Block Party
PROJECT BACKGROUND
MY ROLE
Product Design (UX/UI)
UX Researcher
DURATION
June 2022
TOOLS
Figma
Before deciding on a problem space for this project, our team conducted secondary research that would guide us towards a certain direction our solution would take. With the environmental track in mind, we individually spent time researching consumption and its negative effects on the environment. A few of key takeaways include:
THE NATURE OF CONSUMPTION HABITS
Consumer society encourages individualism and competition, which discourages pro-social behavior. Additionally, consumption can be viewed as a hedonic treadmill--there is not way to get happier through continuous consumption
CONSUMPTION'S EFFECT ON THE ENVIRONMENT
“Residential electricity consumption — much of it from major home appliances — accounts for about one fifth of U.S. energy-related greenhouse gas emissions” was a quote that stood out to us from the Center for Climate and Energy Solutions
LOW-INCOME COMMUNITIES
Families living at or below the poverty line are required to devote a substantial amount of their monthly expenses to products and services that function as basic necessities, limiting access to goods that can improve quality of life
DESIGN QUESTION
How might we design an app that will encourage users to buy less and share with neighbors in close proximity of them, thus, breaking consumerism habits and promoting environmental sustainability?
BUILDING USER EMPATHY
SURVEYS
Before diving into the design process, we conducted surveys to gather more context about our users. Our survey gathered insight on people's level of comfortability with borrowing something from a neighbor, and how far they would be willing to travel to borrow from.
With 22 respondents, we were able to gather insight about people's attitudes towards engaging with neighbors. The results from our survey encouraged us to ideate ways to bridge the gap between neighbors, in hopes to create a collective identity around sustainability. Three key findings can be seen below.
36% of participants feel very uncomfortable towards asking a neighbor if they can borrow something
50% of participants feel neutral towards letting a neighbor borrow something
54.5% of participants would travel 0-5 miles to borrow something they need from a neighbor
PERSONA DEVELOPMENT
Using insights from our user surveys, we were able to craft two unique personas that we would use as a reference for users while designing our app:
BUILDING USER EMPATHY
WHITEBOARD PROTOTYPE
After understanding our design requirements on the app, we formed storyboards of sample scenarios that our users would find themselves in. We sketched these scenarios in visual form on paper and added text that explained what each frame meant. Having a drawn-out, visualized version of the app’s uses also informed us on how to design our prototyping stage that would follow.
DESIGN SYSTEM
HIGH FIDELITY PROTOTYPE
After finalizing our white board prototypes and creating a design system came our high-fidelity prototype. This deliverable is the culmination of the 24 hours we were given to research and create a design solution. Click the button below to rent out appliances and tools from your neighbors on Block Party!
INTERACT WITH PROTOYPE
PROJECT REFLECTION
Due to the time constraints of this project, there definitely were modifications with our scope and constraints on the features we wanted to implement. One idea we would implement was details about liability if someone renting a product damaged or failed to return the product. Doing so would allow users to enforce their own return policies and reduce any conflict among neighbors.
Given that this project was completed in 24 hours, our team had to work efficiently to come up with a impactful solution for this Figma-thon. There were definitely overlap and alternating between steps in the design process, though this was necessary for us to maintain a project scope that was small enough for this project.