SMcN UX
portfolio
Case study
Barter
a community trade app
Overview
Project details
Timeline
8 weeks beginning from planning to high fidelity designs
Roles
UX design, UX research, and Visual design
Format
Mobile application
Tools
Figma, Miro, Canva
Problem statement
How might we allow people to get what they need in a way that doesn’t rely on the exchange of money?
Research and early ideation
- From our own experiences in our social circles during the pandemic, we thought there was an opportunity to help people connect with trading their resources and getting what they need without worrying about money.
- Humans have historically relied on a barter system, money is relatively new compared to the barter system. With our technological capabilities now, we wanted to re-think what we know about the barter system and how it might work.
- Our goal - to create a singular space that feels safe and easy to match, connect, and exchange with people within your own community.
- In thinking of competitors and similarly popular apps/websites, we aimed for a cross over between Tinder x Craigslist.
Personas and storyboarding their experiences
We developed personas based on common situations experienced by our target audience- and I created these storyboards illustrating potential use cases for the app. These storyboards were used to pitch our ideas to potential investors and helped with demonstrating the value the app would provide our users.
Gaby the college student, needing a textbook at the last minute.
Ralph the sneakerhead, looking to trade for some new shoes.
The evolution from ideation to low fidelity, onto high fidelity for user testing. The match screen was one of the key points of the experience, so we wanted it to be celebratory and bring some joy.
The prototype frames with example items. We chose to use plants as they were a pretty neutral but very popular category during the pandemic lockdown years.
We mapped the core functionality of the app with layers of main actions and secondary features to support those actions.
A few of the final high fidelity screens in the prototype, also illustrating the swipe action to love or pass on an item.
Testing the prototype
Participants:
- Our target audience focused on college students, but would be viable for any tech-savvy group of people who were more likely to utilize an app like this to enhance their trading experience.
- Participants for user testing ranged in age and technological abilities.
- We selected users who had items that they were interested in trading, or were avid swap-meet fans, or simply had unused items laying around.
Pain points:
- All users were concerned about security and trustworthiness.
- The onboarding process flow was confusing to some users.
- The meaning and function of the icons needed clarifying.
- Our early prototype didn't have a lot of interactivity with swiping, and the interface confused people.
Insights:
- Added visual peace-of-mind features (rating and reviews should be included to enhance trustworthiness).
- Added community guidelines as a central agreement upon joining the app.
- Modified the swiping interface and interaction - more satisfying to browse and match!
- Clarified the meaning and function of our icons and ensuring things are labeled clearly.
Key takeaways
- Barter has a lot of potential as an app: our assumptions that it might be a viable way trade within communities were validated with user testing.
- There is a 'fun factor' that testers seemed to enjoy and want to come back to. This is especially important in uncertain times.
- The swiping interaction was validated as an enjoyable way to browse through items.
- We successfully created an eCommerce prototype that isn't based on money.
- There could be valuable insights from studying the data obtained from community-based trade economies.
Explore the prototype for yourself!
Connect with me on LinkedIn
SMcN UX
portfolio
Case study
Barter
a community trade app
Overview
Project details
Timeline
8 weeks beginning from planning to high fidelity designs
Roles
UX design, UX research, and Visual design
Format
Mobile application
Tools
Figma, Miro, Canva
Problem statement
How might we allow people to get what they need in a way that doesn’t rely on the exchange of money?
Research and early ideation
- From our own experiences in our social circles during the pandemic, we thought there was an opportunity to help people connect with trading their resources and getting what they need without worrying about money.
- Humans have historically relied on a barter system, money is relatively new compared to the barter system. With our technological capabilities now, we wanted to re-think what we know about the barter system and how it might work.
- Our goal - to create a singular space that feels safe and easy to match, connect, and exchange with people within your own community.
- In thinking of competitors and similarly popular apps/websites, we aimed for a cross over between Tinder x Craigslist.
Personas and storyboarding their experiences
We developed personas based on common situations experienced by our target audience- and I created these storyboards illustrating potential use cases for the app. These storyboards were used to pitch our ideas to potential investors and helped with demonstrating the value the app would provide our users.
Gaby the college student, needing a textbook at the last minute.
Ralph the sneakerhead, looking to trade for some new shoes.
The evolution from ideation to low fidelity, onto high fidelity for user testing. The match screen was one of the key points of the experience, so we wanted it to be celebratory and bring some joy.
The prototype frames with example items. We chose to use plants as they were a pretty neutral but very popular category during the pandemic lockdown years.
We mapped the core functionality of the app with layers of main actions and secondary features to support those actions.
A few of the final high fidelity screens in the prototype, also illustrating the swipe action to love or pass on an item.
Testing the prototype
Participants:
- Our target audience focused on college students, but would be viable for any tech-savvy group of people who were more likely to utilize an app like this to enhance their trading experience.
- Participants for user testing ranged in age and technological abilities.
- We selected users who had items that they were interested in trading, or were avid swap-meet fans, or simply had unused items laying around.
Pain points:
- All users were concerned about security and trustworthiness.
- The onboarding process flow was confusing to some users.
- The meaning and function of the icons needed clarifying.
- Our early prototype didn't have a lot of interactivity with swiping, and the interface confused people.
Insights:
- Added visual peace-of-mind features (rating and reviews should be included to enhance trustworthiness).
- Added community guidelines as a central agreement upon joining the app.
- Modified the swiping interface and interaction - more satisfying to browse and match!
- Clarified the meaning and function of our icons and ensuring things are labeled clearly.
Key takeaways
- Barter has a lot of potential as an app: our assumptions that it might be a viable way trade within communities were validated with user testing.
- There is a 'fun factor' that testers seemed to enjoy and want to come back to. This is especially important in uncertain times.
- The swiping interaction was validated as an enjoyable way to browse through items.
- We successfully created an eCommerce prototype that isn't based on money.
- There could be valuable insights from studying the data obtained from community-based trade economies.
Explore the prototype for yourself!
Connect with me on LinkedIn
SMcN UX
portfolio
Case study
Barter
a community trade app
Overview
Project details
Timeline
8 weeks beginning from planning to high fidelity designs
Roles
UX design, UX research, and Visual design
Format
Mobile application
Tools
Figma, Miro, Canva
Problem statement
How might we allow people to get what they need in a way that doesn’t rely on the exchange of money?
Research and early ideation
- From our own experiences in our social circles during the pandemic, we thought there was an opportunity to help people connect with trading their resources and getting what they need without worrying about money.
- Humans have historically relied on a barter system, money is relatively new compared to the barter system. With our technological capabilities now, we wanted to re-think what we know about the barter system and how it might work.
- Our goal - to create a singular space that feels safe and easy to match, connect, and exchange with people within your own community.
- In thinking of competitors and similarly popular apps/websites, we aimed for a cross over between Tinder x Craigslist.
Personas and storyboarding their experiences
We developed personas based on common situations experienced by our target audience- and I created these storyboards illustrating potential use cases for the app. These storyboards were used to pitch our ideas to potential investors and helped with demonstrating the value the app would provide our users.
Gaby the college student, needing a textbook at the last minute.
Ralph the sneakerhead, looking to trade for some new shoes.
The evolution from ideation to low fidelity, onto high fidelity for user testing. The match screen was one of the key points of the experience, so we wanted it to be celebratory and bring some joy.
The prototype frames with example items. We chose to use plants as they were a pretty neutral but very popular category during the pandemic lockdown years.
We mapped the core functionality of the app with layers of main actions and secondary features to support those actions.
A few of the final high fidelity screens in the prototype, also illustrating the swipe action to love or pass on an item.
Testing the prototype
Participants:
- Our target audience focused on college students, but would be viable for any tech-savvy group of people who were more likely to utilize an app like this to enhance their trading experience.
- Participants for user testing ranged in age and technological abilities.
- We selected users who had items that they were interested in trading, or were avid swap-meet fans, or simply had unused items laying around.
Pain points:
- All users were concerned about security and trustworthiness.
- The onboarding process flow was confusing to some users.
- The meaning and function of the icons needed clarifying.
- Our early prototype didn't have a lot of interactivity with swiping, and the interface confused people.
Insights:
- Added visual peace-of-mind features (rating and reviews should be included to enhance trustworthiness).
- Added community guidelines as a central agreement upon joining the app.
- Modified the swiping interface and interaction - more satisfying to browse and match!
- Clarified the meaning and function of our icons and ensuring things are labeled clearly.
Key takeaways
- Barter has a lot of potential as an app: our assumptions that it might be a viable way trade within communities were validated with user testing.
- There is a 'fun factor' that testers seemed to enjoy and want to come back to. This is especially important in uncertain times.
- The swiping interaction was validated as an enjoyable way to browse through items.
- We successfully created an eCommerce prototype that isn't based on money.
- There could be valuable insights from studying the data obtained from community-based trade economies.
Explore the prototype for yourself!
Connect with me on LinkedIn
