An iOS app that helps parents or caregivers search for and book a venue for their child’s next party.
Confettii
Role: Product Designer
Dates: November-December 2022 (50hrs)
Team: Amanda Walker
Tools: Figma, Whimsical, Google Meet, Zoom, Miro
Introduction
Welcome to a better way to search for and book a venue for your child’s next party. Confettii is a conceptual marketplace platform that connects parents or caregivers looking for a venue to businesses with available reservations. Discover venues that fit within a variety of price ranges, activities, and amenities. We offer a hassle-free way to search, set party preferences, book, and pay through the app. Additionally, users can “pay it forward” by adding venues to the app that they love, as well as adding photos and reviews to help future users with their search.
Problem
Why is the process of finding a kids’ party venue so difficult and time-consuming? Previously, there wasn’t a resource that existed to pull all of this information together to help parents or caregivers make a choice.
“There are so many kids party venues out there. I have no idea how to go about finding the best one!”
Research
Competitive Analysis
Creating a competitor analysis allowed the ability to learn about competitors in the industry. Peerspace and Giggster were the closest in terms of direct competitors however, they focus on providing party venues for adults or for commercial use. Next, I developed a few provisional personas. This helped me to think about what types of potential customers would be looking to book a child’s party venue.
User interviews
Speaking with moms who have planned parties for their children in the past helped to determine key motivations and frustrations when searching for and booking a venue. One parent shared:
“Organizing parties is the worst thing for parents. It’s a lot!”
That statement in itself is a lot. How do we make this process easier for parents so they’re not overwhelmed?
“Organizing parties is the worst thing for parents. It’s a lot! ”
User persona
The feedback I gathered from user interviews had many similarities. As a result, I decided to develop one user persona for this project. Meet Mindy!
-Mindy is married and has two children. She is looking to plan a birthday party for her daughter. Due to her limited time, she can’t spend hours searching on Google to find a perfect venue.
Define
Sitemap
For the next phase of the project, I determined based on my user feedback, that I needed to design an explore screen that would allow users to customize their search based on various filters.
Task flows and User flows
Keeping Mindy in mind, I created a task flow where she could sign up for Confettii, and by applying filters based on her needs, narrow down her search and ultimately book a party venue. I also created a user flow in which Mindy signs up for Confettii and included the different paths she could take in order to customize her search to find the right venue.
Design
Sketches
Incorporating the user flow, first I sketched ideas for how the wireframes would look.
Wireframes
Next, I digitized the wireframes in Figma in preparation for my first round of testing.
Wireframe Testing Feedback
I tested this first version of my wireframes with 3 participants:
Male, 30s, in-person test
Female, 30s, Zoom test
Female, 30s, Zoom test
After feedback from these users the following iterations were made to the wireframes:
Input fields for the sign up/sign in process were flipped as users prefer to manually enter email address and password
Consolidating input search fields
Editing of wording for filters such as “time frame” and “age range” so they are more intuitive
Providing more transparency in terms of pricing and amenities on the venue detail screen.
Branding and UI
As part of the design process for Confettii, I created a logo, color palette, and typography to be used throughout. Additionally, I created a UI kit that included all the elements used within the apps various screens.
Prototyping
In preparation for usability testing, I implemented the elements from my UI kit and made adjustments to my wireframes based on the feedback from my initial testing, in order to create a mid-fidelity prototype.
Test
Usability Testing
Participants:
3 Google Meet/Zoom interviews, female, ages 35-65
Objectives:
Test overall look and ease of use
Test if users can apply filters and narrow down search
Test how a user becomes informed about a venue and if they book
Test booking process
Observe any areas that the user finds difficult or frustrating
Goals & Needs:
Price, location and date are most important in users’ search
Users want ability to pay deposit only
Users want ability to contact venue via phone
Frustrations:
Users wanted to see more photos and carousel was not obvious
Users had trouble seeing some images on top of photos such as heart icon, logo over gif
Lack of transparency with amenity add-on pricing
Key Motivators:
Search filters need to be “easy to use”
Cancellation policy needs to be transparent
Pricing needs to be transparent
Iterations
After gathering feedback from my usability testing, and making a priority list for revisions, I made these changes to my prototype:
Logo Visibility Problems
Although user expressed likely the animation of the kids jumping on the sign up/sign in screen, there was some feedback that the logo was difficult to see against the animation. I chose to remove the gif and replace it with a fun cartoon imagery against a white background.Heart Icon and Map Visibility Problems
Users had some difficulty see the heart icon on top of the thumbnail images. Although most users were successfully able to favorite venues, I chose to move the heart icon below the thumbnail so that it was more clearly visible.
Additionally, some users had trouble finding where to access the map view. I changed the color of the icon so it able to be more prominent in the search bar.
Venue Photos Viewing Issue
All users stated that seeing many photos of a specific venue was very valuable in determining whether or not the would complete the booking process. During testing, the majority of users weren’t aware that there were additional photos to click through in the prototype. I added a box indicating what number image they were viewing so they knew to click through to see additional images.
Pricing Transparency Issue
There was confusion with users about the quantity of an add-on amenity you selected. So it was more clear, I added text to let the user know exactly how much they were getting for the cost and allowing them to customize how much of the add-on they wanted to purchase.
Contact Information Problem
Some users stated that they would prefer to still call the venue directly even with the message venue feature available. As a result, I added the phone number for quick reference.
Booking Confidence Issue
Some users stated that they would want to see a full breakdown of what they were purchasing. Since this is located on the “confirm and book” screen following the venue detail screen, I changed the wording of the button on the detail screen to “continue” so it is intuitive that the booking process is not yet complete.
Bunny Mixed Reviews
I received multiple opinions about the gif on the confirmation screen. Some users really loved it and others thought it didn’t fit. After making iterations to the sign in/sign up screen, I continued the theme of the cartoon confetti here on the confirmation screen. This also helped with the text visibility.Prototype
Next Steps
Through an iterative design process and working within the scope of the project, I was able design an MVP for Confettii that includes the most essential screens for allowing a user to search for and book a venue. They are now able to filter their search easily, and view details about specific venues giving them confidence to book. For next steps, I would like to test the updated version of the prototype, and develop additional screens for the bottom navigation. Upon completion of these steps, I would like to move forward with developing the live app for commercial use.