Problem

College students are always on the lookout for the next event. They have a hard time deciding, whether they want to attend. There is a lot of thinking and less doing. Assemble looks to fix that by introducing a three-day timeframe to help users make decisions quicker or risk the event expiring.

Project Goals & Role

I worked with a client and my role was Product Designer. The project took five weeks to complete. For this project, there were two main goals.

1. Redesign and improve the overall experience.
2. Make it easier for college students to find or create events.

Process

I gathered research by interviewing users and using a survey. I analyzed the findings and mapped out prioritization for each feature. Then I created a user flow to better understand the structure and user experience of the app. After that I created some Hi-Fi designs and a couple of Hi-Fi prototypes for testing. Finally, I was able to validate my solutions and present the final designs and prototype.

Understand Pain Points & Additional Research

I went through the current design with seven users. I wanted to know if their frustrations with the current design aligned with what the client had discovered.

I also did more research to confirm some thoughts and decisions the previous design used. I created a survey that had both close-ended and open-ended questions. 24 college students completed it. The responses will aid me in ideating potential solutions.

Synthesis & Prioritization Of Features

After discussing the research with stakeholders, I synthesized my findings. I mapped out which features needed prioritization and included some key findings below.

While the map view was more visually pleasing, it lacked the details that list view had.

Three days is ideal because it forces the user to make a decision and helps declutter.

The creating event feature needed a better structure with some sort of instructions or guide.

Map Out The App & Ideation

Before coming up with some solutions, I put together a task flow that focused on two different paths. Users can either create or find an event to attend. The user will always have the ability to share and see who's attending the event.

Based on the survey results favoring the list format, I created Lo-Fi wireframes with a list view. I referred back to the research and continued having discussions with the client. I went through several iterations and finally settled on the screens below.

Early Prototype & Refine Based On Feedback

I converted the Lo-Fi wireframes into a Hi-Fi prototype and tested it. It helped me make the necessary iterations. Here were some of the feedback.

Checkmark was a bit confusing because I didn't know if I was attending the event or completing the event. Might be better to use a worded button instead.

There isn't an invite or share button in the event cards, so I was wondering how invites were being sent out to other users.

The creating event flow was a bit unclear, I wasn't sure where to enter the name of the event or how to invite people.

I would like a filtering or search feature because I imagine it would be a lot harder to find a specific event when there are tens or hundreds of events.

I updated the designs according to the feedback. The main addition was the search and filter feature. This wasn't present in the first prototype due to timing and request of the client. This feature was necessary because it made it easier to find friends or events.

Below is a side to side comparison of the major changes I made for the redesign. I also updated the Hi-Fi prototype below, to reflect the new changes.

• Make it easier to scan information using labels and organizing information better.
• Add the ability to create groups and search for friends.
• Guide the user on how to create an event.

Validate & Finalize Screens

I tested the prototype with seven college students. There were a lot more positive reviews compared to the old design. All of them except one were able to complete all the tasks.

After testing the final designs, I put together some UI components. I used SF Pro Display as a placeholder font and the colors were already decided beforehand. I included labels and enough spacing to help with accessibility. I split up the design of the event card into three different sections. This was to create a hierarchy of information that users can scan quicker.

Conclusion & Reflection

I was able to validate my assumptions and create a redesign that the client was happy with. While the outcome was great, I would have liked to test out some other ideas that I had.

If I had more time, I would dive deeper into understanding the effects a three-day window might have on users. What about events that require more than three days to plan? Also, I would like to spend some time exploring location and time filtering. These two potential features have high upside.

Here are the key takeaways from this project: