UX was here

Website for individuals passionate about UX.

MY roles

UI/UX Design

DATE

Mar 2024 - 3 days

Tools

FIGMA, figjam, ILLUSTRATOR, Canva

Team Size

4 DESIGNERS

Background

UX Was Here is a vibrant platform created by and for UX enthusiasts, offering a diverse community space for networking and collaboration. With features including job listings, messaging, and events, it serves as a comprehensive hub for all things UX. The platform welcomes individuals of all backgrounds and experience levels, fostering connections and providing resources for growth and learning within the UX domain.

Problem

The main challenge from the client’s perspective is “High turn rate, Low usage rate“.

Project Goals

To improve user retention rates, redesign the website and branding to meet their needs.

DESIGN PROCESS

01 EMPATHIZE

Survey & Interviews
Competitor Analysis

Survey & Interviews

To gain a better understanding of what potential users expect from “UX was here”, we conducted surveys and user interviews among our peers to explore their needs and motivations for participating in a UX community platform.

Research Goals

Figure out what potential users expect from the community platforms.
Explore how UX-related content benefits our primary audience.

Insights from the survey & interviews

The professional background of a designer does not necessarily affect their desire to connect with others.
Senior designers to seek inspiration and personal development.
Junior designers actively pursue professional and personal networking opportunities within the field.
Depending on the content and relevance, people tend to share resources with specific individuals.
Personalization is engaging for users from different backgrounds.
Users highly appreciate the bookmarking feature.
Large communities can be intimidating and make it hard to post casually.

Competitor Analysis

02 DEFINE

Personas
Problem Statements

Personas

Through the research, we discovered that potential users tend to seek various opportunities on UX Was Here, depending on their level of design experience.

Problem Statements

When visitors see the ‘UX Was Here’ website, they may not be sure if it is the right platform to:

Break into existing communities.
Find others who can relate to their experiences.
Find relevant and engaging content.
Seek consistency in the quality of discussions and resources.

03 IDEATE

Ideate
Storyboard
User Flow

Ideate

We have come up with three new ideas based on the previous process of creating personas.

User Flow

Faces challenges driving user engagement, resulting in low usage.

04 PROTOTYPE

Wireframes
Low-fidelity Prototype
Rebranding
Final Prototype

Wireframes

Through the research, we discovered that potential users tend to seek various opportunities on UX Was Here, depending on their level of design experience.

Low-fidelity Prototype

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Rebranding

To enhance user engagement and foster community trust, we redesigned the logo to incorporate a U and X fusion, representing community connection and interaction.

We conducted a branding preference survey to compare the old logo with the new one. Creativity and community emerged as the most voted-for brand values. The survey results indicated that, overall, the new branding received a 4 out of 5 rating, while the old branding only got 1 out of 5.

Prototype

Home Page

On the home page, the new posts are listed, which helps users to access latest information. An upvote system will allow users to vote on posts, with the most upvoted posts appearing first in the message board. This system empowers the community to highlight valuable content and serves as a form of crowdsourced moderation, reducing the burden on the moderation team.

Rationale:

User Profile Consideration: Both junior and senior designers benefit from the upvote system, as it enhances their experience by ensuring that the most valuable and relevant content is at the top. Junior designers seeking inspiration and connections can conveniently find popular and engaging posts, while senior designers can efficiently access high-quality discussions and resources.

Business Pain Points Addressed: The upvote system prioritizes popular posts, which encourages higher engagement among users, and addresses the business pain point of low user rates. It also reduces the workload of the moderation team by allowing the community to self-regulate content.

Community Spaces

Spaces are micro-communities within the UX Was Here platform where users can join or create groups based on shared interests, backgrounds, or roles. Examples include geographical communities (e.g., Korean Designers in Canada), interest-based groups (e.g., AI tools enthusiasts), or professional affiliations (e.g., UBC students and alumni, Recruiters).

Rationale:

User Profile Consideration: Spaces provide an opportunity for junior designers to connect with others from their culture or country who share similar experiences, and for senior designers to exchange ideas and knowledge with like-minded individuals.
Business Pain Points Addressed: Spaces address low user engagement and high turnover rates by offering tailored communities where users can find relevant content and connections, increasing their likelihood of staying active on the platform.

Resources & Events

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Saved Posts

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Better Profile

Enhanced profile pages allow users to showcase their portfolios, personal interests, job placements, nationality, and location. This comprehensive profile setup facilitates better user connections and is a conversation starter.

Rationale:

User Profile Consideration: Both junior and senior designers would benefit from having improved profile pages. For juniors, a detailed profile can create opportunities for more meaningful connections based on shared interests, backgrounds, and experiences. On the other hand, for seniors, a polished profile would provide a platform to showcase their expertise and interests, thereby facilitating connections with other professionals.
Business Pain Points Addressed: Improved profile pages can help increase user engagement by enabling users to showcase their authentic selves and connect with others more effectively. By addressing the business pain points of low user engagement and turnover, it can create a more inviting and interactive platform environment.

05 TEST

Usability Tests
Interactions

Usability Tests

We have conducted two user tests, targeting our first persona, individuals who are non-native speakers seeking more connections within the community, and a senior designer with over ten years of experience, fitting our second persona.

Fosters meaningful connections through personalized interactions, tailored to diverse backgrounds.

Interactions

Final Design

Posting

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Saved Posts

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Resources & Events

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REFLECTIONS & TAKEAWAYS

Reflections

Our design decisions focused on:

Balancing business values and user needs.
Enhancing the user experience through meaningful interaction.
Nurturing personal connections.
Revitalizing user engagement and reducing turnover rates.

Takeaways

We found that:

Conduct user testing and interviews for valuable insights, not only relying on assumptions, even when we are part of the user base.
Connect user needs with client pain points for effective solutions.
Prioritize tasks as everything takes longer than expected.
Intuition also works to understand the problem.