CRE8
Role
Duration
Tools
Team
UX/UI Design
3 months
Figma
Miro
Sunet Survey
Individual
About This Project
My Interaction Design master's thesis aimed to design an interactive platform for hobby illustrators to collaborate and inspire each other, while also promoting mental well-being during physical distancing.
Through user research, co-design workshops and usability testing, I designed an app that offers a balance between collaboration and individual creativity and relaxation. The final app design includes features such as a gallery, message function, and inspiration prompts.
Design Challenge
We're living in a world where the pandemic has forced us to spend more time alone and our daily interactions have shifted to digital. Many people have taken up new hobbies to keep themselves busy, but I wanted to find a way to make those hobbies more meaningful.
I asked myself:
How can we use technology to create a sense of community and connection while still allowing people to engage in creative activities at home?
Solution
I wanted to create a solution that would allow people to engage in creative activities at home, while also connecting them with other artists. So, I decided to design an app for art collaborations between hobby illustrators. This way, even though people are physically distanced, they can still inspire each other and feel connected through their shared passion for art.
Design Process
IDEO Design Process (Participatory Approach)
Competitor Analysis
In analyzing current platforms, I found that many of them fall into two categories:
• platforms for collaboration
• platforms for inspiration
Some platforms may have elements of both, but often users find themselves using two different platforms simultaneously: one for collaboration, and one for the feeling of social connectedness, exchange of ideas or feedback, and inspiration for creativity.
With this in mind, my initial intention was to design a platform that would combine both of these functions into one seamless experience.
Questionnaire
To gather insights on the needs and preferences of our target user group, I conducted a survey addressed to people who picked up a new creative hobby during the pandemic. The survey aimed to learn more about the practices, values, and use scenarios of this group to inform the design of our platform for art collaborations.
Affinity Mapping
Through affinity mapping, I identified and highlighted some key themes to consider further in the design process.
Based on the survey results, it was clear that people found a lot of value in engaging in creative activities during the pandemic. They reported feeling more relaxed and fulfilled, and many said that they appreciated using their creative time as a way to disconnect from screens and focus on themselves. Additionally, people placed a lot of importance on feeling personally connected when collaborating with other artists.
Turning Point
The survey results led to a turning point in my design process. I realized that my initial goal of creating a one-stop-shop app for both collaboration and inspiration was too broad and may not fully address the needs of the user group.
Instead, I shifted my focus to creating an app that balances the need for engaging with like-minded individuals and personal connection and relaxation through solo artistic pursuits.
This meant enabling asynchronous collaboration and creating a "safe space" for users to share and receive feedback on their creative work, while also prioritizing the use of the app as a form of "me-time" away from screens. This change in design direction helped me to better understand and cater to the needs of my target user group.
Co-Design Workshops
• 2 co-design workshops
• conducted remotely on Zoom and Miro
• participants: selected from questionnaire participants
(target group: hobby illustrators between 18-29 years)
Co-Design Workshop #1
• 5 participants
• insights on collaboration, inspiration, motivation, relaxation and feeling of purposefulness
Co-Design Workshop #2
• conducted as two separate workshops with each 4 participants
• sense inspiration and design features and functionalities
Paper First
I decided to go for an app design because it's easy to use and take with you anywhere, and it has the added bonus of being able to take photos and record audio. Plus, it's a common tool for connecting with other people.
I made some drawings on paper to test my ideas. By playing around with cut-out pieces of the interface, I learned that it's possible to combine different sketches into one design.
From Paper to Digital
Usability Testing
To test the usability of the app prototype, I conducted usability testing with 8 participants (5 from the co-design workshop, 3 new to the design) from the target group. The testing was done either in-person or over Zoom, and participants interacted with a Figma prototype while being observed and asked to think aloud. This helped me gather valuable feedback and insights on the usability of the app, which I could then use to make necessary improvements to the final design.
The usability testing showed that the app needs a clear onboarding process and a safe space for exchanging ideas and feedback. Participants liked the idea of viewing other's art through the gallery and profiles feature and the option to engage in short inspiration prompts. The map function to find collaborations with other artists brought up some data privacy concerns.
Design Changes
One of the main changes, based on user feedback, was to improve the first screen of the app so that it was more intuitive and didn't require an onboarding process to explain how to use it. Additionally, I removed the function to see other artists' location on the map, considering it as a voluntary option. I did this in response to concerns about data privacy that were raised during testing.
Final Design
The final design of the app is all about inspiration and creative activities off-screen. The app's main function is to provide inspiration prompts for hobby illustrators to engage in creative activities and share them with other artists, as well as the ability to create their own prompts to inspire others to get creative. It includes a map function to discover events with other artists, with an option to share the user’s location for artist collaborations voluntarily. Users can also view other artists' work in the gallery and exchange ideas and feedback through a message feature.
What I Learned
In this project, I discovered the power of putting users at the center and how important it is to keep iterating to create a solution that truly meets their needs.
Listening to the users, I realized the importance of creating a balance between fostering collaboration and allowing for individual creativity and relaxation in my design which led me to change my initial design direction. Additionally, I gained an understanding of the importance of considering data privacy when designing features such as a map function.
