Team up and solved a problem for students who study at home as a grad project in 18 weeks.
Had difficulty in stating the problem though we researched again and again until figure out the core problem and solution. Having learned the design research process and task management,
and team discussion brought us the right truck. Backing to data points significant times made the core problem and solution clear.
My role: UX research, UI design, Illustration, Animation, Art Direction
Duration: 16weeks (Group project) Device: Chrome extension and Mobile App
The Problem to solve
During the pandemic, we found that some of the students couldn’t focus while studying in their room alone, and they were trying to figure out a suitable way for her to study. This gave us a big inspiration for our project.
Process
Mind map -> Hypothesis -> Interview -> Analyzed data (data point, affinity diagram, archetype, empathy map, user journey map and mental model) -> User flow -> Low fidelity wireframe -> User testing -> Innovated wireframe -> High fidelity wireframe and prototype
The first hypothesis and learning
Our first hypnosis had a different solution that set boundaries to remote workers and students by coffee subscription. After 2 months of all design research processes, we realized that even if they could refresh during their break, it would not help to focus on their work or study when we created low fidelity wireframe. Therefore, we restarted from the beginning of the research process to solve the core problem for another month. (Click to pop-up)
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Research process for Studius! (Click to pop-up )
Key insights
- Smartphones are a big distraction for students.
- It's hard for them to keep motivated if they’re studying alone. It is important for them to know that other people are studying hard with them.
- They feel satisfaction when they archive their goals.
Goals
- Creating a service that has a “co-study” atmosphere and reducing their distractions.
The Challenge
- Creating a balance between a “co-studying” and a “less distracting environment”.
Solution: Studius!
- Showing video that someone staying to create co-working atmosphere
- Using Pomodoro method for creating efficient study session
- Blocking smartphones during the study session
- Celebrating their achievements and building gamification to keep them motivated
Low fidelity wireframe (Images are pop-up by clicking)
In the beginning, we were going to create a Mobile App since University students are familiar with it. However, smartphones are the biggest destruction to them, so we decided to create a chrome extension. Additionally, for blicking their smartphones during the study session we also decided to create a mobile App.
Wireframe evolution Based on user testing feedback (Clock to pop-up)
Onboarding: First, users said that the app screen during the onboarding process looks like an advertisement. Everyone tried to skip the section without reading it. So, we changed the main text to mention their pain points and catch their attention.
Homepage: Our mentors gave us feedback that we needed to think about how to keep users interested in the service. We added a gamification feature where users can collect badges and track their achievements to keep them motivated. We decided to show their current streaks and the next achievement that users are close to unlocking to make them more motivated.
Study session: On the main screen, we initially had just a "study with me" video along with the Pomodoro timer. However, the users didn’t feel like they were working with other people. Therefore, we added a feature that shows other people also studying together to create a more “co-study” atmosphere.
UI design (Clock to pop-up)
Color palette: Using color phycology. Based on Orange and blue to encourage users and keep them focused on their studies.
Graphic elements: Describing a cheerful, progressive, and casual tone. Tried to avoid sharp corners to illustrate a friendly atmosphere because our target audience is university students. Using more visual elements to be more engaging, however, made sure the graphic elements are not too destructive.
Case study (Clock to pop-up)
Learned from the project
Even though we had a hypothesis, it was difficult to figure out the pure problem statement when we had a solution without research that we want to create. However, we learned it is important to narrow down a target audience to state the core problem. Also, I learned that knowing the users' emotions helps to empathize with users more.