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Role: Product Designer & UX Researcher
Team: Audrey Sorensen & Jacob Francois
Tools: Figma, Notion, Miro, Webflow, Adobe Suite
Crit is a web application that connects users that need design direction and critique with knowledgeable professionals in the AEC industries.
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Key phases and milestones
The design process focused on initial user research to synthesis plausible personas and user flows, prototyping and testing, and iterating based on feedback to improve overall usability and satisfaction.
Existing products serve freelance workers and designers and provide homework reviews, community chats, and forums for question-and-answer seekers.
There is currently no application available that offers project-specific direction for the AEC industry work, along with messaging functionality, virtual chat, and a group function that is linked to project questions. Although there are several types of apps that can partially meet these requirements, each has its own limitations.
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I used an early prototype in moderated in-person and virtual user testing over Zoom. The resulting qualitative data was gathered and combined with quantitative survey results from unmoderated tests conducted using Maze. Data from user interviews was recorded using Rainbow Spreadsheets, affinity mapping, card sorting, and qualitative surveys.
User interviews revealed pain points in users' ability to get answers and receive feedback on their design projects.
I conducted five interviews with potential target audience members, including designers in the architecture field or adjacent field, students, and ordinary people who may use the app to design their projects. After affinity mapping, I developed three user personas and user journeys, leading to the below summary of pain points and design opportunities.
How can we translate these pain points into design opportunities?
User personas were distilled from user interviews and into actionable journey maps. These informed the design of the app's features and functionality while ensuring that they aligned with the users' needs and goals.
How can we translate these pain points into design opportunities?
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The application's Information Architecture was developed through two rounds of user testing, giving us the foundational structure to create initial wireframe designs.
The 'Inter' font choice for most text and 'Barlow' for headings align with UX/UI principles to enhance readability and hierarchy. 'Inter' is a versatile, legible typeface designed for optimal readability across various screen sizes, ensuring a comfortable reading experience for users. Meanwhile, 'Barlow', with its bold and distinct characteristics, is employed for headings to establish a clear visual hierarchy, aiding users in quickly identifying and navigating through important sections and reinforcing a cohesive and user-friendly design.
Using the 'Permanent Marker' font in the logo for Crit adds a personalized touch, mimicking the handwritten annotations often found in traditional architectural drafts, fostering a sense of familiarity and authenticity while conveying the app's core function of critique, review, and improvement.
Design iteration and prototyping have been a process of improvement and refinement based on user feedback and testing. Design iterations progressed from low-fidelity wireframing through to mid and high-level prototypes. The app's final version is easier to use, more intuitive, and more efficient in connecting users with expert designers for project review.
Quickly find industry experts with knowledge and experience that best fits your project's needs. Manage your project with the project portal, add or edit information and design needs, add new experts, upload project files and photos, start review chats, and schedule in-person calls with your experts.
V1 and V2: 85% of users tested chose the version 2 UI in A/B testing.
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Crit will guide you through each project creation step. Users provide essential project information, including location, type, and design work extent, allowing the app to match users with the most experienced professionals.
V1 and V2: 60% of users tested chose the version 2 UI in A/B testing, and mentioned that the streamlined UI made the project setup easier.
Manage project information, chat or call with experts, review design files and construction images, and upload files.
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Connect industry experts with knowledge and experience that best fits your project's needs.
Quickly find industry experts with knowledge and experience that best fits your project's needs.
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Review past projects and popular direction in Groups, chat with group members, and find design community.
The flexible grid system is used to create a layout that adapts to the size of the device. This allows for elements to be rearranged and resized depending on the device being used.
