A Social + Productivity app

Project Overview

LivnList is a camera based messaging app that kickstarts social plans with a video invite. By making the invite personalized and fun, the play on anticipation is amped up and encourages friends to do more together. In the redesigned version we introduced new productivity tools within the itinerary planning and group messaging so the hassle of organizing an event or trip will be more seamless and engaging within a group.

My role

UX & UI Designer

Timeframe

2.5 Weeks

Limitations, Parameters, Resources, and Materials

I worked alongside two other UX designers to evaluate the usability and redesign the utility of LivnList’s app using research obtained through user interviews, business and competitive research.

Given the limited timeframe we had, we decided to redesign the core functions of the app and prioritize the features identified in our user research.

Design Process

Competitive Analysis

To better understand LivnList’s stand in the current market, we looked into the features of apps with a similar concept. LivnList currently does not offer as many features such as Facebook and Whatsapp, however it does have the unique positioning of being able to offer both group text messaging and event planning within a single platform.

User Interviews

To empathize with our users pain points and social habits, we interviewed candidates who were frequent participants of group messaging platforms and with previous experience planning social activities. The questions we asked were framed to understand:

Frustrations of event planning within a group setting. Fun, effective and poor communication aspects of group chats. A typical user journey in planning an event or trip.

Key takeaways:

Users are most likely to initiate the conversation of planning using the common platform in which the participants are already a part of.

in which the participants are already a part of. Key tools in planning a successful social event are access to instant updates and important details , confidence in picking the right options that suits the majority, tracking different preferences and the ability to share/upload media .

, confidence in that suits the majority, and the ability to . Majority of users enjoy using the variety of stickers, gifs and filters as a way of personalizing their messages and expressing themselves in a fun way.

The insights we collected helped us to prioritize key features and tools that LivnList’s target users are most likely to use.

Personas

Following our user interviews, we created two personas to remind us who our users are and the goals and needs that we need to solve for.

Simone is planning an overseas trip with a group of friends.

Preston wants to get the boys together for a casual night out.

The Problem

Even in this modern day of constant communication via social media, people do enjoy meeting up in person as part of their social life. However, it is not always convenient to organize meet ups due to conflicting schedules, lack of clear communication and varying preferences.

How might we help friends find an easy way to communicate and plan more social activities with each other?

Suggested Solution

Camera Access

In our usability test of the current app, 75% of the users did not welcome the default greeting of a front-facing camera. Users expressed their need to feel in-control and ready before initiating the camera to record.

Design solution: We leveraged the familiar motion of swiping right to start recording and alternatively, a main button in the tab bar to access the camera.

Designing for Compatibility

Currently the home screen of LivnList is a live camera which fills 3/4 of the screen and can be minimized by swiping up. However as this was designed for the older models of iPhones, it caused a lot of frustration with iPhone X users who were unable to swipe back down.

Design solution: A new header and tab bar is incorporated to easily access the app’s core functions. This will also be user friendly for all versions of iPhone users.

Current (left) and Proposed Design (right) of Initial Home Screen.

Structure of Content

Currently, LivnList displays the calendar of events as previews of its group chats. This then links to the event page combined with the group message thread. In the preview there are also two types of numerical listings - the numbers in the white box represents the date of the month and numbers in the blue box shows the total number of messages in the group chat which caused much confusion with users.

Design solution: The calendar of events and text message function is separated in the tab bar to allow for a more organized and intentional grouping of content. The event card UI design utilizes the event’s main image to make it more visually engaging and provide a better hierarchy of information that showcase the important details first. Another fun element we added was the event countdown to elevate the feeling of anticipation.

Current (left) and Proposed Design (right) of Home/Calendar page.

Productivity Tools

Our client had expressed his intention for LivnList to be a productivity tool. The current design only includes a manual entry of your basic trip/event details. In the redesign we proposed a number of new tools:

Create group/individual trip itinerary linked to attendees profile

Sync itinerary from email to generate new itinerary from LivnList

Folder to upload/attach different media types for reference

Customized checklists

Admin can assign roles to attendees

Add event to personal Calendar

Poll feature within messaging with anonymous voting

These new tools will hopefully reduce any ambiguity and increase the user’s capability to plan a trip or event efficiently in a group setting.

Current (left) and Proposed Design (right) of Event page.

Current (left) and Proposed Design (right) — Recipient view of invitation.

Design solution: The contacts list is designed to create shortcuts at the top by suggesting frequently contacted friends. By also syncing your phone contacts list to LivnList, users will be able to immediately add them to the RSVP list. This will reduce any frustration of having to request friends who aren’t yet on the platform to download the app first.

Current (left) and Proposed Design (right) of Contact List.

Usability Tests and Resulting Iterations

We conducted usability tests for both Mid-fi and Hi-fi designs to test the core functions and new user flows.

In the Mid-fi testing, we discovered that some users were expecting the messaging feature to appear within the event details. To resolve that we added a notification to the recipient (after accepting the invite) to notify them to join the group chat located in Messages. Overall the feedback was really positive and users were excited with the potential to plan social events and communicate efficiently on the same platform.

Prototype

Reflections

Due to time constraints I wasn’t able to include all the features in the prototype which I was excited to work on. However it was good exercise to rely on user research to identify the most effective changes and needs for the business goal. I learned too the importance of putting aside your biases and personal needs in building a product to create a more authentic experience for users.