Hello Kanyakumari: Lifestyle Application

Overview

In collaboration with 20thsensebusiness, a business consultation company — I collaborated with their team to assist in a project to develop a lifestyle application for the people of Kanyakumari.

User research indicated that there is no such application in kanyakumari which can offer all the services(News, Shop, Service Providers details, Student Programs, Government official links and contacts ) in one application. Although applications such as kumari shoppy, kumari basket, kkapp exists but they only provide specific services.

Given a huge market gap, I designed and developed an android application as well as prototyped a web app that houses contents that help kanyakumari people to ease their lifestyle.

Design Process

I followed a five-phase design thinking process to assist my client with their needs.

User Research

We conducted an online survey among the kanyakumari people.There were around 500 respondents. Three key insights were found from the data:

1. A majority (70%) of the sample group are unaware of the existing apps like kumari shoppy, kumari basket and more.


2. Most people likely to want the app in their regional language.


3. Respondents expressed that they want the app to be more interactive and informative.

Vision & Brand

The client wanted a aesthetic, something similar and relatedto kanyakumari . The data verified that users would enjoy the same aesthetic as many enjoy the vibe in kanyakumari. The client and I brainstormed a mood board to further conceptualize a vision for the products. Therefore, I came up with a brand design that is fun, simple, and classic. I believe it appeals to a diverse audience of young and adults.

The brand design includes a warm color scheme, typography, and logo. I used Figma and Photoshop. The predominately eastern blue color represents the optimistic tone of the products, and the classic appearance of Roboto conveys a sense of encouragement for users to use the application.

Deliverables

Though brainstorming and the user research, the client and I determined the following outcomes for the project:

1. Conceptualize and develop a responsive mobile app to house the client’s requirements such as daily news,shop, service providers and links for important websites. The website should also include information about the non-profit and how to contact the client


2. Prototype a companion website to address user needs to improve the application while making the experience interactive

Wireframing

The client gave me complete freedom of all the layouts. For a minimal yet optimal flow, I wanted the mobile app to be more interactive and animated. The user can click the bottom navigation bar to skip ahead to each of the sections.

The mobile app accounted for the fact that users wanted visual, auditory, and tactile elements in their experiences. I envisioned a menu screen at the top right of the screen for the app to better organize the less used features of the app. There are five sections to the app: “Home”, “Shop”, “Service Providers”, “Student”, and “Bills&Forms”. The home section fulfills the users visual needs. The “shop” sections allows users to buy products from the app. The “Service Provider” section allows user to search for the service providers in a well filtered manner. The "student" and "Bills&Forms" section helps users to find the useful links and article based on their requirements.

Once the wireframes and brand were approved by the client, I moved on to prototyping.

High Fidelity Mock-Ups

I created a mock-up of the app and website on Figma. I made some adjustments to some of the layouts on the app with the approval of the client for better user experience. I used some of the icons from icons8 and designed some using Adobe Photoshop.

The mock-ups of the app will be used for the prototype.

Final Thoughts, Moving Forward

Impacts

• As my first client-based UX project, it taught me many things related to handling a project. The client was happy with my work.



• The client and I were able to engage an initial user pool of 500+ downloads all over kanyakumari.



• The client was highly satisfied and is currently working to adopt the code, prototype, and designs for the future of Hello Kanyakumari.

Reflections
The client was very satisfied with the deliverables. The next steps are to conduct user testing and make adjustments to the app’s and the website’s language. The mobile app is fully deployable, and the code is available to the client and with us for any further changes.

I was really happy with the outcomes. As I continue in my journey as a UX designer, I am happy to use my skills to help organizations. I gained experience working with clients where I am given a lot of creative control.

I believe, however, there is room for improvement. This is the first project where I developed a mobile app. I definitely learned that there are different practices when designing mobile apps versus web pages. In the future, I hope to design more clean designs. I am starting my Google Certification courses. I hope to learn more about the design thinking process, consulting skills, and visual design best practices to create more accessible and professional products.