vagabond club
AUGUST 2023
An app designed for digital nomads who are bound to corporate obligations.
Project time: 4 weeks
Tools: Figma, Illustrator, Miro
​
My role: Lead designer through end to end process: discovery, user research, requirements, design, testing, support through final presentation
The problem: How might we improve the way that remote workers find accommodation and spaces to work from that suit their needs?
How might we incorporate the idea of categorising user’s needs to develop a solution that provides recommendations for productive third places?
​
​
Collaborators: Gia Dimitropoulos (UX Research)
the process
empathize
define + ideate
prototype
test
Using the double diamond process and the project brief 4 key stages of the design process were identified and prioritised due to the time constraints and deliverables required
summary
Picture a community and platform tailored to empower remote workers, enhancing productivity wherever they roam. An innovative app designed to connect digital nomads with ideal accommodations and workspaces on their travels.
No more imagining; with Vagabond Club, remote workers can seamlessly discover and book spaces that cater to their unique needs, ensuring every vacation is a productive adventure. Join the club and revolutionize your remote work experience today.
Digital mock up of vagabond app.
research + analysis
1- Industry Analysis and User Interviews
​
52% of the working population have flexible working conditions.
​
there is a wider adoption of remote work arrangements, which allows for more travel.
​
77% of the working population consider booking working vacations
​
About 1/3 of those surveyed by a online travel angency have travelled or expect to travel for work purposes in 2023, and plan to tack personal vacation time onto those trips.
Research summary:
There are existing review and booking resources for accomodation and reservations at third places, however there have not been successful apps that combine the two. There are not many memorable remote-worker related apps, mostly surrounding organizing work day and productivity, but none regarding venue at which work is taking place. Co-working spaces/ brands have seperate booking websites, this is hard to choose as you have to stay loyal with a membership to a singular organisation, leads to no spontaneity. Some apps have accesibility features for user preference such as light/dark mode, making text bigger, this allows comfort for user. The similarities between each app is the onboarding process and sign in format, all provide lazy login in as well as manually inputting data. All filters are based on physical objects/things such as pax, rooms, price and not remote worker needs.
Heuristics Analysis
In addition to gathering quantitative results from our questionnaire, we interviewed 7 advid travelers who provided further in-depth insights on their opinions on travel planning and experiences post-pandemic.
Things to implement after analysing Heuristics of competing products:
Natural mapping: where design controls are easier for users to learn and remember how the interface works. This helps to build an experience that feels intuitive. Users often perform actions by mistake. They need a clearly marked exit strategy to leave the unwanted action without having to go through an extended process. Consistency through following conventional industry jargon, Failing to maintain consistency may increase the users’ cognitive load. Error prevention through messages such as “incorrect password/email, warnings, an option to redo.
user insights
Interview 1
“I just think it's a bit difficult to find comfortable spaces for work in foreign countries. I don't know what to expect or where to go, I find it stressful.”
Interview 2
“I was told I could not work at a cafe. This could have been solved by researching or asking the staff at the start. A solution could be to have a hub for workers to showcase their experiences.. or something like that”
Interview 3
" I hate working in my hotel room unless its the only option. Ive seen co-working spaces but no, I've always heard of them and seen them around but i don't have enough information or the opportunity to book it. It's a shame.”
brainstorming
user insights
01- Affinity Mapping
In addition to gathering quantitative results from our questionnaire, we interviewed 7 avid traveler’s who provided further in-depth insights on their opinions on travel planning and experiences post-pandemic.
competitior audit
02- Affinity Mapping
I have analysed 2 direct and 1 indirect competitors for the app, overall have similar dynamic profile orientated form with the allowance of signing in/up using facebook, google and existing emails.
view competitor onboarding process annotations
.png)
user interface
onboarding
login flow
app
booking form
usability
user research summary
01
There are existing review and booking resources for accomodation and reservations at third places, however there have not been successful apps that combine the two.
02
There are not many memorable remote-worker related apps, mostly surrounding organizing work day and productivity, but none regarding venue at which work is taking place.
03
Co-working spaces/ brands have seperate booking websites, this is hard to choose as you have to stay loyal with a membership to a singular organisation, leads to no spontaneity.
04
Some apps have accesibility features for user preference such as light/dark mode, making text bigger, this allows comfort for user.
05
The similarities between each app is the onboarding process and sign in format, all provide lazy login in as well as manually inputting data.
06
All filters are based on physical objects/things such as pax, rooms, price and not remote worker needs.
definition+ideation
Problem Statement
How might we improve the way that remote workers find accommodation and spaces to work from that suit their needs?
​
How might we incorporate the idea of categorising user’s needs to develop a solution that provides recommendations for productive third places?
Value Proposition
My organization, Vagabond is developing a platform to help digital nomads easily organize and locate spaces that cater to their needs to solve having to heavily research numerous spaces to work from whilst travelling unfamiliar areas.
​
We’re better because we categorize your needs to maximize productivity and recommend a selection of third places and overnight accommodation within your proximity.
​
We’re believable because we take user feedback in real time to recommend curated and remote worker certified spaces allowing you to explore more and worry less.
ideation
03- Storyboarding
Storyboards help visualise ideas and provide clarity. Journey maps are used because they answer questions that storyboards can't provide, it focus on the sequence and order of events and the associated underlying human behaviours.
04- I like, I wish, What If?
The Like, I Wish, What If method is a structured way of organising feedback, it frames the user feedback in a constructive and positive manner, enabling an open discussion.
05- Feature prioritization matrix
Feature prioritisation allows to help inform UX decisions, to discuss if solutions are feasible.
.png)
.png)
user flow
user onboarding and app introduction
login and sign up process
two factor authentication and dashboard
_edited.jpg)
These deliverables served as the blueprints for low fidelity wireframes. I used these wireframes to further refine my designs through usability testing.
prototyping
06- Wireframing
Basic online wireframes were created to map out certain key design features to inclyde in the low fidelity prototyoe
07- Low-fidelity prototyping
The main features being modeled are the guest and member views, the onboarding process, and additional screens that address the design problem. Simplifying the sign-up process and providing self-paced navigation for users, with the option to skip certain introductory screens, are key aspects.
.png)
user testing
Objective 1: first time user onboard through email
Objective 2: two factor authentication
Objective 3: complete new user survey and scroll place to work
user testing feedback
08- Guerilla User testing
5 usability tests with users were conducted. All tasks were moderated remotely via Zoom.
​
All users were able to at least partially submit each task, with the key issue being in finishing profile set-up. A 2x2 narri
​
This research method helps identify potential user experience issues and uncover user feedback for iterations and improvements.
09- Prototype User Feedback
Things to implement after gathering user feedback on prototype:
.png)
Weaknesses:
-
some features are not striking enough for users to locate
-
onboarding takes too long
-
some screens are too cluttered
-
Lack of visuals for users to browse
Opportunities:
-
To provide more features targeted towards our users/allow for feedback
-
Brand identity throughout app flow
-
accessibility to all through dropdown customisation menu with features such as enlarging text, contrast etc.
Accesibility:
allowing users to customize text, screen brightness and clarity of text heavy pages
​
Human Error:
Users often perform actions by mistake. They need a clearly marked exit strategy to leave the unwanted action without having to go through an extended process.
​
Simplify sign up page:
Combining login/signup so app recognises if account has been previously created so users don't need to click through many screens.
Combine screens:
reduce amount of different screens to tap through, more productive user flow.
​
There is an option to skip features but how do we make users want to view our resources?
clickable prototype
Play with the vagabond app.
future features
Sharing itinary / weekly plan with friends & co workers
Co-plan work sessions/trips in groups
whats near me? feature
reflection & key learning
10- Next Steps
​
-
The next steps in this process are to build out the other features of the app, specifically the work portion. This will also need to be tested and iterated through guerilla testing
-
Option for users to give feedback through the app, to create a more welcoming community and making users feel apart of their personal recovery.
-
​look at competitors when iterating for the sake of problem solving, so that I can see what unique ideas my brain can come up with without the influence of others in the first prototype. This will also need to be tested and iterated.
11-Takeaways
-
Conduct more/frequent forms of user testing and feedback to uncover more pain points and usability issues throughout design process.
-
Users often perform actions by mistake. They need a clearly marked exit strategy to leave the unwanted action without having to go through an extended process.
-
Fluid design throughout app and create a brand persona and identity​