Step-Pets is a case study that was made as an entry for the drawerrr design competition to design a smartwatch app to encourage people to get active and walk.
Duration: 7 Weeks Team: Solo Project Tools: Figma, Adobe XD, Adobe Illustrator, Adobe After Effects
Introduction
Step-Pets seeks to push the Apple Watch to its limits with a walking app experience unlike any other Apple Watch app. Step-Pets is a creative and fun solution to connect with friends and stay active.
Role: Interaction Design, UI Design, User Research, Prototyping, Usability Testing
THE PROBLEM
THE SOLUTION
THE FEATURES
MY DESIGN PROCESS
(1/4) Research
SECONDARY RESEARCH
I started my research process by researching existing studies and learning more about the current Apple Watch fitness app experience.
I also researched studies on exercise motivation and the impacts Covid had on motivation.
(1/4) Research
PRIMARY RESEARCH
Next I conducted a user survey with 30 Apple Watch users and an interview with 10 Apple Watch users.
I wanted to find out how the Apple Watch breeds motivation and where this experience could be improved.
(1/4) Research
COMPETITIVE RESEARCH
To finish my research process I conducted competitive research with an assortment of different competitors.
The competitive research helped me to understand what features need to be developed upon and what features are still desired.
(2/4) Analysis/Opportunities
AFFINITY DIAGRAM
To gather and organize my information I used affinity diagramming to narrow down and sort my insights by successful design, user needs, and pain points.
(2/4) Analysis/Opportunities
USER PERSONAS
Using my organized information, I narrowed down my audience into two personas, a primary persona and a secondary persona. This process helped me to understand different user needs and goals.
(3/4) Ideation
STORYBOARDING/ LOW-FIDELITY WIREFRAMES
To begin my ideation phase, I started by creating a storyboard and sketching out low-fidelity wireframes. This process helped me understand the hierarchy of my app.
(3/4) Ideation
FEATURE PRIORITIZATION/ USER JOURNEY
To focus on the most important features, I used an effort/impact matrix to narrow down my the features. To further progress the hierarchy of the app, I mapped out the user journey using a user journey map.
(4/4) Prototyping/Usability Testing
A/B TESTING
To begin the next phase, I conducted A/B Testing with 15 Apple Watch users. To plan out how I would depict the features, I iterated three different versions for the users to choose between.
(4/4) Prototyping/Usability Testing
USABILITY TESTING
Next I conducted two rounds of usability testing with 9 Apple Watch users. I observed the participants as they tried to complete seven different tasks.
(4/4) Prototyping/Usability Testing
In the end, I finalized the design with my third and final iteration. The two iterating phases and testing phases helped me to better understand what screens are most beneficial to users.
