PRODUCT DESIGN, CASE STUDY
IOS / Android / Landing Page
A new generation social media application where the users can discuss their thoughts, give votes on any ideas, and gain badges to show their knowledge in certain categories.
OpportunIty Statement
In our first meeting to discuss this Canadian/Turkish start-up’s design needs, their idea, team, and passion for this project made us excited. We heard and understood their goals and directly felt invested in developing their idea.
The goal was to build a new generation social media application where the users can discuss their thoughts while giving votes and rates to others. This app would be focused on gamification attributions to build Loop influencers by their knowledge. We were focusing on their way of thinking more than how they looked.
The opportunity to seek here was to create designs from A-Z of this new idea, and shape a new and useful social media for the new generation.
My Role
Branding / User Research / User Testing / UXD / UID / Prototyping
In the project, my role was to be in charge of branding, product, and marketing designs. Loop was in their pre-seed investment stage so our goal was to build up their product with all needed presentation designs and prototypes to attract new investors.
We worked closely with product owners, developers, test engineers, and stakeholders in each step before the launch in our regularly held weekly meetings.
We worked closely with product owners, developers, test engineers, and stakeholders in each step before the launch in our regularly held weekly meetings.
The Research
With our user researcher and Loop’s marketing strategist; we conducted 5 user interviews with potential users asking about their habits and uses. After analyzing their day-to-day activities, hobbies, pain points, etc. we created our user persona profiles in our user persona workshop.
Then I started a deep analysis with each competitor to understand their perspective. What are in common, and how do they use it? In this step, we had many creative design thinking meetings with the team where we collected our ideas and gave feedback on each.
90% of our users use dark mode on their phones. 80% read more when the typography is clean and minimalistic. And 85% of our users like to read discussions and participate in debates happening on social media.
ReframIng the Problem
Loop’s new and debate-based structure for social media creates an impulse to recheck what others have said and voted for and to see if it’s the same as my thoughts. What else they have been thinking?
We can find answers to any random but needed questions like where can I have the best tiramisu in Rome. As more and more local people enter with their native language that can be translated into any, the results will be getting more correct, scientific experiences say that. It’s called the wisdom of the crowds. It’s why Wikipedia is so trusted too.
We started reframing the quality issue of the content being seen on social media and how the ad structure can be changed so it won’t be annoying but welcomed. When all discussions and talks are organized, we see how our platform can be a source for people to learn what others think.
This need is what we derived from our users and why they want new social media but ease up spending unnecessary time on Instagram. (They used the word unnecessary too - multiple times) We analyzed what was so unnecessary but unstoppable for them and resulted in this step set the base for design strategy.
DesIgn Strategy
Synthesizing all ideas and opinions under the research findings gave us a clear perspective of what we will do in the business, marketing, and design strategy.
We started reframing the quality issue of the content being seen on social media and how the ad structure can be changed so it won’t be annoying but welcomed. When all discussions and talks are organized, we see how our platform can be a source for people to learn what others think.
This need is what we derived from our users and why they want new social media but ease up spending unnecessary time on Instagram. (They used the word unnecessary too - multiple times) We analyzed what was so unnecessary but unstoppable for them and resulted in this step set the base for design strategy.
EARLY INSIGHTS
We especially focused on asking the user's opinions about debates in their lives and social media. We learned that %90 of our interviewees have at least one debate each day, %70 said they have multiple debates per day, one of them being with friends and family over suggested items to buy or experiences to do.
Then we asked about how valuable suggestions shape their daily lives and experiences and how they gather them. The findings were promising because all of them said they would use online searching or well-known websites for different needs in different professional areas. They were having trouble finding the right information when it came to suggestions. There were too many opinions to filter from.
👉🏻 Our targeted users loved to debate about sports, gaming, and trend news.
👉🏻 Users would come back to the platform to check the final result of any discussion to receive a trusting suggestion or opinion.
MVP
Loop’s technical ability was high but the budget needed to stay low. So all of the user flows are phased to be launched step by step.
LAST TOUCH
We started having guerilla tests to understand how users will interact with the whole platform and how they find it.
The Launch
After revising the small user issues, testing, and re-tasting the application; Loop was finally online in the Google Play Store for Android and it’ll arrive soon in the App Store with phase 2 additions.
THE IMPACT
After the launch, we collected a Beta group of our users and collected opinions and feedback.
THINGS THEY CHEERED 😎
👉🏻 Adding a gamification touch to a debating platform made %90 of our users enjoy spending time.
The gamification element can be revised and strengthened with some extra touches of premium users and loop influencers in phase 2.
👉🏻 The ongoing debate and voting gave the users answers to all topic questions, %100 of our users enjoyed coming back to check topic answers.
Clear results can be shared on the homepage and explore pages to boost inline traffic in phase 2.
THINGS TO CONSIDER 👀
⚙️ The app works differently, all the text feels complicated.
Adding an intro to the application to ease up the meeting process and revising the maximum character count per comment for an easier reading experience.
⚙️ Some of our users said they would like the option for a light theme.
Light theme option was already thought, prepared, and added for phase 2 with the launch of IOS.