I led the product thinking and strategy to discover an opportunity
in alignment with real-world constraints
I designed and prototyped new concepts within an existing
design system.
Overview
Design the experience
for content creators by discovering their key
needs and pain points.
Key Skills
Project Team
Tools
UX Research
Validation Research
Product Strategy
UI Design
Experience Design
Akshat Prasad
Prachi Garg
Optimal Workshop, Miro, Zoom, Figma, Adobe Suite
Google Suite, Invision
Project Length
Mentor
Summer 2022 // 5 weeks
3 weeks [research + strategy]
2 week [prototyping]
How might we improve the experience for content creators?
BUT DID YOU KNOW
The Challenge
50M
creators exist worldwide
63%
said their move
in 2022
was unexpected
46M
of the existing creators,
are amateurs.
How might we improve the experience
for content creators?
104B
creator economy worth
Becoming a content creator has never been a problem, but sustaining as one has been.
The struggle of finding your niche, while having to create content consistently. Content creation may seem like a glamorous profession but it involves wearing many professional hats and can become lonely.
Content creators are always implementing new strategies to monetize their work.
How might we help content creators feel they belong and empowered on Instagram?
REDEFINED PROBLEM SCOPE
A task manager that helps you pause.
Because calmness comes with being organized while taking care of others and yourself.
This was a research-intensive project. We sat and discussed our biases and mapped our existing knowledge on the process of moving.
Our Research Process
What we thought content
creators struggle with?
OUR KEY ASSUMPTIONS
Learning about the mover’s experience through moderated qualitative interviews.
- what causes a move?
- the experience of moving
- the different types of moves
- it’s impact on life?
- key underlying reasons for the
difficulties faced during it
How can we improve
their experience?
FRAMEWORK AND OPPORTUNITY
Rich with all the knowledge,
we synthesized the information collected and through that discovered broader themes
that recurred in many stories.
Frameworks used:
1. Card sorting
2. Affinity Mapping
3. Journey Mapping
Link to Affinity Mapping
, Journey Map
“Each move is progressively more difficult. You accumulate things over time.”
Shashank (33, Married)
“We were disappointed. It had been a long and tiring day but
by then we were used to disappointments.”
Sonal (27, Married)
What we discovered?
KEY THEMES
Pre-Move was the most stressful part of the moving process.
But research showed us we were focusing on the wrong angles.
Isn't this obvious?
Are we missing something?
BUT, WAIT A MINUTE
So we went back.
We conducted new interviews
and resynthesized all the
information again and
sought out patterns.
New Findings
“People are moving everything they have and giving it to an unknown agent.
There is always a fear along with uncertainty and worry about meeting the target day.”
James (38, In a relationship)
“Moving is the most stressful thing we have faced as a couple. You get into fights. It’s physically draining.”
Kanika (31, Married)
“My husband and I, we constantly remind each other- we have been through so much hell in the past. It's just about getting perspective in the end. It's just a move!”
Anahat (37, Married)
Most people don’t equate that a practical task like moving could trigger a strong emotional response.
But moving happens to humans and
humans have emotions.
Moving strains relationships
Recentering our focus
REITERATING OPPORTUNITY
Mindset:
to develop a moving mindset that helps deal with sudden delays and believes change is an opportunity for new possibilities.
Connection:
to support one another as moving
strains relationships.
Uncertainty:
knowing what to expect helps prepare for the stress-inducing unknowns that occur during moving
Deep diving into our
new insights
SECONDARY RESEARCH
We continued our research
seeking existing products that cater to providing solutions for our problem space.
Frameworks used:
1. Persona
2. Literature Review
3. Competitive Analysis
4. Analogous Research
Link to Persona
Moving triggers our deepest issues around control and loss
Moving forces us out of our familiar and comfortable habitat
Exploring all design
possibilities
IDEATION
10 ideation prompts → 57 initial ideas → 5 shortlisted
STORYBOARDING
Validating our ideas
Location: Moved to, within and from California
Age: 18 - 55
[Remote + In person] Moderated | 30 mins
VALIDATION RESEARCH
WINNER
A task manager
that also helps
you pause.
MEET NETBOX
But why?
because calmness comes with being organized and remembering to celebrate
Reflections & Takeaways
Recruitment and deep listening are key to defining your future project scope
Whom you recruit plays a big role in driving the direction of your findings and the opportunities you discover. It is equally important to be an active listener. Less you, more them. That is the only way you'd be able to discover the emotional drivers within the set time. Also, be mindful of your participant's time and energy. Longer interviews don't necessarily translate to more insights.
Trusting the ambiguity in the research process as it is truly an iterative process
We questioned our understanding of the topic and our abilities as researchers throughout the journey of this project. It's important to realize that it's all part of the process and only by going back and forth while digging deeper do you find something you don't already know. That is where research shines and leads to better interventions.
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