Project Overview
Freebee is a mobile application created for efficiently donating and receiving stuff within local communities. It provides a platform that is useful, equitable and enjoyable for diverse groups of people.
The Problem
​The problem is finding how and where you can get rid of your stuff with the greatest advantage to you and the least amount of damage to the environment. Other than a few social media groups, there is no efficient mobile application to make the charity hassle-free.
The Goal
Even small donations have the potential to drastically improve an individual’s quality of life. This can be made possible by designing a mobile application that can help users receive and give away stuff with ease.
Kickoff
Starting off, I rounded out a few key questions that would help drive my process further. This was the first step in listing out my insights about the product and potential needs or challenges the user might have.
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Who is the primary user?
What do users need the most in a product like this?
What are the problems that I'm trying to solve?
Which are the business objectives?
Who are the biggest competitors?
What are the challenges I will face moving forward?
Preliminary Ideation
Affinity diagrams from additional user interviews and research were used to organize information into groups of similar items to then analyze qualitative data or observations. This was a form of brainstorming during the kickoff period that proved to be very helpful in setting up the foundation for the rest of the process.
Research Insights
A questionnaire was conducted to understand the importance of accessibility and convenience in donation. I interviewed 4 people who either donate or receive stuff. It also intended to analyse the process and parts which play a major role in the process. We will also take a look at how users interact with similar applications.
All participants stated that they have donated for charity or have received free stuff
Most of the participants stated that they don't frequently sell or receive free stuff due to different pain points
Participants follow many ways to get rid of the stuff they no longer use.
They are:
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give to charitable organizations
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dump the stuff as a waste
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rely on social media groups to giveaway
Most of the participants preferred to have a mobile application and to initiate the pickup of freebies by the receiver
Free your stuff Facebook group and eBay kleinanzeigen were among the most popular to give and get stuff for free
75 percentage of the people claimed they primarily use smartphones to browse and give freebies
Meet the Users
NAME: Ibrahim
AGE: 29
LOCATION: Berlin
OCCUPATION: Chef
FAMILY: Lives with parents,
wife and a kid
As an immigrant, I required many things for my new home. It would be great to have a mobile app to get the free stuff that can be reused.
Ibrahim recently moved to Berlin with his family and he works at a restaurant. He wanted to quickly get his rented apartment furnished with items that cost less. He finds it difficult to get the proper information from online groups, websites and apps. He finds the whole process time consuming and exhausting.
NAME: Renate
AGE: 57
LOCATION: Berlin
OCCUPATION: Teacher
FAMILY: Lives with husband
We recently renovated our home. Had a lot of good to use furniture to give away. We transported the stuff to a Recycling Yard by bearing huge transportation costs.
Renate is a German teacher who works at a school in Berlin. She wanted to give away many furniture during her home renovation. She came across a few social network groups online which are in English. She is not very comfortable with English. So, She ignored giving away the furniture for someone in need rather gave for recycling.
Competitive Audit
A competitive audit was conducted to understand what user needs are already being met by the other applications and how my design can improve on current solutions.
I identified a few vital features from user surveys, which Freebee should focus on to provide a better experience for the users.
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To align with the business objectives, "Freebee" will allow ads in numerous categories from children's supplies to electronics and real estate. Freebee will also offer small and medium-sized businesses the opportunity to present their services online.
Information Architecture
Paper Wireframes
To know more about the low-fidelity prototype, usability testing and the changes incorporated before and after the usability test, be sure to check out the process deck.
Final Designs
01.
The splash screen animation pops up when the application is in the process of loading. The logo animation provides brand awareness and makes it memorable to the users
02.
The App is primarily designed considering the users in "Berlin" Germany's most multicultural city. Due to the diversity in Berlin, the app prioritises the language and remains a multilingual Application. The autoplay image sliders provide an introduction to the app's initiatives and purpose
03.
Providing quick access to Home, Saved posts, Notification and Menu in the navigation bar helps the users to navigate easily and efficiently
04.
Providing a complete description of the item is necessary to reduce any misinterpretation of information. After reading through the brief info, the user can proceed with the reservation.
05.
One of the major goals of the project was to provide a messenger integrated with the translator.
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The seller can give away the product to anyone as per their preference. If the user gets lucky and receives an "Accept" dialogue box then the product is assigned for the user. Code to be provided to the seller during takeaway to ensure a smooth process
Hi-Fi Prototype
Summary
Freebee is a design for social good. People often find it difficult to get their basic necessities due to many reasons. Freebee helps users to give and receive free stuff efficiently with its visual design, integrated translator and a lot more.
Giving is not just about making a donation.
It is about making a difference.
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Kathy Calvin
After Thoughts
With the short time frame of this project, it is extremely important to stay focused on the most important areas without going too deep in details. Also, when a problem evolves, it is crucial to react timely and reiterate to come up with a solution that allows the project to move forward. From the results of the usability testing of the clickable prototype with 4 users, I would like to improve on the navigation bar design, add the seller interface and add/remove a few functionalities in the integrated translator.
Be sure to check out the process for Freebee's creation below!
