Second Home

Second Home represents one one my Designlab capstone projects centering around the creation of a mobile application. The primary objective of this app is to assist students and remote workers in discovering their perfect work spots. Emphasizing a user-centric approach, the application aims to deliver a seamless interface enabling users to effortlessly explore and refine their preferred work environments according to their specific preferences

UX/UI Designer

UX Researcher

Role

Duration

4 weeks (80 hours)

Figma

Maze

Tools

In an era of remote work and online education, students and professionals alike face challenges in identifying and accessing ideal study spots that foster productivity and a conductive working environment. Consequently, there is a growing need for a comprehensive solution that assists these individuals in discovering and utilizing optimal study spots that align with their unique requirements

Problem

My research will explore present encounters of students and remote workers as they navigate the journey of locating work spots conductive to their specific needs. Additionally, the study will investigate competitive platforms to analyze their strengths and limitations. Through this exploration, the goal is to unearth a streamlined approach for users to assess prospective work locations

Research goals & methods

How might we better connect students and remote workers with their ideal work locations to ensure that optimal productivity can be achieved?

Research

The initial phase of my research involved conducting a competitive analysis of platforms facilitating the discovery of nearby study spots. The study encompassed an evaluation of three prominent contenders: Yelp, Google, and Apple Maps

Competitive Analysis

The next phase of my research entailed moderated user interviews involving 5 participants, all of whom are currently students or remote workers familiar with studying or working beyond their residences

Some questions include:

Can you describe your typical study/ work routine?
What motivates you to start and continue to be productive?
Can you describe your ideal study spot? How do you go about finding these locations?

The primary objective of this interview phase was to observe essential features for my design, aiming to incorporate personalized elements catering to each individual’s distinct requirements

User Interview

Users highlighted the working environment as a pivotal factor when selecting their next study spots. Additionally, they expressed a preference for locations that provide high-speed Wi-Fi, ample electrical outlets and quality coffee. These aspected were considered and incorporated into my designs

Participants were also presented a Yelp search result of “study spots” in the San Jose area. They were then instructed to go through the results as if they were looking for their next work location

One of the most common steps users took was viewing the presented photos when deciding on a location. If they like the photos shown, they will be more likely to click on the details

Users took star ratings as one of the most prominent determining factors in selecting a spot. They believed that the more popular a place is, the better it will be

Users did not like how there was a limited amount of photos shown on this page, preferring to be able to view more than the 3 images shown here

Through user interviews, I curated concepts aimed at addressing well-defined design challenges. This approach enabled me to distill essential elements, providing a clear blueprint for the direction of my designs

Brainstorming Process

Feature Roadmap: by analyzing user interviews, I developed feature roadmaps to prioritize elements within my designs

Affinity map: categorizing interviews allows for a visual diagram of important topics to consider. In this study, the environment was an important factor when choosing a cafe

Design

After looking at Dribble for some inspiration, I sketched out a couple versions of the home and cafe details page. These were then used as blueprints to my mid-fi designs on Figma

Sketches to mid-fi

Home

Cafe details

Map

Map- item details

My likes

I opted for a primary color scheme featuring green to impart a welcoming ambiance to the app. Additionally, I selected rounded icons and text boxes to further enhance the app's inviting and friendly aesthetic

UI Components

Test & Iterate

In order to assess the usability and accessibility of my designs, I conducted a usability test involving 10 participants through Maze. The user journey was tracked using heatmaps, while additional in-depth insights were gathered through open-ended questions

Usability Testing

The results revealed no significant issues in the design, with only minor prototyping challenges within the Maze platform. Consequently, my iterations primarily focused on enhancing the finer details and features of the design

Asking open-ended questions such as these allowed me to explore beyond heatmaps and truly cater to the users for specific feature improvements

Because there was no significant changes to be made based on usability testing, I focused on making updates to the visual aspect of my designs

Multiple rounds of UI iterations

Text accessibility

Users expressed difficulty reading white text over a green background. The solution was to lighten the green background and change the text to a dark grey for accessibility

—>

Further development showed that the home button served the same function as the search button. The home option was omitted and a click-to-reveal text nav bar was designed for further accessibility

Navigation bar

—>

Final Prototype

Search cafes near me
View cafes saved by friends
View cafe details
Scroll cafe images

Some actions include:

Reflect

Second Home is a project I have completed as my last capstone for Designlab. I've consistently grown and evolved with each capstone, and this particular one stands out as the project I take the most pride in. It has been instrumental in significantly advancing my technical skills

Some of my learnings include:

This capstone was one where I was able to drastically improve my auto-layout skills. After numerous hours spent on YouTube tutorials and receiving guidance from my mentor, I significantly broadened my understanding of how to leverage it. This not only streamlined my workflow but also empowered me to ensure responsiveness across various devices

The power of auto-layout

Throughout the process, I encountered challenges in locating and identifying all of my features, as they were primarily labeled as frames or boxes. This experience underscored the critical importance of proper labeling when creating auto layouts and frames, as it greatly enhances the clarity and recognition of actions within the design

Labeling is key

The primary objective of the design process is to perpetually drive enhancements and iterations. For Second Home, the ultimate goal would be to boost user engagement and retention. If this were a real company, the next steps would involve the ongoing collection of user feedback to refine the overall usability of the product

If this was a real launch

View my other case studies

Kaizen

Downtown Women’s Center