STUDIO

BOOM

ROLE

UX/UI Designer, User Research

TOOLS

Figma, Figjam

DURATION

4 weeks

Overview

Studio Boom, a prominent local hair salon nestled in Colorado, boasts expertise in a diverse range of services, including blowouts, coloring, Deva curl treatments, and hair extensions. Their current website serves as a platform for bookings, team details, and pricing.

Problem

The design and user interface presented substantial challenges, leading them to resort to phone calls for bookings, rendering the website largely ineffective. Additionally, the disorganized layout of stylist information made it challenging to find a suitable match. Furthermore, deciphering the services and offerings was problematic due to the pages being hard to read.

Solution

This project aims to create a user-friendly and visually appealing website for Studio Boom, highlighting their services and showcasing their work with user-friendly navigation. This should be done while retaining their overall branding and feel as this is important to the company.

RESEARCH & METHODS

Objectives

Identify the factors that hinder users from maintaining a consistent meditation practice.
Explore the motivations that drive users to stay consistent when adopting something new.
Gain insight into users’ goals and well-being.
Examine the influence of business ethics on consumer behavior.

Methods

User Survey

User Interviews

Participants: 9 | Format: Google Forms

To get a better sense of my potential users, I conducted a survey to note:

Possible target user demographics
User interest, motivations, and obstacles

The survey was distributed to social media channels and personal connections. The results aided in identifying the particular participant group required for the user interviews.

Competitive Analysis

Interviews provided a more complete understanding of people’s experiences, feelings, and motivations and led us to propose a new overall direction for the product.

Rooted Points

Guided meditations play a crucial role for beginners and in maintaining retention rates.
Offering various track length options provides users with flexibility and choice.
Incorporating rewards or progress tracking serves as motivation for users.

Competitive Analysis

I looked closely at three popular apps: Calm, Headspace, and Insight Timer.

I needed to know: Which ones are the most popular? What do they specialize in? and Who uses them?

I was curious to observe how they maintain user interest and which features are most frequently utilized.

For each one, I listed what they offer and their pros and cons.

**Pro’s & Cons for the competitors graphic

What I discovered was that Calm is known for its sleep and relaxation features, Headspace is famous for expert-led meditation sessions, and Insight Timer stands out because it's all about building a community of users. However, they all faced a common problem: a task flow that wasn't very intuitive because of the numerous features each platform had.

Lack of personalization

Not suitable for busy individuals

User Interviews

Participants: 6 | Format: 30 minute, 1-on-1 conversations

How Might We…?

To gain a deeper understanding of the data I gathered, I decided it would be appropriate to organize my thoughts by converting them into structured "How Might We" questions.

This step was crucial in order to transform the idea in my mind into a tangible product, as it allowed me to outline my users' pain points, gains, and needs.

User Persona

Based on the user research, I developed a persona to better guide my product development process. I focused on the goals and frustrations of the persona and how they would interact with the product, which guided my design decisions.

**User Persona Graphic

IDEATE

During this design phase, I contemplated the most efficient way for users to go from downloading the app to initiating their first meditation session. To enhance my comprehension, I constructed a user and task flow diagram to visualize the various paths users could take. I also took into account the potential limitations or frustrations users might face and evaluated how quickly they could finish the onboarding survey.

DESIGN

At this point in time, I had recognized what features should be included in my app. However, the next step was to bring my ideas to life through visualization.

My approach to wireframing involves diving directly into Figma to create rough outlines and sketches of my concepts. This is where I make tons of iterations and keep everything organized onto one “artboard”. This approach has simplified the process compared to sketching on a piece of paper and transferring it into Figma.

**Low-Fidelity Mockups Part 1

**Low-Fidelity Mockups Part 2

The primary challenge I faced was the tendency to overthink each step or screen. I aimed to avoid repeating the same mistakes as other meditation platforms that overloaded their apps with excessive features. My goal was to keep my app simple and provide users with the results they initially sought as soon as they joined. This led me to conceive the idea of implementing a survey at the beginning of the app.

The questionnaire would serve to personalize the user's experience based on their responses, influencing the app's structure, meditation types, and style accordingly. This way, users wouldn't have to spend time navigating through a vast library of meditations, eliminating the need for excessive thought and simplifying their journey to improving their mental and emotional health.

UI/Branding

SweetSpot is named after the the feeling of the meditator being the space between each thought. The intention was to offer users an initial experience that hints at the possibility of balancing their busy lives with the inner peace within. Given life's constant whirl of thoughts and obligations, the design aims to evoke calmness and relaxation.

**Logo/Iconography

The choice of indigo as the primary style was deliberate, symbolizing the third-eye chakra and intuitive energy while fostering focus. Placing indigo on a dark background not only creates a visually striking contrast but also reduces strain on the user's eyes. Furthermore, the UI elements were designed to be familiar, ensuring cohesive and inclusive iconography for all user demographics.

FINAL PROTOTYPE

**A quick visual of the new user onboarding process.

CONCLUSION

This journey has been incredibly fulfilling. It started as a vague idea, a wish for others to meditate and enhance their mental and emotional well-being, lacking clear direction. Reflecting on it now, this path has been quite lengthy. Nonetheless, I feel grateful for all of the knowledge I've gained throughout this experience and the chance to design a product that could potentially help many individuals on their journey to self-improvement.

I take pride in this project because it marked my first venture into identifying user problems and generating design solutions to address them. This journey allowed me to recognize my natural inclination toward UI design and the critical role consistency plays in a product's success. I'm excited to continue learning and improving this skill in my future projects, and to add more skills to my design toolkit.

Next Steps?

Create a web/desktop version of Sweetspot.
Create a “light version” of the app for those who prefer.
Adjust my user-dashboard to make it less crowded and more spacious.
Add more features to the Rewards/Progress portion of the app.

Thank you so much for reading!