ROLE
YEAR

UI & UX

2024

Case Study

Perch

Perch is an app concept for discovering places beyond the confines of traditional offices. Tailored specifically for remote workers and freelancers, it helps users find ideal environments based on their specific preferences.

BACKGROUND

The concept of work and leisure spaces has undergone a significant change in today’s dynamic and increasingly remote-oriented work landscape. With the rise of remote work and freelancing, individuals are on the lookout for versatile, productive, and comfortable spaces beyond the traditional office and home environments to work and engage in activities like reading, studying, or creative pursuits.

Cafés, libraries, co-working spaces, parks, and other public venues have become popular for these activities, offering diverse atmospheres, amenities, and accessibility options. However, finding the ideal location that aligns with an individual’s unique preferences and needs has presented challenges.

Current location-based review apps, such as Yelp and Google Business, provide valuable information about businesses but these platforms lack specialised features that cater specifically to the needs of remote workers, readers, and freelancers. Factors critical to these users, such as noise levels, WiFi speed, access to electrical outlets, ambience, and work-friendly amenities, are often not covered.

THE PROBLEM

Existing location-based review apps lack the tailored features necessary to meet the unique requirements of remote workers / freelancers.

THE SOLUTION

An app that provides comprehensive information on factors crucial to remote work. Through a user-friendly interface and filtering options, the app ensures that users can easily discover and select ideal work and leisure spaces that align with their preferences and needs.

competitive analysis

To start my research, I delved into a competitive analysis to gauge the offerings of other platforms and apps. As a freelancer, I frequently turn to Google Maps when traditional methods like outsourcing on social media fall short. While the convenience of using a single app for location scouting is undeniable, Google Maps' limited filtering capabilities often leave much to be desired in narrowing down my options. Yelp, a popular alternative, presents similar limitations. Workfrom emerges as a standout choice, with features that address the deficiencies of the other two apps. Despite its potential, Workfrom remains relatively obscure in my network, with no user feedback or recognition

I then conducted an hour-long one-on-one Zoom interviews with five participants who frequently work outside their homes. These participants were selected to represent a diverse range of backgrounds, professions, and work preferences. During these sessions, I delved into their current habits, experiences, pain points, and specific requirements when searching for suitable workspaces.

user interviews

  • Current Habits

    • How do you currently find places to read, study or work outside of your usual spaces?

    • What factors influence your choice of location when you want to work outside?

    • Do you usually plan this advance, or do you make spontaneous decisions about where to go?

    Pain Points, Filtering

    • What challenges have you encountered when trying to find a suitable place?

    • Are there specific features or amenities that your prioritise when choosing a location? (e.g. WiFi speed, noise levels, access to plugs, parking etc.)

    • Are there any specific deal-breakers that would make you leave a location?

    Tech Usage

    • What devices do you typically use when searching for or booking places too work?

    • Are you comfortable using mobile apps for this purpose?

    User Experience

    • Can you describe your ideal user experience when using an app to find and book places to read, study or work?

    • Are there any existing apps you find user-friendly in a similar context?

    • What makes you continue using this app?

    • If you could change one thing about the app or the experience it provides, what would it be?

KEY THEMES AND INSIGHTS

By understanding the barriers they faced, whether logistical, environmental, or experiential, I was able to identify common themes and areas ripe for improvement.

Users often depend on word of mouth and recommendations from individuals who share similar needs and frustrations. They tend to place greater trust in personal referrals, valuing these experiences over online reviews that may be influenced by paid promotions or concentrate on aspects of a place that may not align with their specific requirements.

Users have specific preferences and requirements, such as the type of tables, the ergonomics of the chairs, and cleanliness of bathrooms, etc. when seeking places to work outside their homes. Existing platforms lack the detailed information necessary on these specific needs and other factors crucial for creating a conducive work environment.

How might we design an app or platform that goes beyond generic reviews and incorporates detailed insights into users’ preferences, allowing for a more informed decision-making progress?

IDEATION

As I began refining my low-fidelity sketches, my primary aim was to craft a more polished and visually appealing iteration of an app already familiar to many users. Typically, location-based apps start with the map interface, and so I adhered to this convention. However, after a productive brainstorming session, it became clear that if our objective was genuinely to reduce the cognitive burden on users, then the app should be designed to undertake more of the workload and only give the best or relevant results based on their needs. After all, isn't the point of this app to streamline the process and alleviate user frustration? 

Following that, I then worked on the mid-fis, placing a greater emphasis on refining the feed and streamlining the presentation of essential information for users' immediate attention.

branding

Developing an app concept required me to envision its overall look and feel, ensuring the visual language aligned with its purpose to deliver a fresh and engaging user experience.

Before I landed on the name, I knew I wanted to use earthy tones - particularly the colour green - because of its positive psychological effects on productivity. Green helps reduce mental fatigue, creates a relaxed environment, and improves concentration.

From there, I took inspiration from nature. I pictured a bird perching on a tree branch, resting for a while before flying off. This imagery parallels how freelancers and remote workers use third places as temporary, productive retreats.

Perch /pərCH/ a temporary resting place or vantage point.

Perch, the app that helps users discover and choose ideal work and leisure spaces tailored to their needs

I wanted the bird icon to subtly form the letter P as well as have it rest on a branch but after gathering feedback, I chose to simplify the design, resulting in the final version shown above.

UI KIT
Usability Test

After constructing the prototype, I conducted testing sessions with eight participants, focusing on four user flows: onboarding, navigating the main feed, bookmarking, and leaving reviews. The majority of participants found the testing process straightforward, with any friction or confusion primarily stemming from my choice of verbiage rather than the screens themselves.

Below are some comparative insights, with some of the significant revisions made during the iterative design process.

Onboarding

Upon opening the app, new users are greeted with a series of onboarding questions designed to refine their preferences. While participants praised the app's user-friendly interface and clean design, some wanted to see a progress bar to track the number of questions remaining. Suggestions were also made to implement a back button, allowing users to review or modify their answers if needed.

Before

Main Feed

In the initial design iteration, I explored incorporating iconography aligned with the floral and fauna theme. I positioned the rating on the upper right side of the thumbnail and selected a floral shape for the bookmark icon, intending for users to recognisee its functionality. This however, made it confusing to some participants, who mistook the floral icon as merely decorative.

In response to this feedback, I revised the design of the ratings and bookmark icon to align more closely with familiar conventions, ensuring clarity and ease of use for users.

Before

After

After

I also had to rename the 'Discover' tab and 'Bookmarks' feature, as participants found my wordplay confusing. Perhaps the most significant lesson I learned from this project is that my strengths lie elsewhere, as I recognise that I may not excel as a copywriter.

Before

After

Introducing Perch

FINAL screens

Discover your perfect workspace with Perch, where tailored recommendations and streamlined features make finding the ideal spot effortless. With user-friendly reviews and personalized suggestions, Perch transforms the way you work and play outside the confines of traditional settings.

Perch’s onboarding process is tailored to your unique preferences, ensuring that your experience is nothing short of perfect. Answer a few simple questions, and Perch will curate your personalized workspace recommendations.

Perch delivers only the top-rated and most pertinent locations tailored to your preferences. Your feed is streamlined to provide essential information such as ratings, opening hours, and filtered tags, enabling you to effortlessly bookmark and refine your choices without navigating away from the feed.

The minimalist layout reduces cognitive load, enabling users to effortlessly browse through essential information. Lengthy traditional reviews are replaced with concise, bite-sized tips, alleviating information overload and enhancing user experience.

Perch thrives on the contributions of its users and their valuable reviews. With Perch, rating a nesting spot is as effortless as ordering your coffee, ensuring that sharing your experience is quick and seamless.

final prototype