AthleteX is a peer-to-peer platform for discovering in-person sports activities anytime, anywhere. Explore, share, and invite friends to join them in creating unforgettable memories through the joy of sports. What sets AthleteX apart is the ability for users to effortlessly create and share their own sports activities with others.

Project Overview

Timeline

Group of 3

UX/UI Designer

Figma, Google Form, Photoshop, Open AI & Optimal Workshop

Business Goals

• Empower users to create their own sports activities effortlessly.

• Encourage user engagement by providing convenient navigation, and motivating both sharing and attendance of activities.

Target Users

* Individuals seeking diverse sports activities to join.

* People interested in broadening their social circles through sports-related interactions.

Athletes looking to create and share their activities with others.

• Establish a user-friendly website to enable easy discovery and access to various sports activities from any location.

8 weeks

Team

Role

Tools

* We concentrated on designing the website for the first two target groups.

Design Thinking

Our team of three followed a Double Diamond approach based on the Design Thinking methodology. It was not a linear path; we bounced between stages as the project progressed.

Discover

To understand the users' pain points and develop effective solutions, we employed a comprehensive research approach that consisted of the following methods:

• Competitive and Comparative Analysis

• Online Survey

• Interview

Competitive and Comparative Analysis

In the initial phase, we started by identifying sports websites with similar objectives to gain a clearer understanding of the essential features of our design. We conducted a thorough analysis of these platforms to grasp their overall structure and functionalities, providing valuable insights for our design process.

Additionally, we expanded our scope to include platforms like Airbnb and Meetup, recognizing that their design could also inform the development of our website. By examining these diverse platforms, we ensured that our design encompasses all the necessary elements to deliver a seamless and engaging user experience.

Survey

To deepen our understanding of user preferences, we conducted a brief survey and collected insights from the respodents. Below are some key insights:

As indicated above, we determined that users expressed a desire to be informed about the age and gender of other attendees in activities. Consequently, we integrated small pie charts within the activity descriptions to provide users with a quick summary of the average age and gender contribution for each activity.

We aimed to address the top demands and preferences of users by implementing key features on the website, including:

- Simplified activity search functionality.

- Integration allowing users to add events to their calendar after attending.

- Capability for users to browse others' profiles and activity history.

- Ability for users to create and share activities with friends.

Interview

The interviews with 8 people from our survey participants, provided valuable insights emphasizing the importance of providing detailed activities information and developing trust among participants. Specifically, users prioritize access to details such as organizers’ activity history and locations to make informed decisions and feel confident about attending an activity.

Some Key quotes mentioned by people in interviews:

"the photo posted by the host was the reason for my trust"

"age gap matters to me"

"I’d like to know about the previous organizer’s activities"

"knowing the level of activities’ difficulty is very important to me"

"a detailed description of the activity is really important"

"some sports events are too crowded because they don’t indicate the number of attendees"

Affinity Diagram

With creating the affinity diagram, we identified the most important factors to consider:

• Trust

• Detail of activity

• Suggestion

• Age of participant

• Motivation

• Location

Key Takeaways

• Trust through Information: Users prioritize having comprehensive details about both organizers and activity specifics to feel confident in joining an activity.

• Simplified Activity Search: Users emphasize the importance of a simplified and comprehensive search function, especially considering the dynamic nature of events being created and deleted by organizers.

• Desire for Social Engagement: Users express interest in having a social network feature integrated into the platform, which would encourage greater engagement among participants.

Below, we outlined the key aspects that influenced our design:

Define

Challenges

Solutions

Persona

Enhance user trust to encourage greater participation in activities.

Mention attendee numbers for upcoming activities and enable users to view profiles, including activity history.

Developing a fast and effective activity search method.

We found that "Activity, Location, and Time" are the most useful search criteria for activities. Additionally, users can easily select activities by typing or choosing from diverse categories and regions.

The extensive list of activities makes it difficult to cover them all thoroughly.

Since activities are frequently created and removed, there's no need to list them all. Users can easily search for specific activities using the main search bar.

Developing engagement for users.

Enable users to personalize their profiles by choosing background images, saving favourite activities, and following friends.

The information we gathered from surveys and interviews helped shape the persona. Our main aim was to show common patterns and problems, which in turn allowed us to better understand and relate to our users.

User Flow

In designing the user flow, our aim was to find a hiking activity and then invite a friend.

Site Map

To ensure our information architecture meets user expectations, we conducted six open card sorting sessions using the Optimal Workshop platform. After the initial exercise, we developed our first version and iteratively refined it based on user testing and competitive analysis.

We added pie charts showing the typical ages and genders of participants to the activities page description.

Demonstrating the age and gender of participants.

Develop

Sketches and Wireframes

We initially mapped out our ideation using hand-sketched low-fidelity wireframes, aiding communication within the team during the early design stages. Later, we transitioned to creating low-fidelity wireframes on Figma to visualize page layouts and design direction. These wireframes underwent several iterations before final content development.

Sketches

Mid-Fidelity Wireframes

Home page

Profile page

Search result

Upcoming activity description

Mood Board

We were inspired by how group sports activities bring people together, fostering joy and new friendships. We aimed to infuse these positive vibes into our design to motivate users and make them feel more courageous about joining in.

UI Kit

We developed a complete UI kit to serve as a reference for templates and components. This kit ensures that interface development is smooth, consistent, and efficient throughout the project.

Deliver

High Fidelity Wireframes

Landing Home Page

Home Page, after log in

Search Result

Profile Page

Upcoming activity description

Friends' page

Friends' upcoming activities

Map, after log in

Profile, Upcoming activities

Prototype

Here is the last prototype, displaying what we've achieved through our design process.

Iteration and Usability Test

Throughout the project, we went through multiple iterations, driven by the insights we gained from usability tests. These tests were instrumental in shaping our decisions and constantly enhancing our project.

Users experienced some difficulty in easily understanding AthleteX's offering of 'activity creation', despite its significance as the other main service.

With these two CTAs, users can effortlessly access AthleteX's two primary services.

This illustration visually communicates the worldwide accessibility of AthleteX.

Usability testing revealed that the information below the hero image fails to capture users' attention effectively.

After logging in or selecting the main services, users will immediately see the upcoming activities based on their location.

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The slideshow photos fail to convey AthleteX's global functionality effectively to users.

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Users do not require large photos of activities prior to accessing the carts and reviewing full descriptions.

Users can quickly grasp the location by viewing it on the map, with photos being the next priority. Other features such as time, availability, sharing, and saving are also included.

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Since the activity had not yet taken place, users were confused by the "like and comment" option.

"Share" and "Save" have been updated to buttons for improved clarity and ease of use.

The logged-in user requires more useful options for managing her upcoming activities, beyond mostly seeing photos.

Users need a quick way to add activities they have already joined to their calendar.

After joining, users can easily edit RSVP, share the activity, view activity level and attendees, and see the location on the map using buttons.

Users found the description difficult to read and were hesitant to spend time reading it thoroughly.

Converting the activity description to bullet points enables users to grasp the details of the activity within seconds.

Additionally, including two pie charts displaying the average age and gender distribution of the attendees.

Users were uncertain about the purpose of "Top-searched activities" and the significance of the numbers accompanying each activity in the list. Additionally, the absence of a typing indicator made it unclear that they could search for activities by typing.

In addition to general filters, users can easily search for activities by typing their names, facilitated by a typing indicator.

A/B Testing

During testing with 13 users, the majority expressed a preference for Frame B. This version showcases smaller event photos, a larger map, and more prominent share and save buttons.

Reflections

What have I learned?

• The crucial role of research in enhancing product effectiveness.

• Collaborating within the team ensured timely delivery and meeting deadlines.

• Testing and iteration improved user-friendliness.

• Developing a UI kit ensured consistency and eased communication.

What can we do next?

• The next steps involve finalizing the mobile version of the design to ensure adaptability.

• Following this, we'll enhance the user experience by conducting additional usability testing and iterations to refine the user flow further.