ExT
ExT is a social media website for expats and travelers to meet virtually, create a travel plan, and build an online community.
Test the Figma prototype!
The problem
Many travelers and expats often meet each other in-person or online using social media or dating apps. Neither one is an issue because both sources are beneficial, however, there isn’t a “one stop shop” for this specific community to effectively meet online (eventually in person), plan trips together, and build an online community.
The solution
To create a simple website for expats and travelers from every part of the world to build an online community.
Users can use it as one of the main sources to:
Share stories & photos
Create a community or group
Meet online (and eventually in-person)
Plan trips and save on the website or share with the community
Overview
Before beginning the research, I decided to pose four questions for myself as a starting point to further understand the user.
What do you need to know about users and their community to understand their experiences?
I’d like to know whether users use social media, dating apps, and/or other methods to meet like minded people whether it’s for business, meet-up, or friendship while traveling.
What are the processes, practices, and emotions that people experience around the problem you are trying to solve? How have these things changed over time, and why?
Most travelers appear to enjoy meeting people naturally during their travels or while living overseas, but as an expat and fellow traveler myself, sometimes this feat can be exhausting and overwhelming because I would find myself alone despite my efforts in meeting people in-person. So, there are times when it's imperative to attend clubs, join group travels, or meet use online platforms to meet people.
What are the problems that users still have not solved, as they relate to the product you're designing? What would solving those problems do for users and others?
There are FB groups, IG pages, and websites designed for travelers to share their stories, meet up with one another, and possibly network. But all of these are exclusive of one another, so I’d like to create a "one-stop shop" for travelers & expats to network at a faster rate than check several pages on social media or dating apps that is open for everyone. Solving the problem would enable travelers to make more friends, build better business relations, and not compete with one another for attention on social media.
How will the product you are designing function within users’ lives?
This will enable travelers/expats to be part of a community of people around the world instantly and easily collaborate, network, meet one another during their travels or while living overseas, and plan their own trips all within one responsive website. The format will be somewhat similar to social media websites, but without the need to garner attention from other users through likes.
Research & Planning
I interviewed four potential users who either travel or live overseas and developed empathy maps to determine the problem and iterate solutions.
Below is Candoni (Combination of participant's names) to illustrate the collective feedback from the interviewees based on what they've said, how they think, feel, and what they currently do as travelers and expats. From this alone, I was able to establish the user pain points.
View the other empathy maps.
Foundational Research
Empathy Maps & User Interviews
After the interviews, I researched direct and indirect competitive companies that offer similar services for the target user: Couchsurfing, Traveller's Point, InterNations, and Instagram (IG). The purpose is to understand the typical services & products offered while analyzing missing features that are possibly missing that can be implemented in ExT.
Competitive Audit Analysis
User Pain Points
Expats living in a small town find it difficult to meet people online and in-person.
location
main source
Meeting people in person is preferable but using one main source to meet other travelers and expats online is a little cumbersome.
similar interest
There are various ways to meet travelers/expats online, but finding others with similar interests in-person or online is difficult.
Hello, I'm Kia!
Kia's Journey Map
Kia is a busy expat & frequent traveler who needs to find a way to easily meet other like-minded people because she wishes to open a business overseas with her girlfriend.
Personas & Journey Maps
I focused on the “improvement opportunities” section since Kia is a new user. I want to ensure a smooth sign-up process, user friendly/accessible color scheme, and never overwhelm the user with too much information. Privacy policy is vital since their location will be known.
What's up, I'm Omar!
Omar's Journey Map
Omar is a digital nomad who needs another method to network with other remote workers because he travels frequently and wants to build a community of digital workers.
While developing Omar’s journey map, I realized users will need search engines, filters, and community guidelines to follow to maintain respect for one another. Additionally, a privacy policy needs to be implemented to protect user data.
Creating the design
I decided to use a hierarchical structure to design the sitemap. I wanted to focus on creating an atmosphere for users to feel welcomed, post stories, create & join groups, share photos, and discuss personal experiences with one another in safe spaces.
Sitemap
Digital wireframes & Prototype
I focused on designing a homepage filled necessary features (join a group, read an article, user profiles, etc.) to engage the user. I prioritized simplicity, a useful navigation, and seamless user flow. For the lo-fi prototype, I connected all of the screens involved in the primary user flow of visiting the ‘Health & Wellness’ & “Plan a Trip’ pages.
Online members are displayed so users can easily connect with one another online.
Homepage is optimized for easy browsing and navigation
Users can easily access other user’s stories and even post one themselves using the buttons at the top and bottom
Desktop
Tablet
Mobile
Usability testing & Analysis
The usability testing was unmoderated and conducted remotely with six participants who travel frequently or currently live overseas. Afterwards, I gathered and analyzed their input into an affinity diagram and discovered three key findings:
Instantaneous Transition: Most users were distracted by the fade transition between pages and preferred the instant one to easily flow through the website.
Health & Wellness → Community: Users were confused by the ‘Health & Wellness’ page because they expected helpful articles or tips instead of several, separate spaces based on user identity. They felt this page should be ‘Community’ instead.
Profile Icons: Nearly every user was confused by the profile icons at the top, which signified online users. They requested to have it removed since it made them feel uncomfortable. They preferred the online users be part of another page or a different section of the homepage.
Refining the design
Mockups & Prototype
Based on the insights from the lo-fi usability study, I made changes to improve the homepage aesthetics and make it more readable. After creating the mockups, I developed the hi-fi prototype.
Desktop
Mobile
I included a mobile screen size because travelers are constantly on the go and will interact with one another using mobile devices. I wanted to optimize the browsing experience for mobile devices, so users have the smoothest experience with the website while on a plane, train, or even hiking the Himalayas.
One of the changes I made was to the ‘travel stories’ section by condensing it and adding eight stories instead of four. I also placed the buttons at the top instead of one either side of the section.
Additionally, I replaced ‘Health & Wellness’ (H&W) page with the ‘Community’ page based on results from the lo-fi usability study. I also added a ‘For Everyone’ space to include every diverse group and prevent any exclusion. This allows users to communicate with one another despite their gender, religious & ethnic background, and sexual orientation. The H&W page will remain but will have a mental health focus.
Accessibility (a11y)
size
color
feature
The headings have different sizes to illustrate hierarchy.
I used orange (FB5607) to specifically denote buttons with a white text (FFFFFF) for a11y purposes.
I added an “accessibility” feature on the page footer to help users with extra help such as screen reader, speech recognition, text-to-speech, etc.
What I learned
I learned to listen to the users because their input is valuable toward iterating designs. I started taking some comments personally, but I opted to use it as an opportunity for growth and enhance my designs as a UX/UI Designer.
Impact
My target users, travelers/expats, deemed the website very simple, minimalistic, easy to navigate, colorful, user friendly, and inclusive. They also like the hierarchical texts and buttons that are easily noticeable.
"It was very easy to go through the main flow (plan a trip). I like the color palette and photos used. There was a good amount of spacing and the type was easy to read overall." (P3, Hi-fi usability test)
Next steps
Analyze and synthesize data from the hi-fi usability study, then make changes based on the feedback from participants.
Expand on the ‘Community’ section to include travel groups, stories, and instant chat, so members can interact with active online members.
Continue researching and eventually build a team of UX designers, full stack engineers, researchers, and business analyst to collectively ideate and build upon the website, add features, partner with other companies, and conduct philanthropic work.
