Bulletin Board
This project was a full testing of our ability to iteratively design while conducting major user research, user testing, and user-focused design. Our site aimed at neighborhood connectivity in a digital way.
The setup
Neighbors have had a harder time communicating
with each other during the pandemic. Communities that were already close-knit found it hard to social distance
and maintain their connections while neighbors who were not already connected felt more isolated than ever.
Although we cannot create that connection ourselves, we want to allow more fluid communication between members
of a community in the hopes that we can help them help each other during the post-pandemic world. So, we
wanted to create easier communication with the people that are physically close during the post-pandemic
world. We wanted to emphasize creating a stronger community.
The user problem we are trying to solve is having trouble
communicating with the people that are physically close. We hope to do this by creating a simple, fun, and
focused interface.
Our target demographic is adults in neighborhoods, specifically suburban. This can be used by children or
teenagers, but they might not be the most interested in it. The main tasks are establishing the connection
between neighbors, learning about your communities needs in a non-invasive manner, helping out, finding
things you are interested in, and also having a way to talk about your events or needs
Results
When first designing, we had trouble landing on a decisive form. When paper prototyping, we learned the importance of distinct button design and redesigned a more intuitive navigation bar. From web user testing, we found that users will expect functionality based on previous experience, and we were reminded to follow principles regarding the ease of accessing information. All in all, the testing created wonderful change too our design, and changed the trajectory for the positive. The final website was limited by time and current skill, but still showed the evolution of design.
Reflections
The final design of our interface was changed through many reiterations. When we first started thinking about the project, we had so many ideas but not all of them were feasible due to either or lack of skills or how it may impact the design. We had many ideas that we did not put together into a design that we could implement.
After fully implementing suggestions we didn't have time for, the next step would involve evaluations in groups of 3-5. Realistically, I would look at beginning web design again with more advanced tools.
