UX/UI Designer
Project Brief
Joyshare is a social cryptocurrency mobile app focused on making cryptocurrency more accessible and engaging to women and non-binary users.
The initial prototype needed an interface redesign, along with accessible onboarding features, in order to create a community that supports Gen Z women considering entering the cryptocurrency sphere.
The client had several feature requests for their initial mobile app launch in the fall of 2022.
Client
Joyshare
Timeline
3-Week Sprint – August 2022
Medium & Tools
iOS Prototypes Created in Figma; Usability Testing Conducted on Maze & UserTesting.com
Role
UI/UX Designer & Researcher
Project Manager of a 5-Person Team
Introduction
Joyshare is a cryptocurrency start-up that plans to launch its mobile app in the fall of 2022. Their mission is to provide Gen Z women with a space to learn about cryptocurrency, socialize with friends, and buy and trade cryptocurrency.
The Joyshare team hopes that eventually their app will be used similarly to Venmo, where users will send each other cryptocurrency in place of standard currencies to make purchases, cover everyday costs, and split bills.
The client had an initial Figma prototype for our UX team to work off of, which consisted of a few of the key features they wanted to include in the soft launch of their app. Joyshare wants to create a web3-centered experience for users, using Y2K nostalgic visuals and content to attract Gen Z users.
Joyshare requested that our team research and design several key features for their initial launch, including a send and request flow, a social component, and a way for users to share resources and information with each other.
Research Strategy
In order to better understand how Joyshare's target market (women ages 18-40) views and interacts with cryptocurrency, as well as how they use other financial mobile apps, we conducted 16 scripted user interviews, 80% of whom were in the target market.
16 User Interviews
27Average Age
80% Female or Non-Binary
20% of the users we interviewed were outside of the target market. The purpose of this decision was to collect initial data from a wider set of potential users to be able to make comparisons across demographics and have feedback from the general public.
Eventually, Joyshare may want to expand its target market, so we also wanted to provide our client with some initial research outside of that target market.
We also conducted two user surveys with prime demographic users (women ages 20-26) to gather data from a wider range of users. We recruited users on Reddit, Twitter, and several online survey platforms.
Additionally, we researched the competitor apps Venmo, Coinbase, and Alinea, breaking down the key flows and features of those apps to understand how Joyshare's current prototype stacked up against their competition, and to look for opportunities for unique features and flows for Joyshare users.
Research Findings
Our user research provided us with 400+ unique data points which we wrote out on virtual sticky notes and mapped to discover common user pain points, behaviors, and needs.
We interviewed and surveyed a lot of women who work in crypto or who participate in crypto communities and we found that women tend to perceive themselves as outsiders and non-experts when it comes to cryptocurrency, even though they work or are active in the field.
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View full affinity map here
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We also interviewed and received survey responses from female users who had not interacted with cryptocurrency before and learned that many users were nervous about investing in cryptocurrency because they didn't think that cryptocurrency was trustworthy.
User survey results
Users also commented that they didn't think they had enough understanding of cryptocurrency to feel confident investing. Users also frequently mentioned that they had trouble understanding cryptocurrency terminology and what purpose crypto might serve in their daily lives.
We used that trustworthiness user pain point, as well as users' feeling of an overall lack of understanding of cryptocurrency, as cornerstones of our app redesign, working to inspire confidence in Joyshare's users, and make cryptocurrency more easily understandable and applicable.
During our competitor research, I also discovered potential issues in Joyshare's branding, finding similarities to other women-focused financial apps, which cemented our decision to make several major visual design changes in the final design.
Persona Development
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After compiling and analyzing all of the data from our interviews and surveys, we created our user persona, Ava. This strategy helped us focus our designs on specific user needs throughout the design process.
Ava’s goal is to become more educated about cryptocurrency and gain confidence in participating in the community by finding and building a community of peers to chat and learn with.
Ava’s current pain points are that she feels like an outsider when it comes to cryptocurrency, she doesn't like the current culture of the cryptocurrency sphere, and she isn't sure how to get involved.
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Problem:
Gen Z women and non-binary users feel excluded by the cryptocurrency community, find the market inaccessible, and aren't sure how they can participate.
Solution:
If we break down cryptocurrency information into more digestible pieces using a qualitative approach, incorporate a social learning aspect, and provide onboarding education, we can help Gen Z women and non-binary users feel more like knowledgeable, included members of the cryptocurrency community.
Feature Prioritization
Before we began designing, we knew we needed to determine the scope of our project and the number of features we were going to attempt to design and include in the first iteration of our design.
To nail down our feature set, we ran a collaborative feature prioritization activity, creating a sticky note for each feature that had been requested by the client, and all of the new potential features that had come from our research.
We prioritized each potential feature by the amount of effort it would take to prototype and implement, and how much of an impact those features might have on Joyshare users.
We tried to prioritize as many client-requested features as we could while balancing user needs and maintaining a narrow scope of work.
Sketching Solutions
Once we had determined which features we wanted to create for our user persona, Ava, we ran a collaborative design lab, with each member of the team sketching out their unique ideas for the app.
Working off of the client's initial prototype design, I sketched and wireframed the send and request feature of the app, basing my designs on some well-known and well-tested features of other major banking apps.
After two rounds of sketching and discussing possible feature flows, we began wireframing our selected designs.
The Initial Prototype
Once our team had determined which feature flows we would implement in our initial design, we took our sketches into wireframes, and then prototype our wireframes as a testable, mid-fidelity prototype.
Usabilty Testing
In total, I ran 6 rounds of usability testing with over 50 test participants across two testing platforms, having users complete the same set of tasks in each round of testing for consistency. Each prototype went through 2 rounds of usability testing.
Upon testing the first version of our high-fidelity prototype, we discovered a major usability issue with one of our key features:
A bottleneck was discovered in the onboarding process
The user onboarding process we added to the prototype was the key feature that we identified from our user interview data.
I identified the reason for the usability issue immediately – the primary CTA button on our landing page was designed to "skip onboarding", rather than lead first-time users through our detailed onboarding process.
After identifying that issue, I implemented several design changes to the landing page:
Concept A
Concept B
With the above updates implemented in our design, our team was confident that users will successfully complete the onboarding process presented to them with the new CTA button. With that final update, we presented the high-fidelity prototype to our client.
"[The app's] very visually appealing, it makes sense, and is similar to other banks' [apps] or other apps like Paypal or Venmo. It even reminds me a little bit of Mint, having this breakdown with graphics"
- Quote from final round usability test user
The Final Design
The resulting high-fidelity prototype that our team created received glowing feedback from our final round of usability testing, as well as from our client.
Our client was pleased with the features that we prototyped, impressed with the amount of user research we had conducted to solidify our designs, and excited to implement our designs and launch the beta version of their app in Fall 2022.
Next Steps & Client Recommendations
Joyshare is pleased with their app's new design and, as of August 2022, the chief technology officer is hard at work implementing this design in their app, which is scheduled to launch in September 2022.
The Joyshare team has already implemented design changes to their landing page based on our recommendations.
I recommend that a final round of usability testing be conducted with at least 15 users in their target user base prior to the app's launching this fall.
I also recommend that the client focuses on the following features in the next stage of their app:
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Build out the banking feature, allowing users to securely add payment options to their account
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Create a robust in-app learning feature with articles, podcast episodes, short videos, and more resources in various formats for users to learn more about cryptocurrency