Crafting Charette's Architectural Forum
This case study talks about designing a discussion forum within a design competition website - thecharette so that students can engage with others and collaborate.
The Problem
Scott is a participant of Charette's architecture competition who needs to have his questions about the competition clarified but he is unsure where to ask because there is no communication medium on the website itself.
Case Study Slides
My Role:
Product Design and Prototyping
My Responsibilities
Conducting interviews, research process, creating detailed priority guides, usability tests, A/B test and iterate.
Files and Links:
Project Overview
Charette organizes international architecture & design competitions. While talking to the stakeholders, I got to know they are facing challenges communicating with the participants. They were communicating through email with both participants and judges. This let us to design a solution that solves everyone's needs in one place. We designed a discussion forum wherein participants can not only ask questions, but can also collaborate with other participants to take part as a team in competitions.
Challenge
The participants had several questions regarding a competition but they had to wait for the organizers to respond and the only way they were communicating was through email.
I conducted interviews with existing participants and design students to understand their pain points and requirements. The students wanted a platform where they can get information about competitions and also connect with other peers within the community.
Research
After conducting thorough research, we designed a prototype which could help participants to not only post questions but to engage with other participants, the organizers and the jury members.
Let's take a look at the Proto Persona below:
Scott is an architecture design bachelor. His goals revolve around building a portfolio that he's proud to showcase and designing projects for social good. However, he faces frustrations due to the difficulty in communicating with competition organizers to have questions answered and the lack of feedback from industry professionals. Scott's habit of submitting projects at the last minute adds to his challenges in meeting deadlines effectively.
Design Studio
As part of our design system development, I led a card sorting exercise to organize elements, shaping the Information Architecture (IA) to blend existing functionality with planned enhancements. Leveraging insights from interviews and research, we refined user stories, enriching them with details on user goals, needs, and frustrations.
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Post user flow development, I spearheaded the creation of high-level priority guides to structure webpage content effectively. These guides delineated overarching priorities and content hierarchy, ensuring essential information received appropriate visibility. I then meticulously transformed these guides into detailed versions, defining specific content elements and their prominence within the webpage layout, optimizing user experience and navigation.
Design System
Prototype
We designed the prototype for mobile, tab and desktop versions. In terms of designing the mobile app, I suggested the team to design web app instead of native since we don't want to push the users to download the app since the discussion forum isn't a very big feature or something they would use often.
Through a usability test involving three participants, we assessed the updated discussion forum page, focusing on tasks such as creating a new post and filtering search results. Insights gleaned from this evaluation informed iterative design enhancements. These included the removal of the header bar on the login page for a cleaner layout and the visual distinction between the search bar and "create new post" button. These modifications aim to improve user experience by streamlining navigation and reducing confusion.
Responsive Screens
If I could go back in time
One crucial lesson I've come to appreciate is the profound value of a robust coded prototype. This invaluable tool not only facilitates clear communication with engineers but also offers a holistic perspective on design objectives. While aesthetics undoubtedly play a role, prioritizing functionality over visual allure ensures practicality and alignment with technical constraints, thereby expediting the development process. Embracing the significance of a fully functional prototype early on would undoubtedly have refined my approach to design, fostering greater efficiency and effectiveness in bringing products to fruition.
