bar
Event Page
Resource Page
Profile Page
Mobile Mockup
RESEARCH ↓
What have designers needed and experienced?
We conducted 2 surveys with 28 responses and 3 user interviews among
our peers to better understand their needs and motivations to participate
in a UX community platform.
What describes your role the best in the UX community ?
58% - A community member / 32%- A job seeker / 10% - industry professional
In survey, over 58% of people describe their role ‘Community member‘
in the ux community as well as 80% would like to participate the
community to connect with people and attend events.
Personas ↓
Junior and Senior Designer
As junior UX designers, we felt confident creating persona #1 (Junior Designer).
However, we struggled with the senior UX designer persona #2 (Senior Designer),
so we conducted two user interviews with senior designers to better
understand their motivations and needs.
User testing ↓
User Testing
We have conducted two user tests, targeting
our first persona, individuals who are non-native speakers seeking more connections
within the community, and a senior designer
with over ten years of experience, fitting our second persona.
Iterations
Home- before user testing
Home- After user testing
- Improving the filter option to display “Upvotes” instead of “Top”
could potentially enhance usability since upvoted posts stay at the top. - Relocating the “Share” and “Save” functionalities to the top right corner
can also contribute to better usability. It’s an easily accessible position that
allows users to navigate elements and save posts. - Including tags indicating the source of posts provides convenience
and encourages exploration.
Resource Page- before user testing
Resource Page- After user testing
Reflections
Our design decisions center around nurturing personal connections among users, both on an individual level and within specialized Spaces. These Spaces offer tailored environments where users feel valued and connected, enabling them to share their experiences and contribute to a vibrant community.
By fostering such interactions, we aim to revitalize user engagement and reduce turnover rates. We believe that by enhancing the user experience through meaningful interactions, we can significantly increase both user engagement and retention rates within the platform.
Takeaways
- Conduct user testing and interviews for valuable insights, not assumptions, even when we are part of the user base.
- Connect user needs with client pain points for effective solutions.
- Prioritize tasks as everything takes longer than expected.
- Intuition also works to understand the problem.
