Sapphic LA Case Study

Mobile website redesign for finding Sapphic-specific events in Los Angeles.

Project Type: Capstone for Northwestern Graduate Program

Role: Solo UX Designer

Deliverables: Problem Statement, Research Insights, User Journey Map, Competitive Analysis, Low-Fidelity Wireframes

Tools: FigJam & Figma

  • Problem

    Despite Sapphic LA's reach and resources, many members of the Sapphic community in LA still feel they lack access to Sapphic-specific events, spaces, and communities that interest them.

  • Solution

    Based on my research and problem statement, I decided to redesign Sapphic LA’s website to allow users to easily search, find, filter, and register for Sapphic-specific events.

User Interviews

I conducted user interviews with 5 participants in 30-minute sessions conducted via Zoom. In these interviews, I asked the participants questions about their experiences, needs, values, and desires around finding Sapphic community in LA. The demographics of my interview participants were queer women and nonbinary individuals who currently reside in Los Angeles County and are between the ages of 20-40. These are the insights I gained from my user interviews:

  • While each participant has some experience with either having Sapphic friends or attending Sapphic events, they all have a desire to engage more with the community.

  • All research participants believe that being involved with the Sapphic community is important to them. Primarily because it allows them to connect with a community that has similar experiences and understanding.

  • Participants face several challenges when trying to engage with the Sapphic community. These include finding genuine friendships, geographical inaccessibility of events, and finding events catered to their age group and interests.

  • The most common way participants search for community is online. Instagram is the most commonly used platform for finding events. Participants either follow specific accounts promoting events or conduct general searches.

User Journey Map

Based on the insights from user interviews, I concluded that the solution to my problem statement is to redesign the Sapphic LA mobile website to enable users to easily search for, filter, and find Sapphic events in their area. To determine how to effectively apply the key insights from my research to redesign the Sapphic LA mobile website, I developed a User Journey Map. This map outlines four main steps in a potential user's journey while using the redesigned mobile website to find Sapphic events in Los Angeles.

Step 1: Discovery

The first step of the User Journey Map is Discovery. In this phase, the user discovers the mobile website through Sapphic LA's Instagram page. This step addresses their need to find a platform where they can connect with a local Sapphic community, fostering a sense of inclusion and understanding.

Step 2: Registration

The second step is Registration. Here, the user opens the website on their phone and signs up for a free account. This simple step is aimed at building the user’s confidence and reassurance, confirming that they have found a platform that will help them connect with the community they seek.

Step 3: First Use

The next step in the user's journey is First Use. This is where the user searches for upcoming events nearby, filters these events based on their preferences, selects an event that meets their needs, and finds the relevant information to ensure the event is appropriate for them.

This is a crucial part of the user’s journey because it is essential for addressing several major user needs, including the desire to find nearby events happening soon, meet people of similar age and interests, and feel confident about belonging to the community.

Because this step in the user journey is so crucial, I decided to focus the majority of my design efforts on this step.

Step 4: Continued Use

The final step in the user journey is Continued Use, where the user continues engaging with the website to register for events, chat with other attendees, and discover new events. This phase addresses users' needs to feel like active members of the community through connections with others and ongoing participation in events.

Low-Fidelity Wireframes

Once I had an overall idea of the user's journey using the website, I decided to create low-fidelity wireframes in Figma that showcase the main screens and steps the user would take to find and register for an event.

Event Search Wireframes

The event search feature enables users to find events by either selecting an event category on the home page or entering a search term and location on the search page. Users can also filter events based on event category, distance, date, price, and age range. By clicking on an event, users can view the full event details and register for an event.

Event Registration Wireframes

Once a user decides to register for an event by clicking the register button, they will be taken to a login/sign-up screen to either log into an existing website account or create a new account. After the user has logged into their account or created an account, they will be able to confirm their registration for the event.

Reflection

  1. This project really taught me the importance of creating and utilizing a design system. It was my first experience in both developing and applying a design system for a project. Having the ability to incorporate components from the design system into my high-fidelity designs was incredibly helpful, especially since I could easily modify those components if necessary. It also contributed to making the designs appear more cohesive and professional. Moving forward, I will definitely continue to use design systems in all my projects.

  2. One of the biggest challenges with this project was finding the right balance between personalization and simplicity. For features like onboarding and recipe search, I aimed to make it easy for users to input and filter their specific dietary preferences and restrictions. However, I also wanted to ensure that users did not feel overwhelmed by too many options. In the end, I believe I successfully provided enough choices for users without making them feel inundated with options.

  3. One thing I would have done differently with this project is to spend more time on user research. Since this project was for a User Interface class, the interface design was the main focus, and I was also constrained by a limited timeframe. However, if I had more time, I definitely would have conducted user interviews or surveys to engage with actual users and validate my assumptions about their needs and pain points.