UX/UI Designer 2019 – While existing cloud storage platforms primarily focus on businesses, Pack recognizes the growing demand for affordable personal data storage. With lower costs and a comfortable user experience, Pack fills the gap in the market for a personal and easy-to-use platform. Students receive special incentives, but non-students also benefit from a referral program that offers free extra storage space. Pack prioritizes security and aims to continually improve based on user feedback, providing individuals with a reliable and cost-effective solution for their storage needs. Say goodbye to expensive plans and embrace Pack as the go-to option for accessible cloud storage.
Task
During the process of designing Pack, I encountered various tasks and challenges that required careful consideration and problem-solving. One of the key challenges was creating a user-friendly interface while ensuring affordability. I needed to strike a balance between simplicity and functionality to provide an intuitive experience for users. Additionally, addressing the specific needs of students while still catering to non-students presented another hurdle. I had to develop a system that offered incentives for students without excluding other users.
Pre-Research & Questions
1. Why are cloud services becoming more popular?
Cloud services are becoming popular because they can reduce the cost and complexity of owning and operating computers and physical storage. Growing demand for universal data accessibility, sync technology, and security, increases in cloud adoption across industry and society.
2. What percentage of companies use the cloud?
93% of organizations use cloud-based IT services according to Spiceworks Press, which is a significant percentage.
3. What percentage of online adults use the cloud?
A statistic on Statista presents information on cloud storage usage among online consumers in the United States, sorted by age group. During the May 2017 survey, it was found that 61 percent of online consumers aged 18 to 29 years were using online cloud storage services.
findings
According to the collected data, companies are the dominant cloud storage users compared to individual users. So, what are the individuals’ concerns and barriers to using cloud storage? How can I help individuals overcome these barriers and create a more genuine and effective platform for them to store their data?
Research & Understanding
Gaining insights into the needs and preferences of cloud storage users was instrumental in comprehending the problem at hand. To achieve this, I conducted a comprehensive user survey, consisting of 25 questions, targeting individuals who actively utilize cloud storage. The survey aimed to assess their concerns and preferences regarding cloud storage services. With the valuable input from 19 participants, the survey provided valuable data to inform the design and development of Pack, ensuring it aligns closely with the requirements and expectations of the target user base.
1. How do you maintain, manage, and back up your data?
2. What cloud storage are you currently using for data storage?
3. What do you use cloud storage for?
5. What type of data would you like to store in cloud storage?
6. What are you concerned about using the cloud?
7. What is your profession?
8. What upcoming changes could absorb more users to the cloud storage market?
See more Questions and Survey Analysis?
Personas
Based on the survey data, I started determining the target audience. Who is going to be the users? Who would use this product and why? In order to represent the key audience of my product and build empathy with them, I’ve developed two personas. Combining the major findings from the survey and my research, I’ve listed the goals, frustrations, and motivations of my ideal clients.
Competitive Analysis
SWOT
Aside from the user survey, the competitive analysis helped me to determine the strengths and weaknesses of the competitors within the market. It provided me to spot opportunities for differentiating my cloud storage. I’ve selected Google Drive, Dropbox, and Evernote for analysis.
To observe the comprehensive findings of the SWOT analysis click here.
Competitors User Flow
After Performing a SWOT analysis on each of these competitors, I created user flows documenting the following processes for each competitor:
- The onboarding process
- Saving an item
- Organizing an item
User Stories
Based on the user survey data, a list of user stories was created and prioritized based on the research I conducted earlier. This list helped me to simplify the description of a mobile app feature requirement for a minimum viable product. Please see the full version of the user stories here.
From research findings to design solution
Looking back, I was able to connect the dots between finding problems and recommending solutions. This step provides me great value as a UX designer to come up with the initial Minimum Viable Product (MVP).
Brainstorming and sketching
At this step, I created user flows mapping out all the high-priority user stories I planned to include in my project and eventually testing with users later on. Where possible, I looked for opportunities to also include medium or even low-priority user stories in my user flows to make up my MVP for this project.
Sitemap and content strategy
Based on the user stories and user flows, a sitemap has been created for the product. Each destination in the user flows is represented in the sitemap. Using the sitemap, a Content Strategy was created for each part of the sitemap. The sitemap should include the text and images I might use in my designs.
Branding and Strategy
Brainstorming, sketching, and Research
color palettes, logo design and typefaces
Marketing Strategy
According to the survey, the users are mainly complaining about the available plans cost in the market. I tried to consider this as one of the main goals of the product. As a result, I considered a few incentive programs for everyone to be able to get double initial free storage. It’s also obvious that the initial storage of the platform should not be less than 15GB which is already being provided by Google Drive. My product should be at a level to be able to compete with the available platforms in the market. I believed setting a special discount program for students is going to draw many users’ attention. Since the majority of the students need cloud storage platforms to store their school files while they cannot afford the current cloud storage monthly payment.
Wireframes Iteration & Clickable Prototype
I. Initial design: Based on the paper prototype and user research, an initial wireframe has been designed for the product.
II. Usability test – round one: Then, the initial wireframe has been tested on two local and one remote user.
Cloud Storage Home Page
Dashboard
New data creation
New folder features
taking pictures
Writing
Extra storage
Photos Data3
High fidelity mockups iterations
I. Initial design: Based on the wireframe design and branding, an initial high-fidelity mockup has been designed for the product.
II. Expert evaluation: Based on Bloc program professional designers, the mockup has been modified to the second iteration.
III. Usability test – round two: Then, the second iteration mockup has been tested on two remote and one local user.
video – file
voice-file
My Note file
My Notes
Referral
Dashboard
Homepage
iPhone SE – sign in
Preference Testing
At this design step, I’ve found three different elements where I considered more than one potential style. Then, I created at least two variations of each element and conducted preference tests on all three.
And that’s how the iterative design approach works for my product...
Conclusion
I. Achievement: Throughout the design process, I conducted comprehensive and thorough user research, resulting in the development of a mobile and desktop platform. I successfully addressed most of the high-priority tasks identified from the user survey, along with several medium and low-priority tasks, to deliver a robust product.
II. Design Challenges: While I made significant progress on the high-priority tasks, there are still challenges to address. I am currently researching how to ensure the security and privacy of user data and exploring options for advanced smart data sharing and management features. Clarifying the responsibilities between myself as a UX designer and the front-end development team regarding these tasks is essential. I need to effectively convey the required information to the developers and ensure seamless collaboration. Despite the obstacles and uncertainties, I made efforts to incorporate all user stories into the cloud storage platform design.
III. Lessons Learned: The project aimed to cater to individuals with personal data, distinguishing it from the strong presence of business-focused platforms in the market. This strategic decision allowed me to target a specific user segment and create a tailored solution for their needs.
IV. Future Work: Given more time, I would have focused on enhancing communication with the client at each stage of the process, ensuring their involvement, and obtaining timely feedback for iterative improvements. The initial project request lacked clarity on the specific problem they were trying to solve, so closer collaboration with the client would have been beneficial. Additionally, conducting more usability tests and refining the platform’s robustness for users would have been a priority. Lastly, considering the addition of business plans to the platform could be explored to cater to a wider range of user requirements.