Path Mapper
Case Study
Project completed as part of DesignLab UX/UI Course
Take a moment to think about your free time hobbies…
Have you made the progress you set out to achieve this year?
Can you easily name and explain all the hobbies you maintain to a friend?
Do you have a method for looking back and reviewing your progress?
Overall, are you left with the feeling of wishing you accomplished more in your free time?
….You are not alone!
Path Mapper
A platform that helps you build paths in your free time that lead to a better you—one path, one step, one habit at a time
Project Summary
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UX Research
Brand Design
UX/UI Design
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Figma
Useberry
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6 Weeks
User Problem
Users have an initial desire to learn a new skill or hobby, but there are mental barriers which prevent them from starting or maintaining the journey.
Solution
A mobile first, clean website that guides users to create and manage their free time hobbies in an approachable and welcoming way.
Competitive Analysis
I cross examined 3 platforms related to learning new skills/hobbies and hobby tracking. And sought to understand:
What do they do well?
What are their weaknesses?
What are the gaps in the platform?
There is a gap in the market for a platform that manages all hobbies in one place.
Current offerings are specific to category of hobby. Examples: Strava (exercise), GoodReads (Reading)
User Research
I talked to four participants over the course of 3 days
All were in their middle to late 30s and held various types of jobs
All participants have tried or currently maintain hobbies in their free time
2 interviews were in person, 2 interviews were virtual
I aimed to facilitate open conversation about their experience maintaining hobbies
Users have a strong desire to maintain their hobbies and expressed regret over discontinuing them.
Users are very mindful of keeping their hobbies stress free, and have a fear of failure towards goal setting.
There is an overall negative self perception and lack of personal awareness regarding hobbies.
Sounds from user interviews
“I regret not keeping up my reading hobby"
"I wish I had a place to ask a quick question or get feedback on my baking technique"
“I regret not keeping up my reading hobby" "I wish I had a place to ask a quick question or get feedback on my baking technique"
"I don’t want to make my hobbies too stressful"
"I don’t really have many hobbies"
"I don’t want to make my hobbies too stressful" "I don’t really have many hobbies"
Synthesizing Research Data
Affinity Mapping
Uncovering themes from user research data
Point of view statements
Identifying the problem, who we are solving for, and why
I’d like to explore ways to help middle aged career driven individuals reach goals within their free time hobbies in a way that is meaningful to them, because they regret when they let their hobbies slip away and have an inaccurate self perception of the progress they’ve made within the hobbies/skills they maintain.
I’d like to explore ways to help hobby generalists create a static version of their progress of hobby projects for reference, because they gain a sense of satisfaction and pride when looking back on their work and seeing progression.
I’d like to explore ways to help hobbyists with varying skill levels connect with other hobbyists in their expertise, because they have a desire to show their own work for feedback and also develop relationships for personal accountability within their hobbies.
I’d like to explore ways to help stressed middle aged individuals budget free time consistently to create tangible things through their chosen hobby, because they rely on producing something through their hobbies for stress relief from their day jobs and day to day life.
How might we statements
Identifying opportunities for solutions
How might we help middle aged career driven individuals create balanced and motivating goals within their free time hobbies?
How might we help hobbyists maintain their activity and practice in a way that prevents them from discontinuing the hobby?
How might we help busy career focused individuals acknowledge and recognize their own repertoire of free time hobbies/skills?
How might we align hobbyists at various learning stages to connect with each other in a way that encourages healthy accountability?
How might we connect hobbysists with each other in a way that promotes easy knowledge sharing and feedback?
Who are our users?
Creating User Personas
At the conclusion of user interview analysis, I developed user personas to represent who our users were.
Understanding who I was designing for was central to the process, and I revisited these personas frequently during the project.
Finalizing Research Findings
After conducting user interviews, distinct user problems came into view…
In a busy and hectic world, outside of work our users expressed the following common pain points related their free time hobbies
Stress Balance
There is a distinct balance of keeping hobbies stress free
Regret
A sense of regret in not maintaining hobbies
Self Perception
There is a negative self perception on goal progress
Social
Hobbies have a strong social element
Ideation
During the brainstorming process, the user and the business were at the center.
Bringing a solution to life
In developing our feature set, the concept of the platform became clear
Users don’t want to feel pressure or a sense of a failure in their free time hobbies, however they have a very strong desire to achieve and maintain hobbies. The goal of Path Mapper is to re-frame how users view their free time hobbies through approachable paths, minimal pressure but clear steps to maintain forward momentum.
Path is the overall hobby goal
Steps on the path are how you get there and create milestones
Habits are how you make repeatable routines to stay within steps / on the path
The first color palette developed shows the brand goal of providing a fun and motivating feel
Low fidelity wireframes represent the initial core features: onboarding, home dashboard and creating a new path, step and habit
Transitioning to mid and high fidelity wireframes set the stage for tossing it back to our users and conducting Usability Testing
Iterations
At the conclusion of Usability Testing, based on findings there were 5 main updates prioritized and implemented into the High Fidelity Design:
1. Created an empty dashboard screen for when onboarding setup is skipped
2. Updated View All Paths label on the Dashboard and nested “Add” buttons for habits and steps within their sections
3. Added a label to “Add new path” on View all paths screen
4. Added clarity for create a path flow with updates to save button and habit frequency design
5. Created a “live” save process by adding Edit Path button and confirmation pop ups
Maintaining a component library of buttons, icons and navigation menus was key to making iterations efficient and consistent
Original Version
Iteration
Priority revision #5 - users reported a lack of clarity if their updates were saved during usability testing. This revision involved designing a live save feature with a confirmation message.
Priority revision #4 - the biggest theme from usability testing was confusion around the habit frequency design. This revision involved designing a new habit frequency builder based on a counter design rather than days of the week.
The final solution
A mobile first, clean website that guides users to create and manage their free time hobbies in an approachable and welcoming way
