Franco Vanoni · Portfolio

❁
2021
❁
DISCOVERY
❁
2021
❁
DISCOVERY
❁
2021
❁
DISCOVERY
❁
2021
❁
DISCOVERY
❁
2021
❁
DISCOVERY
❁
2021
❁
DISCOVERY
❁
2021
❁
DISCOVERY
❁
2021
❁
DISCOVERY
❁
2021
❁
DISCOVERY
❁
2021
❁
DISCOVERY

ABOUT THE CLIENT

Carpoolear is Argentina’s first open-source, non-profit carpooling platform, developed by the civil association STS Rosario. Launched in 2013, it facilitates long-distance ride-sharing by connecting drivers with empty seats to passengers heading in the same direction.

ABOUT THE CLIENT

Company size

20 employees

Industry

Travel Tech - Carpooling

ROLE

UX Design

RESPONSIBILITIES

Research
Design

TEAM

1 UX designer

OBJETIVE

WHY?

This project is born out of the need to reach more users and the primary goal was to improve the trip creation process, making changes to enhance the user experience with a focus on safety.

I started by crafting a Lean Canvas to grasp the app's key features and value proposition, aiding in model creation. Data from the website, along with new proposals, informed this process.

This project is born out of the need to reach more users and the primary goal was to improve the trip creation process, making changes to enhance the user experience with a focus on safety.

Problem:

The app is relatively unknown among regular travelers. As a result of this, there aren't as many trips scheduled by users, leading to a decrease in the interest of new users in using the app.

Current Alternatives:

Andiamo app

Trivu app

Colectivos de larga distancia

Solution:

Enhance security measures when choosing travel companions and provide information about fellow travelers.

Metrics:

Measure Monthly Active Users (MAU)

Monthly Trip Generation

Number of App Downloads

Improve Referral Share

Value Proposition:

Passengers

Family travel

Avoid boredom

Savings

Ability to choose travel companions

Drivers

Family travel

Avoid boredom

Cost sharing

Ability to choose travel companions

Special advantage:

Opportunity to meet new people

Lower prices (significant savings)

Ability to choose the destination

Environmental impact, reduction of carbon footprint

Channels:

Strengthen social media outreach, encouraging more people to use the app.

Implement a friend referral program.

Revenue:
Through User Contributions or Donations: Users will have the option to make donations to support the app.

Target Audience:

Young Adults (18-35 years old)

Adventurers

Travel Enthusiasts

RESEARCH

Another step was to start gathering elements that could help us understand the issues the app was currently facing. To do this, we used a user persona to interpret the actions taken by both the person searching for a trip and the person creating and looking for companions.

Pedro
24 years
Student
Hypotetical scenario
Long vacations down south during the summer without a personal car.

User expectations
Save as much money as possible.
Meet new people and create new experiences.
Pre-trip
1
Trip motivation
2
Download the app
Search
3
Onboarding
4
Search for a trip
Confirmation
5
Find a trip
6
Log in
7
Send a message
8
Wait for response
9
Travel confirmation
Trip
10
Meet with the car owner
11
Trip
12
Split cost
13
Rate trip
Jorge
33 years
Travel for work
Hypotetical scenario
Weekly business travel
to the same city.
User expectations
Sharing the trip and for passing the time. Having a companion helps to stay awake and engaged during the trip.
Pre-trip
1
Plan a trip
Search
3
Log in
4
Create trip
4
Confirm trip
Confirmation
5
Wait for responses
6
Exchange messages
7
Arrange trip
Trip
8
Pick up other users
9
Trip
10
Split costs
11
Rate trip

USER 1 - TRAVELER

USER 2 - CAR OWNER

Pedro

24 years

Student

Hypotetical scenario

Long vacations down south during the summer without a personal car.

User expectations

Save as much money as possible.
Meet new people and create new experiences.

Pre-trip

Trip motivation

Download the app

Onboarding

Search for a trip

Confirmation

Find a trip

Send a message

Wait for response

Travel confirmation

Trip

Meet with the car owner

Trip

Split cost

Rate trip

Jorge

33 years

Travel for work

Hypotetical scenario

Weekly business travel
to the same city.

User expectations

Sharing the trip and for passing the time. Having a companion helps to stay awake and engaged during the trip.

Pre-trip

Plan a trip

Create trip

Confirm trip

Confirmation

Wait for responses

Exchange messages

Arrange trip

Trip

Pick up other users

Trip

Split costs

Rate trip

From this, we were able to understand some pain points the user might have.

Paying for the trip afterward without prior knowledge could be problematic for passengers.
Having the driver collect passengers from different locations or based on their addresses could be quite inconvenient and reduce security.
The stage of meeting the other person becomes a pain point due to the discomfort of traveling with a stranger

Another possibility to identify problems or potential pain points would have been conducting usability tests or surveys with users using the current app. However, due to the nature of the project, this couldn't be carried out.

What are people saying about the app?

Unable to conduct user interviews, we turned to the Android and iOS app stores to search for pain points. After analyzing several comments, we were able to perform clustering to distinguish the main issues. Here are some of the messages that caught my attention:

Trip Creation - Messaging
"It bothers me that they don't include the price in the listing; it should be mandatory, and you shouldn't have to waste time asking through private messages."

Trip Payment
"The goal is for the driver to save on gas or part of it and tolls, not to make money with every trip. If it was for profit, first, the app would be illegal, second, I'd take a taxi."

Rating
"Lately, many taxi drivers are getting into the app. They charge more, something to consider, but sometimes the positive side is that they pick you up almost from your home and drop you off closest to your destination."

Messaging

"The app is very useful, but many times, message notifications don't come through (I've already checked my phone settings), and above all, the messages appear disorganized in the chat, which leads to confusion."

Trip Creation - Messaging
"It bothers me that they don't include the price in the listing; it should be mandatory, and you shouldn't have to waste time asking through private messages."
Trip Payment
"The goal is for the driver to save on gas or part of it and tolls, not to make money with every trip. If it was for profit, first, the app would be illegal, second, I'd take a taxi."
Rating
"Lately, many taxi drivers are getting into the app. They charge more, something to consider, but sometimes the positive side is that they pick you up almost from your home and drop you off closest to your destination."
Messaging
"The app is very useful, but many times, message notifications don't come through (I've already checked my phone settings), and above all, the messages appear disorganized in the chat, which leads to confusion."

looking into carpoolear

With the objective of identifying app issues through my expertise and assited by heuristics, I was able to uncover several things that were not functioning properly. Simultaneously, I conducted a benchmarking exercise to explore how other competing apps operate.

The excessively large cards prevent viewing the upcoming trips.

The color that defines the number of passengers is confusing; it's never specified that it relates to the passengers.

Icon that serves no function.

Search in a location with low importance is ranked third in the hierarchy when it should be in the first position.

Displays the user and the driver's ratings.

Having all the information on a single screen makes the trip creation process feel difficul.

The size and the fact that they are multiple lines of text do not contribute to readability.

"The carbon footprint" is intriguing as it aims to convey the app's value proposition.

The option to input a return trip serves to keep generating trips.

Defining the problem and

Creating hypotesis

Defining the problem

and Creating

hypotesis

Insights to actionables

Understanding the problems, the focus shifted towards finding solutions. From the previous research, we identified three key areas for improving the app. In addition to these, a personal challenge was to showcase UI skills to visually enhance the proposal.

COMMUNICATION

ENHANCING SECURITY

PAYMENT PROCCES

FIRST SKETCHES

I initiated screen design, prioritizing improvements in the trip creation flow. Transitioning from a one-page layout to a step-by-step process was a key decision to avoid overwhelming users. Starting with low-fidelity designs, I conducted usability tests with friends and family to enhance my interviewing skills and gather user feedback.

In total, I interviewed 6 individuals with the aim of identifying potential issues. After conducting the interviews, I made decisions based on the responses I obtained, leading to various insights.

✅ Screens that prolonged the process without adding significant information to the flow were removed.

❌ Having separate departure and arrival screens complicated comprehension.

❌ Displaying a map of an unfamiliar city (destination point) doesn't help and increases the user's cognitive load.

✅ 5 out of 6 believe that implementing common departure points is a good option for enhancing security.

🧪 They believe that the app's provided trip price might encounter issues, indicating an area for improvement.

Visual makeover to the app

Visual makeover

to the app

I took advantage of the UI issue to delve into a bit of graphic design for the logo, giving it a friendlier touch. The contrasting colors we used against the white convey a sense of modernization, which is ultimately what we aim for with Carpoolear: seeking new travel alternatives.

OLD LOGO

NEW LOGO

OLD LOGO

NEW LOGO

Modular

Our design will be based on components that can be interchangeable with other information when needed, aiming to help our users save time by easily identifying their path to achieve their goals more quickly.

Security

There is a certain uncertainty when it comes to traveling with strangers, so from our interface, we propose that the user feels secure and has control over all actions that can affect their safety.

Consistency

The old app had many inconsistencies regarding colors, rhythms, and spacing, so we decided to establish parameters to guide the designs, as well as typography and colors that convey actions to the users.

Finally, the mockups

After iterating on the test results, I began working on high-quality screen designs, based on the design changes I had applied to the brand. The home screen and trip creation interface were modified, breaking it down into steps using steppers. This approach aimed to implement progressive disclosure in order to avoid overwhelming the user with excessive information.

First step A

The first step of trip creation needed to clarify Carpoolear's values. Additionally, through animation, it would give users an expectation of entering

the flow.

Encouraging users to move from completing simple actions to executing more complex ones lowers the chances that users will feel overwhelmed.

Prototypr.io, Designing for Progressive Disclosure (2019)

TAP ON THE SCREEN

First step B

The first step of trip creation needed to clarify Carpoolear's values. Additionally, through animation, it would give users an expectation of entering the flow.

Second step

As same as points, with date and time the fixed tab will appear.

Third step

The other important aspect to address was the trip price. Based on a calculation, we can provide an estimated cost for the trip by dividing it among the number of passengers in the car. Additionally, we offer the user the option to adjust the price according to their discretion. The price will be displayed on the home screen.

Success screen

The success screen will be accompanied by the opportunity to share with friends on various social media platforms. This aims to fill empty seats in the car more quickly and expand the app's reach.

Also the button Create return trip its a possibility to increase the numbers of trips. also it works as a visual anchor to the user for next steps.

WHAT TO MEASURE IN THE FUTURE?

WHAT TO MEASURE IN

THE FUTURE?

While due to the project's nature, accessing current product metrics is not feasible, it would be valuable to measure the number of trips created post-production launch. Additionally, commencing measurement of the conversion funnel where users drop off would provide more certainty on areas for experience enhancement.

Similarly, it would be valuable to assess whether the inclusion of share buttons at the screen's bottom effectively attracts new users, with the intention of enhancing this feature. To ensure continuous app expansion, it's vital to regularly track Monthly Active Users (MAU) and possess a key performance indicator that offers insights on enhancing the user experience.

SUMMARY

Even though it was an imaginary project that I developed over time, it helped me understand that not all products require the same tasks and that all products evolve according to their nature.

Likewise, this experience allowed me to revisit graphic design and combine it with the user interface (UI) to improve the experience and give the application a renewed look.

By understanding that it was a free and nonprofit project, I began to consider possible ways to incorporate features that could generate income and make the application profitable. However, that will be reserved for a future stage.

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