Overview
SnackEx is an application designed to connect people from across different countries and cultures through a shared love of snacks. This design project focused on usability, safety, and reliability.
Problem
There exists a Reddit forum with 122 THOUSAND members engaging in this very process. However, due to being run exclusively through a forum, it lacks proper verification, filtering, support, and general process management.
Solution
SnackEx, a mobile application, retains aspects of the original forum to maintain familiarity for users while implementing safety and support features in a user friendly manner.
Methods
Research
After setting research goals, I began conducting user surveys, user interviews, and card sorts. Using my research results, I created personas and other artifacts to help inform my designs.
Goals
Research Synthesis | Personas
Research Synthesis | Journey Map & Empathy Map
Card Sort
Primary User Needs & Pain Points
Early Design
Using my research insights, began my design process. I started by sketching a wireframe and some low fidelity screen layouts, then I moved into Figma to create my mid through high fidelity prototypes.
Site Map
I created a feature site map based on the results of the card sorting during my research. This site map would be used to guide UI creation and prototyping.
Sketches
Early Interface Designs
After getting my initial designs down on paper, I moved into Figma to begin my digital UI design. I started in gray scale to get a general layout set, then continued to iterate and develop the application and it's color pallet.
Final Designs
I only created these mid fidelity, gray scale, UIs for the homepage. It helped me map out the general design system I would be using. After finalizing the homepage design, and my design system, I was able to move directly to high fidelity wireframes for the rest of my screens.
Home Page
I took a dashboard approach to the homepage of SnackEx, allowing users to quickly view and interact with both their exchanges and their social feed.
Keeps users up to date
Makes the app a social experience
Users can easily start a new exchange
Exchanges
The Exchanges page is designed to make it easy for users to coordinate and exchange snacks with one another. The tabbed design allows for easy navigation between active, new, and past exchanges.
Maintains the social aspect of posting requests
Users can use filters for easy sorting and organization
Froum
Shipping
Shipping was by far the most identified pain point. While shipping cannot be eliminated, I reduced the stress and uncertainty though in-app features
A Calculator to estimate the cost of a snack exchange based on the package size and the shipping location
Removal of shipping cost uncertainty
Security & Reliability
These features address another major concern, the safety of exchanges and lack of participant reliability.
Account ID verification to eliminate fraudulent exchange accounts
Image verification before shipping packages
Reflection
If This Project Continued
If I had more time on this project, I would’ve liked to conduct more formal testing with my prototype. While I had class critiques and conducted user research, it’s important to iterate based on testing.
Research Breadth
As this was a project for university, I had no budget for research. This led to a disproportionate number of research participants being university students.
What I learned
This was an incredible learning experience for me. Working alone through the entire process of research, problem defining, early design, and prototyping gave me a much better understanding of end to end projects. It also allowed me to dive into a problem I personally identified and cared about.