InItTogether
InItTogether
InItTogether
A product that helps you talk about your hobby together
Ironically, my first design I created is to help people not feel alone, when starting a new hobby
I say 'ironic' because, apart from my ux/ui bootcamp, I’m in this design journey alone. Similar to Reddit I designed a platform called 'InItTogether,' but focused solely on hobbies. Users can share their experiences, whether they're new or seasoned hobbyists, and support each other through challenges and successes in a safe, engaging community.
-
End-to-end product designer
-
December 2022 to March 2023
-
User interview
Pov/hmw statements
Persona
Sitemap
User/task flow
Sketches/low-fi wireframes
Mid-fi wireframes
Branding/UI kit
Hi-fi wireframes & prototype
Usability testing finding
Overview
The Problem
Individuals in a hobby often struggle to find ways to cope with the feeling of frustration rising when tackling new, or familiar skills.
Proposed Solutions
Allow users to express their frustration by talking.
Help users feel safe by showing a sense of community.
Help users not feel alone by allowing users by reading other peoples shared experince.
End Result
Final design showcase
For my first ux/ui project, I researched and designed a responsive website for users who
client, running a small electrical company. The website supports my client by meeting users' needs, providing online information about the company, and an easy way to get in touch.
Research
To understand users’ struggles when trying to stay motivated in their hobby, my research began with one-on-one interviews
I listened to 4 people who are at the intermediate (6mos-2yr) level of their hobby. Revealing the user’s story allowed me to learn about any frustrations, goals, motivation, and values.
Objectives:
Identify how the hobby benefits the user’s life
Understand how the user stayed motivated at the start of their learning journey.
Learn why users lost their motivation, or took a break from their hobby.
Affinity Map
Findings
3/4
3/4
3/4
Users dealt with small/slightly tedious moments can take time and become frustrating.
Users are influenced by people on media and/or influenced by the people in their environment in that activity.
Users will find a way to improve/ask for help. Such as when they are stuck they may go ask someone during their activity or afterward.
Key Insight:
Users start to progress quickly into their hobby and eventually hit challenges that are too difficult to overcome. Arises frustrations and loss of motivation in their hobby.
After analyzing the user patterns, I learned the main pain point was users want to be less frustrated, and get over barriers quickly
My interviewees had their unique motives when it came to starting their hobby. However, they came together by sharing similar goals and challenges, and so I incorporated them into a user persona.
“Armin” wants to make the most out of his dance sessions, and feel like he is not making progress.
User Persona
How might we help people reduce their frustration when they are stuck or in a tedious part of their journey?
Ideate
Using the “playing with opposites” method was a creative and fun way to help me come up with more ideas that my shy mind would never have thought about
I say “shy” mind because, writing down the bad ideas forced me to answer my own questions that I would be too shy to ask in person!
The chosen idea:
The simplicity of just talking. A community writing forum to discuss challenges and success. Allows users to not feel alone, or feel safe to talk about their thoughts.
How it will help my users:
Help users talk about their frustrations to someone who is equal or has more experience than them is a great way to progress in your journey.
Storyboard
I uncovered key emotional/procedural moments by creating the storyboard before drafting wireframes
In this process, I wanted to show the problem, how they lead up to finding the website, and what I hope for the users to feel when using the product.
“Ingrid” is having difficulty working out this new technique in her knitting project, and became doubtful in the process.
Referencing competitors sites to learn the best way to map out the product
To draft my sitemap and flows, I referenced Reddit’s product. As, it is the inspiration for my product, just a hobby app for a safe space.
Design Phase
Sketching and wireframes
I created low-fi wireframes, then mid-fi wireframes, then finally high-fi wireframes.
The idea of talking to someone, and being in a community, brought the idea of the name, “InItTogether”
The name came to be when I was working on the storyboard, it literally sparked when I was sketching out the board. I confidently said that’s the name, it just made sense.
The inspo
The brand name
As you hike up a mountain, there’s always someone passing on the trail, who will share some encouragement, or tips along the way
A mountain symbolizes your “progress”, and showing two moutians symbolizez “togetherness”.
Sketched Brand Logo
Digitized Brand Logo
Based on color theory my goal was to make my users feel calm and trustworthy. These meanings lead me to the color of blue
Based on color theory, it was important for the secondary color to be blue, especially with a product about sharing sensitive information.
Testing
Most of the priority revisions were the title/labels and ques
My goal during the testing was to simply see if there were any issues with the features and flow itself.
Issues I noticed:
1. Labels
Had to change labels such as “posts” to “comments” because participants did not know they could make a comment when it was labeled under “posts”
2. Posting the post que
It didn’t make sense to have a loading feature, as it made most teter hesitant and some said that it would make sense for a loading future for a larger post such as a video or image.
Design Comparison
Reflecting
What I learned
Conducting interviews
Conducting user interviews has helped me to converse more effectively and has gotten me to have a different experience!
Copy work
Understanding and getting more comfortable with “copy work”. I know that it is a part of the field and that it acts more as a guide and a way to help set standards.
Setting goals prior to user testing
Having goals set before a test can help assure me and keep me on track with what I need to expect when it comes to gathering the data and synthesizing the information.