Populate
Populate, tells you the volume of people at any place at any time. Before deciding to travel users can search their destination to see real time data on volume, capacity, busiest times and Covid-19 mandates.
Problem: Large communities of people have a greater chance of spreading viruses. Therefore travelers like Taylor, need to know the volume of people at a specific location before deciding to travel there to avoid illness.
How might we help users safely experience the greatest amount of culture while traveling?
How might we help users avoid crowds and lines while sightseeing?
How might we ensure the travelers need to feel safe when visiting attractions, restaurants, airports etc?
My Role: UX Researcher / UX Developer / Independent Project
Tools Used: Figma, Adobe XD, Miro
Methodology
Five semi-structured user interviews were conducted over a 2 day period. Zoom meetings were the main source for conducting interviews. The interviews have been recorded and are on average 25 mins in length. Interviewees are awarded with a Starbucks gift card.
“I’d be attracted to places that are still wiping things down.”
“I’ll definitely still be cautious despite a vaccine.”
“Without any type of photos or any type of pictures, you’re kind of just going to guess about going there.”
“Being comfortable in a hotel for me, means briging my own cleaning supplies.”
“Traveling during the pandemic has been scary, but it’s possible to do it safely and therefore that motivates me more so to excitedly, do post pandemic travel”
Organizing Research
Affinity Diagram
User Persona
Ideation
I Like, I Wish, What If & Feature Prioritization
Wireframes
Testing Plan
You currently use Populate as a resource to see how crowded your desired destination is. You have traveled to a new city and heard about Eli's BBQ. Before deciding to make the trip to dine there you check Populate to see how many people are currently there, and to see their least busiest times.
Can the user login?
Can the user search for a destination?
Conclusion
I learned to follow the research and design for the user. I started the project having an idea of what I wanted to create, but created something entirely different that met the need of my user. I’m proud that I followed the process and didn’t make false conclusions. Although the user flow was easy to follow, I found that my low fidelity wireframes could have better represented several options taken by the user. I found myself adding digital wireframes and iterating my user flow. The design process was special and allowed me to create with the user in mind. Testing my prototype allowed me to see a nearly finished app. Overall I enjoyed the entire journey and believe the app to meet a true need in this season.