Picseed: Custom content moodboard app
We recognised how time consuming it is to find reputable and interesting content related to the user’s personal interests.
Problem
We noted the user’s desire to get a project off the ground but struggle to find design inspiration. We recognised how time consuming it is to find reputable and interesting content related to the user’s personal interests. My colleague Silvia Pititto (Developer) and I collaborated on this journey to see how we could create a solution to the problem that we both could identify with.
Ideation
Sketches are the first in an iterated approach to reaching a solution. It’s visually problem-solving as the lowest common denominator. Picseed began as a visual representation of an idea that constantly evolved and morphed into something more refined at a later date.
Sketches to show image feed, upload options, how to add an image to a board and how to select a board for saving the content
Sketches to show Share Board, Board Layout, Select Layout, Share options, ‘Shared’ Feedback
User Research
We tested a paper prototype using the POP app and questionnaire with our focus group participants. We gained valuable insight into how the user interacted with the flow and what they expected to see within this type of app.
We prioritised user testing to verify the designs at every step and recruited target and non-target users. We formalised a script or a list of questions we wanted feedback on in advance of the testing.
Research Analysis
From our Focus Group testing, we gathered large amounts of ideas, issues and opinions and organised them into groups based on their natural relationships. We analysed our competitors which included Pinterest, Niice, Design Hunt and Morpholio Board. We could then benchmark ourselves against our competitors.
User Testing
I created many user tests to gain further insight into the user’s needs. This was a crucial part of the user requirements gathering and defining an effective user experience. User testing included A/B tests, Click tests, Prototypes with Questionnaires.
One of the A/B test I conducted is illustrated below. The hypothesis of the test was to understand which navigation the user enjoyed more when scrolling the list of Boards.
We discovered that users preferred option A (90%) as it allowed the user to navigate the Boards List quicker and see more of the images within the boards.
B
A
Information Architecture
With Picseed, users can view all of their inspiration on their device. They can search and find fresh content based on their interests, view the original source of an image and add content to their customised themed board so they can keep all their ideas in one location. Adding personal photos is quick and easy using the camera option which also connects to the user’s camera roll. Users can also export their content to share with their colleagues or use for personal projects.
The app is responsive to iPhones 5, 6 and 7 allowing many mobile users to download and adopt our app. Designed for iOS 9, Picseed is available on mobile devices due to its lightweight and portable nature.
Challenges
The Select Photos screen was designed to show the user’s recent images on their device gallery. However, the live view of the camera (represented as a translucent square in V5) could not be achieved using Cordova Camera plugin. Hence, this feature was removed in Iteration 6 and the screen redesigned.
Design Details
For clarity, consistency and usability, I utilised iOS Human Interface Guidelines. Using colour as a visual aid within Error Prevention was an essential factor when designing Picseed. We noticed that users demanded alerts to prevent instantly erasing a board. Colour was applied to the primary and secondary action of the buttons in order to give the user a quick reference of what the primary action was with the addition of clear labelling on the buttons in the Modal views.
I noted areas of opportunity where the experience could be more efficient for the user. These areas included the ability to create a board when searching images in the Image Feed, moving images from one board to another and importing photos from the camera.
For coding efficiency, designs were reused where possible. This can be seen in the ’Delete board’ and ‘Delete Image’ feedback screens.
Picseed app project was postponed due to time commitments on other projects.
Twenty Six: Online shopping
Through user research, I discovered customer expectations when shopping for ethical homeware and giftware products.