joiin
MOBILE APP IA OVERHAUL & REDESIGN
Problem
Pre-launch usability failures.
Lacking features.
Outdated visual design.
Research
3 target user interviews with card sorting.
Competitive functionality analysis.
Solution
Redefined information architecture.
Significant UI overhaul.
New features to enhance usability.
Roadmap prioritization of features for development.
- The old card did not allow for sufficient display of the property’s main photo without opening the listing. Scannability has been greatly enhanced with these updated cards, and I maintained important attributes.
- There’s a more thorough diffusion of the ‘Connections’ aspect throughout the product now, with photos of the listing user, and notes about properties listed by ‘Your Connection.’ This highlights & encourages the app’s social nature.
- The color scheme has been updated to allow for consistency across the application, and distinction within the app category.
- The old view had a fluid line within the Phases that added to the cognitive load of figuring out how many of the standardized steps within had been fulfilled/ remain.
- The new view shows at top-level which property is under consideration, without having to look for further info.
- Multiple properties can now be viewed in the same screen via the carousel.
- Partners may now be messaged directly from the roadmap.
- There is now a stand-alone tab for messages, which were previously relegated to a notification badge on the bell icon.
- Elevating this to a tab reenforces the social nature of the product.
- As shown here, roadmaps can now be linked to right inside of a message, allowing for fluid collaboration. Properties and connection profiles can be shared here as in-app links as well.
I fully laid out the information architecture via these app maps for each tab and first-level feature, accounting for all possible actions on each screen, modal, menu, etc., and optimizing for common workflows. This visual display allows for easy insight into which operations may take too many steps, or where cognitive overload may be likely.
Result
Over the course of 3 months, Joiin restructured the UI towards what I had laid out in maps, wireframes and prototypes. This led to a successful angel investor round of $220k raised.
One investor stated that the prototype represented a “mature, productized interface that makes the vision feel real.”