GIFT GIVER
Gift Giver is an app that gives personalized gift suggestions. Users enter information and products that important people in their life like. Based on that data, the app recommends customized gift ideas.
TIMELINE - 12 Weeks
MY ROLE - UX Research, UI Design, Strategy
PROBLEM
There are many ways to find gifts nowadays, however people tend to get overwhelmed by choices, are short on time and they want to save money while still getting something great for their loved ones.
WHAT I DID
Exploratory Research & Competitors Analysis
Contextual Inquiry & 1:1 Interviews
Identify key user groups & Build Personas
Empathy Map & Identify Red Routes
Create user journeys & Scenarios
Develop low-fidelity & high-fidelity prototypes
Usability Testing & Improvements in Design
GOAL
To create an app that will help people find the best price while quickly narrowing their gift choice by asking specific information about the recipient preferences.
SOLUTION
To find out information about the gift recipient preferences and products they already like so the app can suggest personalized and relevant gift options.
To offer fewer choices of customized gifts in order to helped users choose faster, keep their energy and excitement level up and feel satisfied with their choice.
COMPETITORS ANALYSIS
There are some apps like Amazon, Giftagram and others that are focus on gift giving. Each of those apps have thier own straight, for example amazon has a wide selection and great delivery service while Giftagram syncs up with the person’s contacts to deliver gifts right to the recipient doors. However what these apps lack is a more personal approach and a narrow, high accuracy gift suggestion.
RESEARCH & USER INTERVIEWS
To get the project started, I had to determine if there was a real need for such a product. In order to do so, I first needed to understand how people currently go about buying gifts online. To get answers to these questions, I conducted 5 in-depth interviews. For this case study, my three broad focus were - understanding who the user is, what are their goals for online shopping, and what are their current pain points.
Therefore, to supplement the data from the in- depth interviews, I conducted 2 contextual interviews to understand the participant’s environment and how that has an impact on their goals and priorities.
I transcribed the interviews and the data from the contextual inquiry and noted down each observation onto separate sticky notes. Using affinity sorts, I grouped the data into thematic clusters: facts, behaviour, needs & goals. The above information helped me to develop an empathy map. Afterwards, I listed out the ways in which the research participants were similar and dissimilar to one another. This was the basis for my persona creation.
KEY INTERVIEW INSIGHT:
While people value their time and money, they also really value their ‘mental energy’ that often gets ‘wasted’ when people have too much choice and don’t know what to choose. Too many options create anxiety and leave people less satisfied.
EMPATHY MAP & PERSONA
I created an empathy map to understand and prioritize the pain points and motivations of the users. To create an even deeper understanding and empathy with the end user, I created a persona who embodies all the needs and goals of the users.
RED ROUTES
Based on the interviews I also identified key tasks and goals that users would want to accomplish when using the Gift Giver app. Based on the frequency of how often and how many times those objectives were critical to users, I arranged them on a grid to reflect which objectives were absolutely integral to the success of the system.
LOW FIDELITY WIREFRAMES
I developed low fidelity wireframe to design the shell of the interface and to create basic information architecture. This process helped me visualize and test early concepts.
USABILITY TEST
I conducted a usability test to observe real life users behaviour, discover opportunities and uncover problems. I tested my law fidelity prototype with 2 participants. The participants were given a test scenario: “Your parents’ anniversary is in 7 days. You want to get them a great gift, at a good price, within a reasonable timeframe”. The participants were encouraged to “think aloud” while I was writing observations on sticky notes.
KEY FINDINGS:
Users found the introduction screens a bit impersonal, too generic. So I customized it and made it more personal.
Users found the price range a bit confusing, a specific price range would be more clear.
Users enjoyed the limited choice, only 6 gift options. It helped them choose faster, keep their energy and excitement level up and feel satisfied with their choice.
Users liked the drop down menu with options for occasions and hobby.
IMPROVEMENTS IN MY DESIGN
ISSUE #1: Users found the introduction screens a bit impersonal, too generic.
Below is the low fidelity prototype with the old version of the introduction screens.
SOLUTION #1: I customized the introduction screens and added one more screen to make the experience even more personal.
Below is the hi fidelity prototype with the new version of the introduction screens.
ISSUE #2: Users found the price range a bit confusing. They did not understand if the option of the ‘gifts under $50’ would include the selection from the ‘gifts under $25’.
Below is the low fidelity prototype with the old version of the gift price options screen.
SOLUTION #2: I created a more clear and specific price range. So instead of ‘gifts under $50’ now the section has a specific price range ‘gifts $25 to $50’.
Below is the hi fidelity prototype with the new version of the introduction screens.
