Naybor is a mobile app designed to address the challenges and stress associated with moving to a new area.
PROJECT OVERVIEW
Moving is one of the most stressful events in a person's life. There are a plethora of apps to foster community, discover new events, and/or discover new places. However, there aren’t any that do all of the above while helping the user learn more about their new environment.
With this in mind, I was hired to design an app that provides a safe and engaging way for users to get familiar with an area either in-person or virtually.
THE PROBLEM
Moving is known to be one of the most stressful events in a person's life, whether it's for work or personal reasons. Settling into a new area can be overwhelming, particularly with the additional chores and tasks that come with moving, even if the person has friends or family in the region.
THE SOLUTION
An intuitive and engaging app that helps the user learn more about their area and familiarize themselves with their new surroundings through:
- a customizable map with detailed information and resources
- a fun and exciting way to discover local events and communities
- an enjoyable interface that adapts to the user for the best possible experience
THE BACKGROUND
Naybor is designed to provide users with an opportunity to interact with their new neighborhood in a way that works for them. It provides information for local events, trusted businesses, maps, and resources for users to take advantage of throughout their moving process. With so many resources in one place, users will be able to customize their experience to ensure they feel comfortable and connected in their new environment.
THE RESEARCH
My initial hypothesis was that “These problems only plagued people who have just recently moved” however I was quite wrong. After initial interviews, I discovered that these problems are much more widespread and even affects those that have moved more than 12 months ago. So in order to get a more diverse perspective, I cataloged participants into 3 categories based on the time since their last move and attempted to get insight from as many from each category as possible.
PRIMARY RESEARCH - INTERVIEWS
Sitting down with participants (either face-to-face or virtually) provided me the opportunity to engage in a deeper and more insightful interview/conversation about their specific process after moving.
Goals:
- Learn more about the mindset of the user after they move
- Understand the user’s wants, needs, and priorities
- Discover what steps users take to find comfort in their new setting
IMPORTANT CONCERNS
- During the interviews, almost all of the participants expressed concern about ensuring safety since they were unfamiliar with the area so taking this into consideration, I wanted to make sure that the user experience provided a safe and engaging experience.
- Providing the ability to explore both in-person and virtually ensured that users could take advantage of whichever method felt most comfortable for them
THE INSIGHTS
After holding initial interviews with participants, the most common and notable insights included:
- feeling more comfortable in a new area by familiarizing themselves with their surroundings.
- wanting to find the best places to eat, shop, and hang out based on the feedback/advice of those they know.
- wanting to discover new experiences, places, and events.
SECONDARY RESEARCH
With so many apps at the user’s disposal, I analyzed some of the most common tools to get a sense of their strengths and weaknesses.
- Facebook & Reddit Groups
- Bumble Bff and Tinder
- Trip Advisor, Google Maps, and Apple Maps
From this research, I developed a better understanding of what each category excelled at, where they fell short and how best to conglomerate the best of each into a single app.
THE BRAINSTORM
After going through and analyzing the research, I started thinking about possible solutions by crafting Point of View and How Might We statements in order to better understand the problems from the users perspectives.
With those in mind, the 2 best solutions included:
- an interactive map of the area and neighborhood
- an interactive interface for discovering new places, and events
With a little bit of creativity, I found a way to integrate both to maximize versatility for users.
CARD SORT TESTING MISHAP
While working on the categories for the interactive map, I ran into an unexpected issue. I was unsure how best to set up the categories. So I used a cart-sort (with new and old participants) to get a better understanding.
- Simple labels like "Food", "Shopping", and "Gas" were straightforward, but I needed to understand more about the whole process from potential users.
- To do this, I chose to use a card-sorting activity to gain insight into what users might expect and consider normal.
Round 1
I gave participants 61 cards and asked them to sort them as they wished. The open card sort yielded interesting results from the two first participants. When given the freedom to arrange the cards, they organized them based on when they thought they'd need them:
- Daily needs
- Weekly needs
- Monthly needs
- Rare needs
- Hoping never to need
Round 2
After reflecting and refining, I used a Hybrid approach for the second round of this activity. I provided participants with 48 cards and 4 preset categories (Food/Drinks, Shopping, Things to Do, and Events). I asked them to sort the cards and create extra categories if needed. The initial categories were mostly used, but two new ones were created: “Wellness” and “Service”, which better suited the categories I had considered.
THE PROCESS
After deciding on the features, I created potential user personas to connect end users and their goals with the solution I am designing. With the three users and their goals in mind, I crafted a couple of user flows and task flows to help visualize how users might solve the problems they are facing.
User Flows
Task Flows
THE DESIGNS
I explored potential layouts throughout the process from Low-Fi Wireframes to the High-Fi prototype in order to design an intuitive and engaging app.
Sketches & Concepts
For the user to get the most out of the interactive map, I wanted the UI elements to be unobtrusive as much as possible so the user could properly focus on what’s around them. To get there, I studied and analyzed the successes and shortcomings of competitors.
Then I sketched out potential layouts to plan how all the elements would fit on the screen. While certainly not the prettiest, the sketches helped me better pick, choose, and arrange the necessary UI elements.
Low-Fidelity Wireframes
With a skeleton in mind, I created a set of low-fidelity wireframes to ensure all the components worked together while staying unobtrusive (yet still accessible if users need or want them). I experimented with different layouts and settled on one that offered the most benefits with minimal disruption.
Logos & Branding
With the foundation established, I began focusing on branding. I crafted several logo concepts, worked through various colors, and chose a font type that I felt would provide a modern and engaging experience for users without being too demanding of their focus.
High-Fidelity Wireframes
Before I put everything together, I decided to run another test of the wireframes with previous interviewees to get feedback on the layout and aesthetic so far. Their input helped shape the design into a more cohesive, intuitive, and engaging experience.
It was quite satisfying to see everything come together.
THE TEST
Finally, I wanted to conduct one last round of usability tests, this time with a functioning prototype to ensure everything not only looked aesthetically complete but also remained intuitive and engaging.
I asked the participants to complete a few simple tasks while noting their interactions and any possible pain points. Despite the prototype being limited the testing provided a good understanding of what worked and what did not.
- The main challenge encountered during testing was the limited interactivity of the prototype. Therefore, for most of the testing, I provided scenarios and asked participants to walk me through how they would complete a particular objective.
The insights gained from this testing guided the final round of iterations to improve the overall usability of the final deliverable.
THE FINALE
Comfort looks different to everyone but getting to know the community, finding the best places, and uncovering hidden gems is a great place to start. With a Naybor account, users can explore their area in a variety of ways that suit their needs. They can:
- Go out and explore while familiarizing themselves with the surroundings, saving items of interest, and tracking their starting point
- Explore the area virtually from the comfort of their home
- Swipe through local businesses and upcoming events to avoid missing out on anything, from trivia nights at local bars to community fundraisers and music festivals.
- Find out what's trending, easily locate nearby attractions and businesses, get recommendations from friends/neighbors, and get curated recommendations based on interests and previous events.
No matter how you want to experience a new location, Naybor is here to help make it happen. With the data-driven, personalized platform, you can find your place in the community, create lasting connections, and integrate into your community.
