Redesign of Spectacular.design

Introduction

Spectacular.design is a networking platform for architects and designers to showcase work, connect, and stay updated on trends. It also serves as a job board. The redesign aimed to improve user experience and boost engagement.

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Problem Statement

Spectacular is encountering challenges with user engagement on its platform. Despite a considerable number of registered users and firm profiles, the active user base remains low. The platform has seen limited activity, with a small number of daily and monthly active users, and only a modest number of projects uploaded. This low engagement hinders Spectacular’s growth and its ability to establish a robust presence within the architectural community in Chicago.

IMPORTANCE OF SOLVING THE PROBLEM

Enhancing engagement is crucial for Spectacular’s success. By improving UX/UI, we aimed to create a dynamic community where architects can easily share updates, collaborate, and exchange ideas.

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Design Goal

• Improve content sharing: Enhance post functionality for easier sharing.
• Enhance engagement: Facilitate networking and collaboration.
• Optimize mobile experience: Ensure seamless mobile use.
• Highlight projects: Showcase architects’ work effectively.
• Accessibility: Enhance accessibility for inclusive use.

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UX/UI Requirements

EASY POST FUNCTIONALITY:

• Make posting updates and projects effortless.

OPTIMIZED MOBILE EXPERIENCE:

• Ensure a seamless and responsive experience across all devices.

HIGHLIGHTED PROJECTS:

• Showcase architects’ work effectively.

NETWORKING FEATURES:

• Facilitate connections and collaboration.

SOCIAL MEDIA SHARING:

• Implementing a simple and intuitive way for users to share updates, projects, and insights.

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Research and Discovery

Using Double Diamond methodology, we understood user needs, defined the scope, ideated solutions, and prototyped, tested, and refined designs.

User Research Methods

• Survey: Gathered insights on user preferences and behavior.
• User Interviews: Explored challenges and preferences.
• Personas: Developed to represent different user types.
• User Empathy Map: Identified user feelings, thoughts, and actions.
• User Journey Story: Mapped out user interactions with Spectacular.

SURVEY: 10 PARTICIPANTS

• Understand main reasons for user engagement and frequency of platform use.
• Helps prioritize features to enhance usage and encourage more frequent engagement.
• Evaluate user perceptions and feedback to refine messaging and branding.
• Align messaging with user expectations for improved communication.
• Guide improvements to Spectacular’s image sourcing functionality.
• Understand user value of showcasing and recognition.
• Analyze user suggestions to prioritize feature development.

SURVEY TAKEAWAYS

• Simplify Image Sourcing: Ensure easy image sourcing similar to ArchDaily and Pinterest. Implement a powerful search function for quick image finding.
• Highlight Project Showcase: Emphasize effective project showcasing, primary user activity. Provide customization options for project displays.
• Enhance Networking Features: Strengthen networking capabilities to boost engagement. Add social connection functions.
• Introduce Design Competitions: Incorporate design competitions to increase engagement (competition participation interest: 25%). Use competitions to showcase skills and gain recognition (community recognition interest: 30%).
• Improve Mobile Experience: Optimize Spectacular for mobile use (mobile access improvement: 70%).

USER INTERVIEWS: VIDEO CALL. 20 PARTICIPANTS

• Career Challenges: Identify professionals’ main career hurdles.
• Networking Methods: Explore how they stay connected digitally and physically.
• Portfolio and Job Search: Understand how they manage portfolios and job searches.
• Spectacular Perception: Evaluate their views on Spectacular’s usability and purpose.
• LinkedIn Usage: Assess their experience with LinkedIn and any frustrations.
• Design Opportunities: Gather feedback for improving Spectacular’s design.
• Stakeholder Insights: Collect data and recommendations for stakeholders.

USER INTERVIEWS TAKEAWAYS

• Career Challenges and Networking: Challenges: licensing, mentorship, firm culture. Networking: LinkedIn, Instagram, events, lectures.
• Portfolio and Job Search: Job search: personal networks, LinkedIn, ArchDaily. Struggles: finding aligned firms, navigating hiring, especially for interns.
• Spectacular Perceptions: Viewed as a LinkedIn and IG hybrid. Appreciated aesthetics but desire clearer intent and functionality.
• LinkedIn Usage and Frustrations: Networking and job search tool, less visually appealing than Instagram. Frustrations: clutter, irrelevant notifications, tracking post traction.
• Design Opportunities for Spectacular: Improve clarity, functionality, and communication. Enhance networking with clearer profiles and messaging. Add project tagging, feedback mechanisms, and mobile optimization. Provide user participation incentives.

User Analysis

USER JOURNEY TAKEAWAYS

Opportunities:

• Simplify onboarding to make it more intuitive.
• Improve navigation for easier access to projects and discussions.
• Increase engagement with incentives like competitions and awards.

Pain Points:

• Initial overwhelm from too many projects and discussions.
• Difficulty finding relevant projects due to unclear categorization.
• Disheartenment from not winning competitions.

User Experience:

• Discovery: Intrigued by the community and projects.
• Onboarding: Struggles with navigation but finds interesting projects.
• Engagement: Participates in competitions, receives praise, boosting confidence and reputation.

Actions:

• Streamline onboarding to guide users effectively.
• Enhance navigation for easier access to relevant content.
• Introduce motivational incentives like competitions and awards.

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User stories

• As a user, I want to easily discover new projects and architects on Spectacular, so that I can stay inspired and informed.
• As a user, I want to be able to share my latest project updates and insights with the Spectacular community, so that I can receive feedback and engage with other architects.
• As a user, I want to receive notifications on the homepage and via email for new discussions and replies in forums I’ve joined on Spectacular, so that I can stay engaged and up-to-date with relevant conversations.
• As a user, I want to easily search for specific projects or architects on Spectacular, so that I can find inspiration and reference materials for my own work.

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Brand Elements

SPECTACULAR BRANDING

• Conducted video call interviews with 10 participants.
• Gather feedback on usability, functionality, and overall experience.

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Design System

SPECTACULAR BRANDING

• Conducted video call interviews with 10 participants.
• Gather feedback on usability, functionality, and overall experience.

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Design Outcome

• Universal Search Bar: Added at the top for easy access to projects, profiles, and jobs.
• Prominent Feed Display: Top section showcases latest posts, projects, and updates.
• Persistent Search Bar: Remains fixed for quick searches as users scroll.
• Integrated Post Section: Users can share projects, images, and updates directly from the homepage.
• Quick Profile Access: Profile management accessible from the homepage.
• Simplified Navigation: Streamlined header for easy profile access and search.
• Interactive Networking Carousel: Suggestions for networking displayed as interactive cards on the homepage.

WIREFRAME PROTOTYPES:

Low-Fidelity Wireframe: [Link]

High-Fidelity Wireframe: [Link]

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Wireframes

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Wireframes

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User Testing

PROTOTYPE INTERVIEW

Conducted video call interviews with 10 participants.

Gather feedback on usability, functionality, and overall experience.

WHAT WENT RIGHT

• Positive feedback on homepage design
• Users liked posting functionality
• Networking suggestions were appreciated
• Users valued project search and filtering

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WHAT WENT WRONG

• Text overwhelming on homepage
• Confusion between posts and projects
• Confusion around search bars
• Vague drop-down menus

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DESIGN ACTIONS TO TAKE

• Boost search visibility
• Clarify posting functionality
• My Profile: Improve Share bar usability
• Network pages: simplify user search

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Next Steps

• Implement design improvements based on user feedback.
• Conduct further user testing to validate changes.
• Continuously monitor and iterate based on user engagement and feedback.

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Outcomes

The new UX/UI design on Spectacular’s platform has resulted in significant improvements, achieving outstanding outcomes. By the end of 2023, the platform surpassed its set goals, demonstrating the effectiveness of the changes. Specifically:

• Individual members increased to 289%.
• Total projects uploaded reached 165%.
• Monthly Active Users rose by 42%.
• Monthly Active Users in Chicago reached 230%.

These results underscore the substantial impact of the UX/UI improvements in enhancing user engagement, networking capabilities, and content sharing. Spectacular has solidified its position within the Chicago architectural community and is poised for further growth.