On the first day of the design sprint, I identified the main goals of the user: To find photo spots in a specific location, visit the photo spots and share their experience.
GramCity began as a photo editing app but sees an opportunity to expand by providing locations of the best photo spots in any city. They would like to make it easier for users to find the best photo spots so that they can spend less time researching and more time enjoying their travels. GramCity also hopes to create an active community that loves to share and discover photo locations.
In our two personas, Nick does not like to research ahead of time and loves to discover photo locations as he wanders around the city. However, he does not want to miss out on a great location that is nearby something he is already doing. On the other hand, Sarah is willing to research ahead of time and plan her day around the best photo spots. However, she wants to make sure photo locations will be what she expects. She would love to spend less time exploring for the exact address or the best photo of a particular location.
The first step was to identify the main goals for the user: finding photo spots in a specific location, visiting the photo spots and sharing their experiences.
With these goals in mind, I mapped out the process that the user would need to take to achieve these goals.
The End to End User Experience from Day One of Sprint
One day two of the sprint, I researched competitors and did some initial sketching. I landed on a map view on the top half of the screen with recommendations of locations on the bottom half of the screen.
Day two of the design sprint began with lightning demos of apps that either did a similar function or had admirable features. Alltrails immediately came to mind because I pictured this photo location app being the “All Trails of photo locations.” I then searched for a couple additional apps that included a map in some way and apps that incorporate the users own photos.
After the lightning demo, a Crazy Eight exercise was done for a critical screen. I made the decision that the most critical screen of the app was the screen where the user would first look for photo locations nearby or search for photo locations in a specific city. This would be the home screen and first impression for the user to decide what they need from this app.
On day three, I continued sketching and created a storyboard for the app prototype.
The map was brought forward as a primary component because of the importance for the user to visually see what is around them or what is in proximity to other areas they might be visiting. The sketch where the screen is half map and half information was selected so that the user had a visual of the location while also having suggestions to help them make an informed decision.
The storyboard process began with the screens that were sketched out on day two. Then, additional screens were sketched to show the full user journey when using the app. For this user flow, the user looks at photo locations on a map view and then select places to see more details. After viewing a location, the user can decide to save it for later or get directions for traveling to a place. After visiting the location, the user is prompted to write a review and upload their own photos.
On day four, I created a workable prototype for the app to prepare for user testing. This was the most difficult day of the sprint for me because one day was a very short amount of time to create a prototype on my own.
This prototype takes the user through the process of finding a photo spot, getting to the photo spot and then submitting their review of the photo spot after visiting. The flow is as follows:
On the last day of the sprint, I tested the app concept with five users. The users understood and liked the app overall, but I gained insight on additional features that they would want in this app.
The most important goal in testing was to discover whether users would be interested in using a photo app like this and what they would need to know about a photo spot in order to decide if they will visit.
Five users in their 20’s that enjoy traveling and taking great photos were interviewed. Most of them enjoy using Instagram to share their photos. Four of them were interviewed digitally and one in person.
Overall, all users liked the concept of the app and understood the basics of how it works. The tests validated this app as a good concept and were a good starting point to find areas that could be built upon for the future.
Things the users liked or went well in testing:
“Seeing photos from multiple perspectives would give me a realistic expectation for visiting this photo spot.” - Three out of five users echoed this sentiment of wanting realistic photos.
Things that can be improved on:
Multiple people mentioned loving that they could see multiple photos of a location. This app would show different angles, good photos and bad photos, and not just the most beautiful photograph that has been taken. This is a little different from the goals of persona Sarah, who wanted to see the best photos and didn’t want to waste time scrolling through a lot of photos. I feel that it speaks to a larger trend in media where people are craving realness instead of a perfectly curated version of life.
If you like what you see and want to work together, get in touch!
lydiaweigel94@gmail.com