This Monday, the Orange path of MDes Interaction Design held an exciting whiteboard challenge. We split into groups of three, acted as designer, host, and observer alternatively to practice solving a design problem on a whiteboard within 20 minutes. That was quite a thrilling 20 minutes!
Here is my prompt, tailored by our fantastic instructor Kate to my professional exploration topic (bridging communication barrier of couples in long-distance relationship using SaaS). Thank you Kate!
Design a mood calendar search feature for a photo-sharing mobile app to help romantic partners living apart.
These are the Design Stories I came up with during the 20 minutes:
Users can log daily ups-and-downs in a vivid, graphical way
Users can view and search each other's mood on a particular day
Users can see the transition in the mood of their partner over the last 2 weeks.
In short, it becomes a mobile app where a pair of users can post either photo snippet, emoji sticker (limited to 5 levels of emotions), or snippet + emoji to each other. These snippets and stickers are shown chronologically, available in both daily and calendar view. The app enables you to search by emoji or time. An emotion tracking chart in different scales is available from the calendar view.
To my surprise, the results of my very first whiteboard challenge resonated with my friend and classmate Himani. After the session, she told me she is really interested in developing this idea with me as a side project.
And voila! Here I am imagining the next steps for this potential product design project. Himani and I both have experiences in long-distance relationships which are quite interesting and unique. This makes ourselves the very initial users of this product. Our first definition of success can just be: are we in love with this product ourselves? Are we eager to see it brought to life?
Apart from building personas based on our own experiences, I also put down some notes on what else we have to do for research in order to solidify this idea.
Define the audience As discussed in an earlier blog post of mine, we can all be in long-distance relationship(LDR) sometime somewhere. The product shouldn’t disqualify you as a user if you are not officially in LDR. I want to define the audience and distinguish the archetypes: Which kinds of romantic partners would love to use this app? Which kinds of couples will give this app the cold shoulders? Who are the users who are trying to win? (Both emotional and commercial-wise)
Ethnographic interviews with couples of different archetypes. A few provisional types include: - Couples in a classic long-distance relationship who meet only a few times a year - Couples in a seasonal long-distance relationship - Couples who meet regularly every week but don't live together - Couples who live in the same place but don't see each other most of the day - Couples in a completely virtual relationship
Five Whys A method I find especially helpful for doing interviews with romantic partners is the "Five Whys". Romantic relationships are emotion-based, intimate (hence less analyzed rationally), and a lot of the time helplessly subjective (in both good and bad ways). When we talk about relationships, there can be many noises and shields that hinder us from getting to the roots. Therefore the Five Whys can be extra helpful in uncovering the motivations and assumptions behind what couples say, think, feel, and do. I used this method in the initial concept map of my professional exploration topic as well. Hopefully asking too many questions won't result in any destructive reflection on their relationships...🤔
Competitor analysis of mobile apps with romantic partners as target users.
Analogous analysis of mobile apps that bridge the communication gap between people in intimate friend/family/co-worker relationships.
Secondary Research on Business Model Try mapping a few successful couple-targeting apps on the Business Model Canvas. This should help us design a feasible and viable product that can live long.
Really looking forward to work this out someday with Himani!
References
IDEO Design Kit
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