search adventures easily with
Seattlesunseeker.com
makes it possible to find a perfect place with the perfect weather for your next adventure without switching tabs!
Conducting competitive audit, defining the user, creating a mood board to define the look of the app.
Updating the look, Usability Study, analyzing findings to evaluate usability and identify weak points.
Making changes, takeaways, future plans to ensure the app solves the user's problem.
1. Conduct
Competitive Audit
2. Define
the End User
3. Create
a Moodboard
The work on the project started with the analysis of our 5 direct and indirect competitors to better understand the product’s advantages and weaknesses in comparison to them, as well as to find some inspiration and things we liked about them.
Among other isights we got, the most striking one was that about the position of the map and the cards on the screen. Most of our competitors use only half or maximum 2/3 of the screen to show the map. The rest of the screen is given for the cards of the places.
It makes the process of choosing the place easier, as the user can simultaneously see the pictures and a short description of the places and their location on the map.
In one of our first iterations we replaced the map occupying the whole first screen with the map on the right side of the screen accompanied by the place cards on the right.
The last modification shows that we made the cards a bit bigger and provided the users with hourly forecast for each of the places.
Besides, we added an option to make the map full screen, as the tests showed that some users prefer to use the map this way.
The data collected from user interviews, questionnaire and competitive audit allowed us to write a description of the end user.The questionnaire
Working on a mood board contributed a lot to discovering the “face” of our product. Collecting various pictures of Washington State, hikers and various things connected with outdoor activities and associated with the word “search” revealed the colors and shapes that would better suit the product’s identity. Writing down some words connected with the idea of outdoor adventures was also very helpful at that point.
1. Update
the Current Look
2. Conduct
the Usability Study
3. Analyze
the Usability Study Results
Some crucial changes that were made to the overall design.
The upper navigation panel: changed the logo, updated the typeface, increased the width of the panel to ensure convenient use.
About us section:
added the basic info about the service as new coming users want to know what exactly we offer.
The footer: added "FAQ" and "Contact Us" links, as well as "Learn more about us", to ensure convenient navigation to these sections of the website.
The layout: map occupies only half of the screen, the second half is now for the places cards, so that users can easily see photos of the places that are found and the map simultaneously. The cards look more uniform, as they are equal in size and shape. Users can see weather forecast for the place on each card.
Filters:
users can choose the type of place they are searching for by using filters on the top of the map. Each filter has a "Clear" button, besides there is a "Clear all filters" button at the top of the page to make the search process easier.
Adding new place: users have multiple options to add a new place to the system, as it is one of the most important features of the service.
Renaming the "Sign Up" page to "Register" helped to avoid confusion between sign-in and sign-up phrases.
Replacing "Register", "Log in" and "Edit profile" by pop-up forms ensured that users don’t have the feeling of changing the page when they perform these actions. It helps them to stay focused on the task they try to accomplish.
The Profile segment in the upper navigation panel has now the profile avatar icon for a better visibility. Besides, users can access the actions that were previously on the profile page, such as "see messages", "my places" and "my changes", right from the search page by clicking the avatar icon.
When the initial version of the re-design was ready and everything was working, it was time for a usability study.
I planned and conducted 10 online guided user tests of the main features of the system with 10 participants that I recruited through Facebook groups.
The Usability Study Plan
The overall SUS score: 90
SUS questionnaire
1. Make
Changes
2. Define
Takeaways
3. Make
Future Plans
After the analysis of the usability study results, we made some changes and introduced some new features to the product.
The usability study revealed the need to add hourly forecast feature to the system and the need to explain the weather colors on the map. Moving the weather filter and the calendar to the bottom of the map allowed adding the hourly scale right behind it. The right bottom corner of the map is now occupied by the weather color legend.
The Place cards' appearance also underwent some changes. Now the user can see hourly forecast on the card if they prefer to search the place by picture, not on the map.
All these changes help users make decision about their adventure faster and more conveniently.
Users now can easily see the hourly weather on the Place page. Thus, the user can make their decision based on the exact weather forecast when they explore the place page.
The add button for Good to know tips is more obvious now.
TAKEWAY 1
User Interviews
Conducting User Interviews is a must before starting any project. It’s the only way to put the user front and center from the very beginning of the design process. The findings from those interviews will then guide all future design decisions.
TAKEAWAY 2
Real life doesn’t fit in a standard box
Real-life projects are sometimes messy and not ideally organized. It’s okay, and my job as a UX designer is to be the advocate for the user, to ensure that in this messy process their needs are addressed and the product solves their problem in the best way possible.
TAKEWAY 3
Communication is key
Working in a real team showed me how crucial it is to be able to communicate effectively with the team members. Teamwork experience brings a lot of variables to the design process, as there are multiple people involved in decision-making. So mastering my presentation and communication skills during this project was a must, as I needed to deliver my ideas and thoughts to the team members and make sure we are on the same page.
Improve the interaction with the map (already done).
On our last test and refine the design cycle, we've made some changes, including adding clusters of places on the map and easier recognizable colors for weather indication.
Improve the interaction with the filters on Desktop devices (already done).
We changed the interaction with filters during our last test and refine the design cycle. We placed the all filters button at the top of the page and let users see all the filters at once in a pop up window. This way, it's easier for them to navigate the filters and to see what's chosen.
They can still use the weather filter separately, without opening the all filters window.
Make possible for users to share trips with multiple stops along the way (including restraunts, sights, scenic points, etc.).
