"Together" is a user-friendly app designed for university students to share leisure activities amid the challenges of COVID-19. It originated from a project aimed at enhancing digital skills during the pandemic. Post-vaccination, Ph.D. students and professors recognize the opportunity it presents for fostering social connections in response to the negative impact of isolation on students' mental well-being. The app enables students to explore and create events, promoting social connections and enhancing emotional well-being.
/ +150 activity in the first month.
/ 93% satisfactions of the students.
To design User-friendly app connects university students to share their leisure activities during COVID-19.
/ Lack of solution for leisure time planning contributes to social isolation and loneliness of the students.
/ Health concerns hinder students from confidently joining groups.
/ Difficulty in connecting with like-minded students.
/ Incorporate gamification elements to engage students effectively.
/ Provide features that students feel confident about their group members' well-being.
/ Suggest like-minded individuals or groups based on their own preferences.
/ Establish clear categories for easy identification of preferred leisure activities.
The personal profiles made it easy for students to get to know each other, fostering trust and encouraging participation in activities. The engaging nature of the profiles also helped alleviate loneliness, leading to new experiences and friendly competition. Students were eager to learn more about each other and enjoyed connecting with their peers.
This feature was all about making the students feel reassured and included. By showing the members and number of the. company they would join, it engaged the building trust and social validity and relatability.
The students answered a questionnaire and their answers created keywords which pop up on their profiles. This helped the students easily find others with similar interests. So they could build a supportive community where everyone could connect over shared hobbies and values.
I designed activity categories using Dumazedier's theory to help students quickly find and bond over shared hobbies and values.
To prevent last-minute sign-ups and cancellations, I designed a visual circle as Implicit affordance that showed the remaining spots. This encouraged students to register earlier and added a sense of urgency.
Delightful interactions made the students stay longer, explore more, and created lasting engagement and loyalty.
I designed a request system to streamline activity management, preventing overcrowding and ensuring better control over participants. This design not only boosted motivation by granting autonomy to activity creators but also increased the satisfaction as it worked as pleasure perception for the participants when their requests to join activities and waited to get accepted.
The design thinking process for "Together" began with empathizing with the challenges university students faced during COVID-19, identifying the need for a post-vaccination solution. Through ideation workshops, prototyping, and iterative testing, a user-friendly app for shared leisure activities was developed, rooted in empathy and creative problem-solving, aimed at enhancing the emotional well-being of university students.
Taking inspiration from Dumazedier's theory, which highlights five key categories of leisure activities crucial for well-being, I applied this framework to organize activities. This intuitive solution streamlines leisure planning and establishes clear categories for easy identification of preferred activities.
Physical exertion for health and relaxation.
Stimulating the mind through education and workshops.
Creative expression in music, and visual arts.
Interacting with others to form relationships.
Pursued alone for personal benefits and relaxation.
Erea's map
To organize and represent in e-communication, major historical periods were reviewed.
/ Limited Internet access for scientific-university centers.
/ Mobile phones introduced as luxury items.
/ Internet expansion had limited impact on public life.
/ Mobile phones became popular with communication and features.
/ GPS improved recreational experiences.
/ Internet penetration rate increased significantly.
/ Smartphones emerged and gained rapid popularity.
/ Expansion of social networks and applications impacted entertainment and leisure.
/ Online communication peaked during the pandemic.
/ Digital platforms used extensively for various needs. Shift from physical to digital entertainment.
/ Increased demand for physical collective recreation.
To gain insights into individuals' leisure time planning habits, I conducted secondary research, including survey and interview. Then based on common themes, I analyzed and categorized all the identified information.
Survey
To collect data about the most relevant and common needs of the students, I created 20 questions to ask from them.
Top Factors in Creating Questions
/ Identify the primary purposes of entertainment.
/ Understanding the factors that cause dissatisfaction with current entertainment options.
/ Understanding what types of entertainment people were interested in.
About respondents
/ The average range of Age: 24
To understand the students' problems deeply and find out how they cope with their challenges, I created 16 questions to asked from participates, comprising an equal number of men and women. This gender balance was because recreation activities can vary across genders.
Top Factors in Creating Questions
/ Understanding the the students' process for coordinating group activities.
/ Collecting data on students' experiences with physical and digital entertainment.
/ Exploring the influence of family on entertainment choices.
Interview Notes
To record key points captured during interviews, I wrote interview notes. Here is an example:
Affinity Diagram
To categorizes the information into groups based on their similarities, I created affinity diagram.
/ Spontaneity is favored over planning for leisure activities.
/ Health concerns hinder students from confidently joining groups.
/ Resting is the main motivation for leisure activities, prompting students to seek like-minded company.
To learn about problems that national and international competitors of solve successfully and identify the top problems customers complain about, I analyzed 8 related websites and online reviews.
SWOT
Then utilizing SWOT analysis, I ensured competitiveness and aligned with evolving trends for enhanced student satisfaction.
/ They offer convenient booking and payment options.
/ Customer reviews aid in activity selection.
/ Users enjoys cost-effective deals and discounts.
/ Limited personal interaction might get users from booking activities.
/ Limited control over the activity can result in negative experiences.
/ Partnerships with activity providers offer exclusive deals and discounts to users.
/ Safety strategies improve the booking process for recreational activities online.
/ Legal issues can arise for online platforms related to their activities and operations.
/ Cybersecurity threats pose risks to online recreational platforms and user trust.
To have all the information from user surveys, interviews and competitive analyses, I created two personas.
Mina Dana
Medical student - 21 Years old - Tehran - Single
Mina Dana
Student of Tourism Management & Tour leader
27 Years old - Isfahan - In relationship
To better understand how the students would use "Together", I created user flow.
By inspiration of nature and roundness shape of the Earth, primary colors were found and then logo, buttons icons were designed.
To maintain consistent and efficient services in "Together," a comprehensive and reusable design system that includes a collection of design elements, guidelines, and rules were created.
Here are High Fidelity Prototypes of "Toghether"
Delightful interactions made the students stay longer, explore more, and created lasting engagement and loyalty.
/ For those who enjoy spontaneous plans, providing chances for last-minute group activities can be advantageous.
/ Understanding the distinct safety perspectives of men and women is key to developing safety measures that address everyone's concerns effectively.
