Role

• User Researcher & Analysis

• UI & UX Designer

• User Testing

• User Mapping

Jump Ahead To:

Overview

The project aims to assist newcomer students who are moving to Seattle, targeting students that are out-of-state, international, or not from the Seattle area.
As moving into the city requires lots of work and planning, our goal is to assist students to be informed before, during, and after the relocation journey to mitigate any stress and concerns. While current guides/information exist, it is not organized and easy to navigate. Thus, our product seeks to fulfill that need.

Overview

How might we help incoming students moving to Seattle obtain relevant and important information/knowledge to navigate student life in a new city?

Problem Statment

Before jumping into our project, we conducted competitive analysis with existing digital information guides and resources that aim to provide information for Seattle travelers.

Our findings revealed that the target demographic for such resources was typically Seattle tourists. Common information included popular tourist locations, a brief overview of weather and transportation expectations, nearby hotels, and local outdoor activities such as nearby parks and waterfronts.

We also conducted informal competitive analysis with college move-in guides. Our investigation revealed that though they were a good starting point, they were too general and did not emphasize needs versus wants.

To gain valuable insights, our team conducted four interviews with individuals who recently moved to Seattle for education at the University of Washington. Focused on gathering information from those who have experienced the transition, we aimed to identify current challenges and pain points.

In our interviews, we asked our participants questions surrounding these topics:

• Understanding Seattle’s social culture
  a. Referencing the “Seattle Freeze” & it’s difficulty in social connections

• Drastic Seasonal Change
  a. Lack of sunlight during winter seasons would require participants to intake Vitamin D supplements

• Over-packing due to uncertainty
  a. Worry about forgetting something essential caused participant to pack more than needed

• Not exploring Seattle
  a. Chose not to explore due to time required to research places

After conducting our interviews, our team gathered together and pooled the data we collected together, taking away some of these key insights from our participants:

As our team transitioned from the research phase of the project, we took inspiration from our interviewees and created 2 personas that would bridge our potential users to a presentable deliverable.

Jared is a first year student who recently moved to Seattle as a freshman. Not locally from Seattle, wants to know about the resources that will help him navigate school and the big city.

Jared wants to be:

• Fostered in a community with friends

• Able to navigate his way through college and resources/knowledge to achieve that

However, at 19 years old, Jared lacks the information to be independent, along with:

• Cost & location of required goods/supplies

• Geographic knowledge & safety

In his time here, Jared would like:

• Stable housing & reliable landlords'

• To save money

• To know where to obtain appropriate materials and necessities conveniently

We crafted a comprehensive student user journey map tailored for individuals who have recently arrived in Seattle, with a timeline spanning from their arrival to the start of school.

Our goal was to illuminate the potential actions our users might undertake as they navigate and prepare for school and life in Seattle. Each identified action is paired with an emotion, serving as a nuanced guide for our design focus.

This approach allows us to pinpoint areas where our designs can inspire and excite students. By acknowledging and addressing the diverse emotions associated with each step, aiming to create a user experience that not only meets functional needs but also nurtures a positive and empowering emotional journey for our users.

From our secondary research, competitive analysis findings, interviews, personas, and user journey’s, our objective was to provide relevant and personalized information that are helpful to UW incoming students who are moving to Seattle in one, easy-to-find and concise resource.

Dawgs Guide is a website that contains helpful information provided by local UW students, making the information relevant to incoming college students moving to Seattle. The website is intuitive through it’s layout and navigation and contains information such as local grocery stores, bank centers, medical centers, restaurants, weather expectations, a packing list, and more.

In association with our user journey map, our team conducted multiple story boards where our potential solution would apply in distinctive scenarios. Each scenario represents a different environment where our users would encounter an issue, utilizing our design to help guide them through their troubles.

Our first scenario depicts a user packing all their necessitates as they prepare to move to Seattle.

The problem starts where there is too much to pack and the student doesn’t know what to bring/leave behind

Once our user journey map was complete, our team created a list of 10 design requirements and goals that would address our user’s pain points and desires:

After creating our design requirements, we entered into the ideation and sketching phase. Throughout our iterations, each version of our initial design encountered road blocks that limited our ability to address our design goals effectively.