Hidden Gem
UX/UI design and research for Hidden Gem, an app that helps users discover and create experiences effortlessly
Problem Statement
Planning outings can be overwhelming and time-consuming due to indecisiveness and busy schedules. This often results in lengthy planning sessions or canceled plans. While people rely on social media, word-of-mouth, and review sites to discover new places, there’s no streamlined way to organize options, coordinate with others, and follow through.
Qualitative and Quantitative Research
Interviewed 6 participants, focusing on the process they take when creating plans
Qualitative Takeaways:
Many people rely on social media to discover new experiences
Posts are frequently sent to friends - rarely goes to these places as they forget or lose these posts
Screenshots places, but loses them in camera roll
Frustrations
Difficulty coordinating schedules
Indecisiveness - Too many options makes it difficult to decide on what to do as a group
Making decisions based on people’s needs and preferences (budget, time, location/distance, interests)
Many factors impact how users create plans
Budget, transportation, distance, schedules, reviews, image/videos, and interests
Quantitative Research:
How do you usually discover new places to visit?
What usually influences your decision the most?
What tools do you use to plan outings?
What is the most common reason plans don’t happen?
How often do you have trouble deciding where to go or what to do?
How often do your plans fall through?
User Persona
Journey Map
Information Architecture
User Flow
Crazy 8 Sketches
Lo-Fi Sketches
User Testing
Created a set of tasks for five different participants to complete
Takeaways and Adjustments
Navigation flow is simple and easy for user to follow
Too much scrolling on the generator form
Improvement: Separated the form into multiple pages with a progress bar at the top
Unclear what the purpose of generator is and wants to create plan separately from just using the generator
Improvement: Placed generator and calendar into two different pages and added “create plan” and “saved plan” section
