SWIFTE / mobile app redesign
2017
Project details
Role: UI/UX Designer
Timeline: 2 months
Tools: Sketch, Figma
Redesign of Swifte, a student ride-sharing app founded by 2 UCLA students. I worked on the project as a UI/UX designer over the duration of 2 months. The goal was to redesign the app during its early stages for improved usability and engagement when released.
I took a goal-oriented approach to the mobile app redesign. I conducted qualitative research and construction of user personas. I conducted competitor market research via article reviews, stakeholder interviews, and end user interviews via my college campus.
Month 1 / User and market research
I took the prototype given and started initial end user testing and user research. I quickly found that many of the features are difficult to access, due to lack of visibility on the app and cluttered menu design taking user attention in many different directions.
I conducted a small survey of the initial prototype with 12 people, most of whom are students. They are of 2 different audiences: those that have used ride sharing apps and those that haven’t. The findings:
User research results
80%
of survey takers found it difficult to navigate the app, noting the multiple menus and amount of text on screen.
85%
noted they were not aware of the app’s ride-giving functionality.
20%
of rideshare app users said they would use it again over other ride-sharing apps.
With this in mind, I conducted competitor market research against its UX flow by testing apps in the same space and comparing ease of use, visibility, UI directional flow, and fatigue/frustrations. I noted some of my findings:
Market - Ride sharing as a market entirely is valued at 6.7bil USD globally in 2017 and is projected to grow by more than 80% over the next few years. Users are from increasingly diverse backgrounds, contributing to the further expansion of the market. Competitors include existing rideshare apps such as Uber, Lyft, Curb, and adjacent markets such as car sharing include Turo and Zipcar.
Usage - Visual simplicity contributes to ease of use among the first experiences of the app. User benefits from a focus-directed UI that points out important actions, such as finding a ride or creating a shared ride.
Branding - Creating a brand identity that is memorable becomes one of the factors of increasing engagement. Brand identity factors such as color appeal, typography, and unique user experience flow create noticeable difference in app marketability and engagement.
Month 2 / Design, Prototyping, Iterating
Based on the results of the market and user research, I started focusing on the goal of increasing ease of use and accessibility of the app’s user experience, as well as an overhaul of the branding’s style guidelines. This is as opposed to creating standout graphics and a unique user experience to attract more audience into the ridesharing market, at least for the intents of this redesign.
I created personas to help with the initial design prototyping as follows:
Primary persona - a young male in college, Abe, who is busy with both exams and his part-time job. He finds use in ridesharing apps to frequently travel to and from college campus, his dorm and his workplace. He is less focused on the number of features on the app than on the simplicity of its use.
Secondary persona - a young female in college, Gabby, who sometimes uses the rideshare apps to travel long distances from her commute home to campus. She generally stays home but comes to class on campus a few times a week. She is concerned about finding a cheap commute ride, and is willing to spend time doing it.
Tertiary persona - a male, Jake, who is about to graduate from college. He is taking a lighter course load in his final year, and has some extra free time. He starts taking on the task of giving rides to people on the rideshare apps to earn some extra money on the side, while he conducts his job search in his desired field. He primarily uses the ride giving feature on the app.
Design
Key path scenario
Finding a ride
Abe loads the application on his phone and logs in.
The home screen map launches and Abe chooses from the options Give a ride or Find a ride.
He selects Find a ride and enters his destination address into the map.
He chooses from the list of options for ride sharing. He taps on the first available one that is also the cheapest.
He then notes the intended pickup spot and heads there, waiting for the driver to arrive.
Giving a ride
Jake loads the application on his phone and logs in.
The home screen map launches and Jake chooses from the options Give a ride or Find a ride.
He selects Give a ride and selects the destination he is going to.
He inputs details of his ride - number of people he can pick up, the price per passenger, and what time he wants to give the ride.
He then notes the intended pickup spot and time and heads there, driving his car.
User Flow
Hi-Fidelity Prototype Visuals
After conducting user research, designing user flow and creating personas, I created low and hi-fidelity prototypes of the app. The redesign is as shown, a simpler UI to reduce complexity and a visible support path for both ride giving and ride taking features.
Impact and Results
A revisit of the previously interviewed student users revealed that they were able to see visible improvements in the app’s functionality and visuals. Many were able to freely navigate the app, navigating the different flows quickly and with more ease than previously. The amount of difficulty in use was reduced and active engagement visibly increased.
Conclusion
Within the time constraints, there was always room for improvement on each iteration of the design. Building in functionality for both ride givers and ride takers proved to be the biggest challenge, as there are little similarities in their UX paths. Conducting the initial user research proved to be extremely valuable, as it gave clear guidance on the path by which I can take as a designer to reach the end goal of increased usability and engagement.
In the end, the simplicity element along with the UI overhaul successfully contributed to overall interest and engagement in the app.
Overall, I feel accomplished by this project. I was able to complete research, wireframing and design within 2 months, all while being a student and taking classes at the same time.