ux design, user research, prototyping, redesign
This is a redesign of a previous project, Free Your Stuff. Free Your Stuff is a gifting and sharing application where users can give away and receive things at no cost. Think of it like a free pile but it can be accessed within your fingertips! The application needs an update. The icons and colors are outdated and the application lacks ease of accessibility. In order to scrutinize the product with a better understanding of the user pain points and insights, I conducted two methods of research: Heuristic Evaluation and User Reviews Analysis.
After scrutinizing Free Your Stuff, I came to the following conclusion:
Overall the UI is outdated, the experience of sharing and gifting is not enjoyable at all.
Based on the reviews, users find the iconography to be unclear, the color palette needs to be reconsidered. There needs to be more clarity of the application flow.
Confusing iconography: Ambiguous icons might confuse the user from fully accessing the application. They might not know how to find free items or give away goods or post a wanted listing.
Lacking color contrast: Clashing colors makes it hard for the user to read the content properly. This disconnects the user from fully accessing the application.
Unfinished information architecture: The flow is missing a few pieces, it needs to be flushed out more to showcase all the possibilities the user can have within the app.
Understanding the end users are always crucial for problem-solving. A better understanding of users could help better transform the application into a valuable product. User personas are important because they drive the design decisions. Before we proceed to the design stage, we need to remember who we are designing for.
After narrowing down the features to provide on the application, I recruited 5 participants remotely to perform an open card sorting exercise through OptimalWorkshop. From the exercise, I was able to understand their thinking and behavior properly. Participants were asked to sort features into a categories.
After completing the card sorting exercise, a site map was created based on the frequencies. The new application will be restructured to be more intuitive for giving and sharing.