InaFlash
In a Flash is a UX design project aimed at creating a platform that connects photographers, businesses, and models. The app facilitates showcasing photography portfolios and streamlines hiring based on budget and work preferences. It also fosters a sense of community among photographers while addressing the challenges of income stability, client relationships, and platform control in the digital age. By leveraging the Stanford Design Thinking Process, the project aspires to provide a user-centric, inclusive solution for self-employed photographers, small businesses, and aspiring models in the UK and India.
Section Title
Role
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UX Researcher
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UI Designer
Tools
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Adobe Lightroom CC
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Adobe Photoshop
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Adobe Premiere Pro
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Figma
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Miro
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Microsoft Office
Timeline
January 2024 - May 2024
Platform
Mobile Application
Problem Statement
The photography industry has undergone a significant transformation with the rise of digital platforms. While these platforms provide accessibility and exposure, they introduce critical challenges:
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Income Instability: Many photographers struggle with inconsistent earnings due to low-price competition, subscription-based services, and limited monetization options.
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Client Relationship Challenges: Digital platforms often impede the direct connection between photographers and clients, making it difficult to secure repeat business or referrals.
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Platform Control: Photographers face constraints regarding payments, creative rights, and project management, which diminish their sense of autonomy.
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Verification Issues: Community forums lack robust profile verification, leading to trust issues and limited engagement among professional photographers.
Simultaneously, small businesses and aspiring models encounter barriers in finding reliable photographers who align with their budgets and creative requirements. These challenges are exacerbated for beginners, who lack industry connections or visibility.
Solution
In a Flash addresses these issues by offering a comprehensive platform tailored to the needs of photographers, businesses, and models:
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Photographer Empowerment:
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Portfolio Showcase: Allows photographers to present their work, set their prices, and build credibility.
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Community Engagement: Establishes forums and networking opportunities for knowledge-sharing and collaboration.
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Enhanced Control: Photographers retain control over their creative output and client interactions.
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User-Centric Features:
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Advanced Search and Filter: Enables businesses and models to find photographers based on budget, location, and style.
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Transparent Profiles: Verifies user credentials to build trust and authenticity.
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Mutual Benefits:
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For photographers: Increases opportunities for work, fosters client relationships, and reduces reliance on word-of-mouth referrals.
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For businesses/models: Simplifies the hiring process, ensures quality, and enhances their content’s impact and reach.
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By implementing a user-first approach through the Stanford Design Thinking Process, In a Flash seeks to transform the fragmented photography market into a cohesive, accessible, and mutually beneficial ecosystem.
Table of Contents
Brainstorm
Research
Key highlights:
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Client relationships are key: Photographers reported that building strong client relationships leads to stable income and referrals. Platforms make this difficult because photographers don't own the client relationship.
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Stock photos devalue work: Most photographers dislike stock photo subscriptions because they feel it significantly reduces their income potential.
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Competition on bidding platforms is fierce: Photographers struggle with the competitiveness of bidding platforms, where beginners with lower rates can undercut more experienced photographers.
Overall, the freelance photography market appears to be complex and competitive. While digital platforms offer some opportunities, photographers may need to focus on building client relationships and finding alternative ways to sell their work.
Target Audience
The platform’s primary users include:
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Self-employed Photographers: With around 60% of photographers starting out as freelancers, this group faces challenges like building networks and gaining exposure. The solution aims to empower both beginner and experienced photographers by offering them control over their portfolios and client engagement.
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Small Business Owners and Models: Businesses require high-quality photography for product promotions, while models seek professional portfolios to establish credibility. Both groups struggle to find affordable, reliable photographers, particularly in competitive locations like the UK and India.
Design Process
The brainstorming session identified the Stanford Design Thinking Process as the best framework to approach these problems. This methodology was chosen for its focus on empathizing with diverse user needs, ensuring solutions that cater to photographers, businesses, and models alike. Two other processes, the Double Diamond and Design Sprints, were considered but rejected due to their limited scope in addressing deeper user pain points.
Empathize
Participant Screener
Two targeted posters, addressing the specific needs of each audience, were created to recruit suitable participants for the survey.
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Photographer Poster: Designed to attract freelance photographers, this poster emphasized challenges such as finding clients, showcasing portfolios, and building professional connections.
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Business Owner Poster: Targeted at small business owners, this poster focused on difficulties in finding reliable and affordable photographers for product shoots or marketing campaigns.
The posters ensured effective outreach by highlighting key pain points and engaging the right participants.
Interview Insights
To thoroughly understand the needs and challenges of users, six interviews were conducted: three with freelance photographers of varying experience levels and three with business owners from diverse industries. The insights were synthesized into the following key takeaways:
Photographer Insights:
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Need for Community & Client Relationships: Many photographers emphasized the lack of community support and reliable client relationships. They often rely on word-of-mouth referrals or platforms like Behance, which are limited in connecting directly with clients.
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Platform Frustrations: Existing platforms devalue photography work, with stock photos or competitive bidding lowering their perceived worth. Photographers, particularly beginners, struggle with visibility and securing paid projects.
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Feature Wishlist: Photographers expressed a strong desire for features like verified profiles, transparent client interactions, portfolio previews, and an in-app chat function to streamline communication.
Business Owner Insights:
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Finding Reliable Talent: Businesses often find it challenging to identify the right photographers who align with their budget, timelines, and quality expectations. Some rely on Instagram or personal networks but desire a more structured platform.
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Cost Clarity & Portfolio Access: Clear pricing and access to professional portfolios were cited as crucial. They want tools to filter photographers by expertise, timing availability, and niche categories.
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Preference for Digital Tools: Business owners appreciate platforms offering intuitive digital experiences but often feel disconnected due to the lack of trust or verification in existing services.
Common Themes Across Both Groups:
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Trust and Verification: Both photographers and businesses want verified users to ensure reliable collaborations.
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Community Engagement: A shared desire exists for community features—forums, how-to blogs, and a space for industry discussions.
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Ease of Use: Both groups highlighted the need for a seamless, user-centric platform with advanced search and filtering capabilities.
These insights formed the foundation for understanding user pain points and guiding the ideation and design of an intuitive platform.
Define
User Personas
To guide the development of a solution tailored to the needs of potential users, two personas were identified: Dave Smith, a small business owner, and Claudia Dsouza, a freelance photographer.
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Dave Smith represents business owners who struggle to find affordable, reliable photographers. He seeks a platform to simplify the search process, preview portfolios, and verify credentials, ensuring quality services are within budget and on schedule.
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Claudia Dsouza represents emerging photographers seeking visibility and transparent client connections. She desires a platform to showcase her portfolio, find work opportunities, and connect with peers for growth.
These personas highlight gaps in accessibility and transparency for both parties, driving the need for a comprehensive, user-friendly platform.
Customer Journey Map
Claudia (freelance photographer) and Dave (business owner) as they interact with services like Inaflash. It highlights key touchpoints, challenges, and emotions throughout their journey, emphasizing how Inaflash aligns with their needs and resolves pain points. Through these maps, opportunities for improved engagement and service delivery were identified, showcasing how the platform enhances their professional paths and personal satisfaction.
Opportunities - Claudia
The customer journey map analysis for Claudia revealed several key opportunities to enhance their experience:
1. Quotes & Reviews:
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Opportunity: Improve the visibility and relevance of quotes and reviews.
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Action: Implement a more prominent display of quotes and reviews, as well as a personalized recommendation system.
2. Pricing & Packages:
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Opportunity: Increase transparency and flexibility in pricing.
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Action: Provide clear and upfront pricing information, including estimated costs and potential additional fees.
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Action: Consider offering customizable packages to cater to different needs and budgets.
3. Privacy & Protection:
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Opportunity: Enhance data privacy and security measures.
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Action: Implement robust data protection policies and transparent data handling practices.
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Action: Provide clear information about how user data is collected and used.
4. Delivery & Progress:
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Opportunity: Improve the visibility and communication of project progress.
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Action: Provide regular updates and a clear timeline for project completion.
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Action: Consider using project management tools to facilitate collaboration and communication.
5. Client Communication:
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Opportunity: Enhance communication and collaboration with clients.
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Action: Implement a dedicated communication channel (e.g., project management tool, messaging app) for efficient communication.
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Action: Consider offering regular check-in meetings to discuss project progress and address any concerns.
Additional Considerations:
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Accessibility: Design the platform to be accessible to users with disabilities.
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Continuous Improvement: Gather user feedback and iterate on the design to address evolving needs.
By addressing these opportunities, we can significantly enhance the user experience for Claudia and create a more seamless and efficient platform.
Opportunities - Dave
The customer journey map analysis revealed several key opportunities to enhance the user experience for Dave. These opportunities fall into the following categories:
1. Skill Accessibility:
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Opportunity: Improve the discoverability of relevant skills and services.
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Action: Implement a more intuitive search and filtering system, as well as personalized recommendations.
2. Pricing Transparency:
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Opportunity: Increase transparency in pricing information.
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Action: Provide clear and upfront pricing details, including estimated costs and potential additional fees.
3. Expertise Matching:
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Opportunity: Enhance the matching process between users and service providers.
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Action: Utilize advanced algorithms and user-generated reviews to improve matching accuracy.
4. Marketing & Promotion:
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Opportunity: Increase visibility and attract new users.
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Action: Implement targeted marketing campaigns and leverage social media to reach the target audience.
5. User Onboarding:
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Opportunity: Improve the onboarding process for new users.
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Action: Provide clear and concise onboarding instructions, along with helpful tutorials and resources.
Additional Considerations:
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Data Privacy: Ensure compliance with data privacy regulations and implement robust security measures.
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Accessibility: Design the platform to be accessible to users with disabilities.
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Continuous Improvement: Gather user feedback and iterate on the design to address evolving needs.
By addressing these opportunities, we can significantly enhance the user experience for Dave and create a more seamless and efficient platform.
Ideate
The Ideate Phase was a dynamic exploration of potential solutions for addressing the challenges faced by both photographers and business owners, as uncovered in the Define stage. This phase utilized "How Might We" questions, Crazy 8's, and Rapid Idea Generation as creative tools to brainstorm ideas and reimagine possibilities for an effective platform like Inaflash.
Creative Exploration:
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"How Might We" Questions:
These were designed to frame the challenges in a solution-focused manner, such as:-
How might we help freelance photographers like Claudia grow their portfolio effectively?
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How might we enable business owners like Dave to access affordable, high-quality photographers?
These prompts ensured alignment with user pain points and opportunities, sparking innovative approaches to improve user experiences.
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Crazy 8’s:
Through rapid sketching of eight different ideas in an eight-minute timeframe, this exercise yielded a range of possible features. The process encouraged divergent thinking and the inclusion of diverse functionalities, from simple tools like in-app chat to creative collaborations like studio rentals.
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Rapid Idea Generation:
Building on the insights gained earlier, this brainstorming method encouraged quantity over quality in the initial stages. It allowed the team to generate numerous raw ideas, which were then refined using the insights from the narrative scenarios, personas, and user journeys.
Selection via NUF Test:
After ideation, the NUF Test (Novelty, Utility, Feasibility) was conducted to evaluate and prioritize the ideas. The results divided features into Main and Potential categories:
Main Features:
These were identified as high-priority based on their novelty, user utility, and feasibility:
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Specializations: Allowing photographers to showcase niche expertise.
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Detail-Oriented Gig Postings: Enabling businesses to specify requirements effectively.
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In-App Chat: For seamless communication between photographers and clients.
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Street-Side Studio Collaborations: Offering a space-sharing model to reduce costs.
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In-App Credit System: Incentivizing collaborations and recognition through tagging.
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Barter Gigs: Allowing resource-strapped users to trade services instead of monetary payment.
Potential Features:
These were compelling ideas with future potential but required additional validation:
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Discussion Forums: Building a community space for photographers and clients.
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Guides and Tips/Tricks: Educational resources for beginners.
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AI Portfolio Analyzer: Automated feedback on portfolio improvement.
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Photographer-Client Matchmaking: Algorithmic pairing of clients and photographers.
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Rental Space Collaborations: Expansion into physical asset sharing.
Outcomes:
This structured phase ensured that the ideation process was user-centered and innovative while being grounded in feasibility. It provided a clear roadmap for the prototyping phase, where the prioritized features would come to life in the platform's development.
Prototype
Lo-fi Prototype & Competitor Analysis
The Prototype Phase was a critical stage where the concepts generated during ideation were transformed into tangible solutions. It began with the development of low-fidelity prototypes, offering a simple, quick representation of the platform's core features to test initial ideas. A competitor analysis was conducted alongside, benchmarking against existing platforms to identify opportunities for differentiation.
Design Systems & Hi-fi prototype
Next, design systems were established, ensuring consistency in branding, typography, color schemes, and user interface components. This cohesive framework laid the groundwork for crafting the high-fidelity prototype, a polished, interactive model that simulated the final product. The prototype showcased features like specialization-based gig postings, in-app chat, and collaboration options, capturing the platform's value proposition while inviting user feedback for further refinement.
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Testing and Review
Lo-fi Testing Insights
The Testing and Review Phase marked the final stage of evaluation and refinement for the project, ensuring the proposed solution met the needs of its target users. Lo-fi testing was conducted on key features of the platform, providing insightful feedback and opportunities for improvement.
For the Photographer Profile Setup, the feature allowing a portfolio preview was well-received, as it gave clients a quick glimpse of a photographer’s skillset without overwhelming them. The ability for clients to request a full portfolio only if interested was seen as a time-saver. Customization options, such as choosing to display price range alongside experience or just experience alone, were appreciated for catering to personal preferences. Additionally, displaying location was highlighted as a practical feature, while future implementation of availability indicators was suggested for added convenience.
For Business Owner Gig Posting, users found the ability to add references, either through images or links, to be an intuitive feature that enhanced user experience by streamlining the process. Suggestions for improvements included an option for clients to leave comments for special requirements and to view other gigs posted on the platform. These additional features were considered valuable for fostering better communication and transparency.
The insights gathered during this phase provided actionable feedback, setting the stage for fine-tuning the prototype and preparing it for the next steps toward launch.
Hi-fi Testing Insights
Introduction
The Hi-fi prototype testing using the Valence method provided an in-depth evaluation of user experiences and needs for two primary personas: Business Owner and Photographer. By utilizing the Valence method, we were able to capture both positive and negative feedback from users, allowing us to refine and enhance the prototype to better meet user expectations.
P1 - Business Owner Persona
The feedback from the Business Owner persona provided valuable insights into their experience with the prototype:
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Positive Feedback: 60%
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The app user selection was customized to meet the user’s needs, creating a personalized experience.
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The home page was simple and visible, making it easy for users to navigate.
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The references/comments section provided space for further inputs, enhancing user engagement.
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Negative Feedback: 40%
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The lack of filters for photographers was a concern, as it made it difficult for users to find specific information.
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There was too much information on the shoot page, which could overwhelm users.
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P2 - Photographer Persona
The feedback from the Photographer persona highlighted several aspects of the prototype:
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Positive Feedback: 65%
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The app user selection did not overwhelm the user, making it easy to use.
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The portfolio preview was appreciated, as it allowed users to showcase their work effectively.
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The experience page was liked for adding experience to the profile, enhancing user engagement.
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Negative Feedback: 35%
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The primary and secondary category selections were not evident and accessible, causing confusion for users.
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There was too much happening on the community feature, which could distract users.
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Word Cloud Insights
The word cloud visualized the most frequently mentioned terms during the testing. Key insights included:
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Good Layout: Users found the layout easy to navigate and visually appealing, enhancing readability.
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Straightforward: Tasks and flows were easy to complete, contributing to a positive user experience.
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Customized: Users appreciated the app’s customization according to their roles and preferences, making them feel included.
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Simple: The prototype was easy to understand, allowing users to complete tasks without getting stuck.
Conclusion
The Hi-fi prototype testing using the Valence method provided comprehensive insights into user needs and experiences. Feedback from both Business Owners and Photographers highlighted areas of strength and opportunities for improvement. The word cloud and its insights further emphasized the importance of a good layout, straightforward tasks, customization, and simplicity in creating a positive user experience. The percentage of positive valence mentions (62.5%) significantly exceeded negative valence mentions (37.5%), indicating a generally positive reception of the prototype. These findings will be instrumental in refining the prototype and ensuring it meets the needs and expectations of its users.
