BorrowBro

October 2023

UX UI Design

Group Project

Bootcamp

PROJECT OVERVIEW

Our project was focused on the concept of developing a platform (website) where users are able to borrow and lend their items for various purposes. For such reasons, our target demographic are people who are environmentally conscious, on a budget and have hobbies with items they might only need once or twice.

We set out to create a friendly and fun outlook to the website, whilst still maintaining a tone of seriousness when it comes to borrowing and lending your personal items.

My responsibilities:

Aid in conducting user research

Prototyping mobile wireframes (working alongside my group member creating the desktop wireframes)

Carrying out user testing

Iterating mobile design

Time: 4 weeks

User Research

WHAT IS THE PROJECT ABOUT?

The problem:

We went into this project with the idea and knowledge that current borrowing and lending platforms, when examined, are not entirely user friendly and neither do they have a purpose as to why they've created this platform.

We also noticed several accessibility and communition issues with these existing platforms, which to us, would create a trust problem between the lending and the borrower. How were the people protected? How were their items protected and what were the consequences of damnage or loss of an item?

Therefore, we aimed to create the BorrowBro website which makes communicating with one another much easier, creating that environment of trust, and making borrowing and lending a safer and the first option, and thus, creating a more sustainable pathway.

HOW WAS THE RESEARCH DONE?

Methodology:

We conducted six 1v1 interviews with individuals who had or didn't have experience in borrowing and/or lending items on a similar type of platform. This was so we could understand what type of interface we needed to create in order to encourage people to borrow instead of buy, simultaneously targeting waste reduction and promoting sustainability.

Hence, we focused on understanding...

Type of items typically borrowed or lent

Situations and occasions items would be borrowed/lent

Challenges people felt during this process

Possible features user would like to see

Analysing the data:

Several themes emerged from analysing the interview data uisng an affinity diagram. This included...

People borrow/lend to reduce waste and save money and space

Tend to borrow items that are infrequently used

People borrow items for DIY and home improvment projects

Build relationships with people with similar interests

Find it challenging to ensure items are in good condition

Find it difficult to coordinate pick-up times

Need the platform to ensure data security and item insurance

Need effective methods of clear communication

Would like to have a way to build trusted groups

Definition and Ideation

READING THE USER'S MIND...

From the interviews, we gathered that users were looking for a website, which does not only allow them to safely borrow and lend items, but also be able to build a community with trusted individuals. This would not only ensure safety, but many mentioned the convinience and sharing interests with others behind it.

SO, WHAT FEATURES TO INCLUDE?

Using the I Like, I Wish, What If methodology, we collectively outlined the pain-points and needs discovered from the research and each voted on the most promising features and tried to implement as many as possible without making the interface too complicated. These included…

Ability to negotiate a price

Availability of items nearby show on a map

Delivery option, with or without charge

Direct messaging feature

Sustainability badges to reward users

AI-powered recommendations

Therefore, from this we introduced our brand's value proposition that we aspired to follow when designing the website:

"BorrowBro is designed with you safety in mind. Promoting sustainability and reducing waste, fostering a welcoming community to borrow and lend according to your needs

Prototyping

COLLECTIVE BRAINSTORMING

When is came to designing the desktop and moboile, I was responsible for creating the designs for the mobile layout of the website. So, I worked alongside my partner who was designing the desktop layout, and we worked together to make sure there was correct and smooth RWD.

Mobile and Desktop pages (different screens)

Testing and Iterating

TESTING THE NEW DESIGNS...

We carried out Guerilla testing on the new design asking users to perform various tasks, which tested the efficacy of the chat functionaly between borrowers and lenders, the efficacy of the communities and map feature.

Desktop and mobile analysis:

Users would prefer if sign-up and login were separted

They would prefer is the sections were separated better, e.g., hero, map, header etc.

Add a filter to the map feature where users can select mutiple options to narrow down the searches

Would like to have item details on the page rather than click on "go to details"

Lastly, as a group, we also agreed that a platform like this would also have the potential of expanding into an app, and so, we made sure that we tried to effortless design an app-like layout for the mobile layout of the website. This would therefore ensure a smooth transition to the app, giving users a familar interface to workw with.