PROJECT OVERVIEW
Crosstreet is an app for a social connection that could help senior citizens find virtual and real-life events to attend, providing them with companionship and entertainment. These events could range from online gaming groups, classes, and webinars to in-person activities. Additionally, the app could connect seniors with other users in their local community and beyond, allowing them to find like-minded individuals to chat and connect with.
TEAM
Calvin Lee
RESPONSIBILITY
Visual Designer
UX Researcher
TOOLS
Figma, Figjam
Adobe CC, Typeform
PROJECT DURATION
Dec 2022 - Mar 2023
Preview
Challenge: Design a social-connection app that motivates users to stay active in communities and engage with other users after participating in events.
Solution: Crosstreet is a social connection app with gamification features that incentivize users to stay engaged with their communities after the events to keep the community active.
Inclusivity
Users can customize their experience during the Onboarding process, including language and font sizes.
Continuity
Users can rate the event after participating and communicate with the members who attended the events even after the event ended to keep connections and fellowship
Gamification
Users can customize their avatars and express their personality and passion through their profiles. Users can unlock more avatars with the Kudos they receive from other users.
Initial Problem Discovery
After the pandemic, my grandmother experienced depression due to isolation, and I wanted to design an app that could provide companionship and entertainment. This prompted me to initiate a case study with the aim of developing an app to help people cope with loneliness by joining communities with people who share similar hobbies and passions.
Competitive Analysis
I conducted quantitative research and market research to examine the apps used within that space to see what was working or what could be improved.
Research Goals
To identify problems that exist within social connection apps and the process of engaging with the communities. I created a survey with questions to discover the motivations behind a user's decision on whether or not to join a community.
I also conducted moderated user interviews to learn about the process of engaging with other users more in-depth.
USER INTERVIEW
Style: Moderated
Number: 5 people
Duration: 45 mins
Type: 1:1 interview
- Users don't feel motivated to participate or engage with others.
- It's always a headache to find a perfect group with active members.
- There are not enough ways to approach other users on the platform.
- Senior users have a hard time navigating the first time using.
How often do you participate in an event?
Which platforms do you use to join a community?
What are the struggles you face when using the app?
If you answered "Hard to stay engaged," what is the reason?
What do you like about joining an online community?
The Problems in Numbers
I conducted 5 User interviews and 50+ Surveys on users between the ages of 21 to 68 who uses social connection app to participate in events and groups.
"
How might we motivate users to
stay engaged with communities?
Persona
To better understand how to design for users seeking active communities and online friends, User Personas were created for each type of user. Below is a brief version of Christina's persona, a 65-year-old that lives in San Francisco, retired as a nurse, and is looking to find a group of people who shares the same hobbies or like the same musicians. Christina was used to understanding a senior user who would care more about finding an active community
*Click images below to zoom
Accessible Design*
Clear visual indicators instead of small icons.
Text with icons to prevent confusion.
Card carousel for accessible interactions
Inclusivity
During the initial setup phase, users are provided with the choice to select their preferred language and display font size, a feature designed to honor users across various age groups and cultural backgrounds.
Continuity
Users can rate the event after participating and follow up with the members who attended the events even after the event ended to keep connections and fellowship. Also, the machine learning algorithms will suggest events and interest groups based on user preferences and activity history.
Gamification
The last feature is the gamification of the social aspect of the app. Users can customize their avatars and express their personality and passion through their profiles. Users can unlock more avatars with the Kudos they receive from other users. I created a reward system that incentivizes users to participate in community activities to increase engagement.
Prototype
Is Crosstreet meeting the user's expectations?
To see how people interact with the user flow and whether the product idea meets their expectations, I conducted several iterations of usability testing.
Rest is WIP!
Takeaway
I've noticed that it’s better to avoid different UI implementations on the hi-fi wireframes stage since users were distracted and continued giving feedback more on the look and feel rather than usability issues of the app.
Interested in more details?
I'm looking for new opportunities at the moment. If you would like to see more about this project, I would love to chat on Zoom
shoot me an email at calvinrudalee@gmail.com
