BeesKnees
A local business discovery app that utilizes gamification to encourage supporting small businesses.
Project Duration
Aug 2021 - Dec 2021
Tools
Figma
Roles
Project Lead
UI/UX Designer
Overview
For this project we took on a past Adobe XD Creative Jam prompt and created a functional prototype from scratch over the course of the semester. As a project lead, one of my goals was to use this project as a comprehensive introduction to UI/UX for our team members as many of them were inexperienced with the field.
“How might we design a solution to empower the community to highlight small businesses and/or creators through a platform of discovery?”
The Home Tab allows users to explore featured promotions unique to the local businesses nearby. Through geotagging, BeesKnees will be able to prompt users to leave reviews for businesses they’ve recently visited and recommend new places they may enjoy.
To build community and replicate the impact of personal recommendations, users will be able to curate their own list of favorite places for others to view and save.
Also from the home page users can access the Quick Review Button. Users are prompted with specific categories to rate, an optional text review box, and the option to upload photos.
The Explore Tab allows user to geographically search and sort for places to visit. They will also be able to view key information, the reviews and rankings, or be redirected to their favorite navigation device for directions.
The Game Tab is where users are incentivized with badges and collectibles to engage with this digital community. It aims to build off the joy of discovering and sharing new businesses.
The Profile Tab is where users can show off their personalities, badges, and favorite businesses they’ve frequented. They can also highlight any photos they’ve taken at their favorite places.
Research
We used the following methods to conduct our research
User Interviews (view our questions here)
Student Questionnaires
Competitor Analysis
Interview Insights
We conducted 10 interviews with our peers and small business owners to learn about their experiences with local businesses. We clustered our findings into the following categories:
Shopping local as an experience
Emotions tied to shopping local
Context for buying local
Value from buying local
Current discovery channels for businesses
Things that make people nervous about shopping local
Engaging with online reviews
These are some of the insights we found…
Competitor Analysis
There is no shortage of platforms where people can learn about local businesses. We conducted a competitor analysis on Google Maps, Yelp, Tripadvisor, Instagram Marketplace, and Merchant Circle and found the following to be the most common and helpful features:
Filtering and Searching System
Interactive Map
Reviewing System
Personas + Journey Maps
Due to the timeline of this project we felt we didn’t have enough time to focus on designing two different experiences for both a consumer and a small business owner. So while we did interview a few business owners, for our target audience we decided to focus mainly on community members who would be visiting the businesses.
Based on our interviews we conducted 3 personas and their respective journeys when visiting new businesses. When comparing their journey maps we found that the deciding phase caused the most anxiety.
How might we encourage virtual engagement from the community towards local businesses?
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Revised Reviewing System
Many people prefer receiving recommendations from people they know because it’s credible, specific, and convenient. However, this means when exploring new businesses these kinds of exchanges are limited to their personal circle. We wanted to reimagine the reviewing system to
1. Make leaving reviews easier and more rewarding for users
2. Replicate the impact of in person recommendations
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Gamification
From our research many people didn’t feel inclined to engage in a local businesses’ online community because they didn’t receive an immediate benefit as a result. When thinking about how to encourage online engagement we wanted to highlight the joy of discovery without overshadowing the local businesses themselves. We took inspiration from apps like Duolingo and Walkr that use gamification to place importance on seemingly mundane tasks like language learning and walking.
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Community Building
Instead of only strengthening the relationship between consumers and small businesses we wanted to also strengthen the relation between other consumers. Many people receive recommendations through user generated content (images, videos, blogs, tweets) of strangers. We wanted to highlight the most useful parts of that experience - images and guides.
Paper Prototypes
Low Fidelity Wireframes
Visual Exploration
One of our interview insights was that people appreciate the physical experience surrounding their small business purchase whether that be the product packaging or the interior decoration. We took a lot of inspiration from stationary items and the brown paper packaging to mimic the handmade feel of these physical products. We also wanted to find colors and themes that were approachable but still piqued curiosity as well.
Visual Guide
Brand Identity - What’s with all the Bees?
The bees originally started as a joke. And then they weren’t.
We had made a joke that similar to the “Save the Bees” campaign, we should “save our local bees-inesses”. Thinking about it more we realized it was quite a fitting concept. Local businesses exist within their community ecosystems and are vital to fueling the culture around them. However, while they do provide for their community, they also rely on the support of community members to visit and spread the word about their experiences - just like how flowers rely on bees to pollinate them!
Reflection
One of my biggest takeaways from this project was learning how to juggle being a project lead teaching members of the team while also working alongside them. I realized there’s a lot that goes into figuring out how to pace a project and planning for brainstorming/feedback sessions. As a designer this project allowed me to practice more consistent design habits and documentation. It was extremely rewarding to see something start from scratch turn into a fully fleshed product and I had a wonderful time working with my team!