NeighborTools
A peer to peer sharing platform design
NeighborTools connects tool owners with renters in a safe, secure peer-to-peer sharing platform. Owners make money from unused tools, while renters save by avoiding purchases and supporting local communities.
This is a concept project that I was working on while I was studying at UX-Land School. In a team of three, we were assigned to design a responsive website to facilitate the process of lending and borrowing tools among people.
Project Overview
Timeline
Group of 4
UX/UI Designer
Figma, Google Form, Photoshop& Canva
Business Needs
Developing a user-friendly Peer-to-Peer platform that simplifies listing products and effortlessly locates nearby tools available for rent.
3 Months Part-time
Team
My Role
Tools
Design Goals
A key goal of our research was studying users to understand their concerns and needs.
Establish NeighborTools as a trustworthy website, making it easy for users to trust the platform.
Streamline the tool renting and borrowing journey.
Simplify the process for users to locate the nearest required tool.
Provide seamless navigation, particularly between lending and borrowing activities.
Target Users
* People looking for nearby tools to borrow and save money.
* We concentrated on designing the task for the first target group on the website.
Individuals who want to Lend their tools, earn money and support the community.
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
Initial Interview
In the first step, we had to educate ourselves to better understand who we are designing for and how users are currently renting/lending their tools, so we conducted an initial interview with 8 individuals. To find the interviewees we posted in our neighborhood Facebook group and asked if people were interested in doing the interview. We aimed to identify their pain points and crucial factors involved in these processes by inquiring about their past experiences and preferred locations for borrowing tools.
Survey
To connect with more people and understand more about the users' pain points, needs and what influences them to trust an app and borrow their tools we decided to design a survey and received a total of 46 responses.
Important trust and security features identified for borrowing:
Clear and updated images & descriptions (72%)
Secure payment (72%)
Clear rental terms & conditions (65%)
Transparent pricing (59%)
Insurance & liability coverage (50%)
Affinity Diagram
Based on our research, several crucial elements are fundamental to meeting our users' needs:
From the interview, we found people like the idea of renting tools to earn money and help the environment but at the same time they have concerns about potential loss and fraud activity.
Concern regarding tool Damage.
Knowing about the condition or health of tools.
Finding tools close to their location.
Finding tools that fit their budget.
76% of participants consider distance in borrowing a tool and 65% of them preferred less than 5 miles traveling distance.
The most important factors in selecting a tool to borrow:
Distance (75.5%)
Availability (71.5%)
Rental cost (65.6%)
Tool condition (59.1%)
Tool's specification (52.9%)
Our survey indicates that effectively presenting business features is a top priority, as users emphasized its importance for our focus and development efforts.
Takeaway
We looked at Facebook Marketplace, as a decent customer-to-customer and Airbnb, as a successful platform for sharing personal properties, and eight other similar websites. By studying them, we learned valuable lessons to implement the user experience of our product. then used them to make our information architecture and user flow.
Competitive & Comparative Analysis
Takeaways:
We identified key features unique to Neighbortools, such as distance-based search, price suggestions in listings, displaying earnings in user profiles, and tool confirmation prior to payment deduction. These features set us apart from competitors who typically lack such offerings.
We streamlined the presentation of these features to ensure a seamless borrowing experience for users.
Define
Persona
After conducting interviews, we identified a user persona for borrowing from NeighborTools: Diana Muller, who recently moved into her first townhouse and prioritizes space-saving and budgeting. We also developed a user flow for borrowing.
Site Map
By doing card sorting, we learned how to organize different sections of our website and we made the first version of our site map. However throughout the design process, user testing and the competitive analysis, the final version of the site map was built.
User Flow
Develop
Challenges and Solutions
After analyzing our research data and understanding user needs, we developed solutions to address their concerns and integrated them into our design.
Challenge 1:
Uncertainty regarding Insurance and tool protection against potential damage or loss for both owners and lenders.
Solutions:
Dedicate a section on the first page of our platform (in both borrowing and lending mode) to highlight all the information regarding insurance and item protection.
Implement a section on the first page of our platform showcasing user reviews and feedback about their rental experiences with our platform.
Challenge 2:
Concerns about the condition and functionality of tools, especially power tools, ensure they match the provided pictures.
Solutions:
We also emphasize the confirmation system on the first page. Renters aren't charged until they receive and confirm the tool.
We encouraged owners to add high-quality images and detailed descriptions regarding the tool’s condition, this can include information about any wear and tear, which helps ensure that potential renters have a clear understanding of the tool's condition before making a decision.
We've introduced a rating and review system, enabling users to leave feedback after each rental. This fosters trust within the community and provides valuable insights for owners and renters alike.
Challenge 3:
Proximity is an important factor for renters. Most of the users don’t like to travel far to rent a tool.
Solutions:
We implemented a "Search by Distance" feature, allowing renters to search within their city and specify the distance they are willing to travel.
We defaulted our search results to "Nearest First" and included the distance from the renter's current location for each tool.
Showing location information for the listings, helps renters quickly assess whether a tool is conveniently located for them.
Sketches & Wire Framing
We created low-fidelity wireframes by hand sketching to map out our Ideation which helped us in the early stages of the design to go forward and have better communication within the team.
Search page
Tools' information
Profile-Borrowing list
Profile
Search result
Mid-Fidelity Wire Framing
We created mid-fidelity wireframes on Figma to map out page layouts and design vision. The wireframes went through several rounds of iteration before the final content was developed.
Home page
Search result
Items' detail
Payment
Reserve Confirmation
Usability Test(Phase 1)
We noticed users struggle with understanding distances like "5 miles." So, we improved our platform with a map feature. Now, instead of typing a number, users can visually set the search radius on a map.
"Home Page"
In our first design, users had trouble finding rental categories. So, we made a change and put the categories right into the main section. Now, users can see all the rental options at a glance.
"Items' Details Page"
At first, we used an accordion menu to save space and organize content. However, it didn't work well on different screen sizes and made user interaction slower. So, we redesigned it: now, each section has its own space on the page.
We noticed that our users had difficulty in reading long text to find tool information. As a result, we improved the way we present information and adjusted the input form for listing tools accordingly.
To make things more welcoming and user-friendly, we switched from "Rules and Policies" to "Things to Know." This change suggests that the information provided is helpful and informative rather than strict or regulatory.
We upgraded the "review" section to a more detailed design because users needed to find and read reviews easily and quickly.
Mood Board
To design a high-fidelity interface for NeighbourTools, we started by creating a mood board that reflects the main goals and desired feelings as outlined by stakeholders. This helped us establish the visual direction and overall aesthetic of the interface.
Color Accessibility
UI Kit
Following the mood board, we developed a UI kit, to ensure efficiency and consistency throughout the design process. We also did a color contrast test to check if our selected colors meet Web Accessibility standards.
Deliver
Usability Test (Phase 2)
"Search Result Page"
We noticed that many users struggle to locate themselves on the map. To address this, we display the user's location as a blinking spot, making it easier for users to find themselves and understand distances on the map.
On the Item detail page, users requested more precise timing options for setting borrowing duration and pickup dates beyond whole days. We addressed this by introducing preferred pickup times in three slots: Morning, Afternoon, and Evening, along with a Flexible option. Lenders must initially select these time slots to make them available for users to choose from.
Home Page
Power Tools
Create Account
High Fidelity Wireframes
Search Result
Items' Details
Check out Summary
Confirm & Pay
Inbox
Final Confirmation
Zip Code
Sign in/up
Prototype
Here is the last prototype, displaying what we've achieved through our design process.
Reflections
What have I learned?
Effective communication with team members and lead challenging situations.
When designing, it's important to strike a balance between meeting users' needs and aligning with stakeholders' marketing strategies.
The project taught me a valuable lesson: instead of fixating on being right from the start, it's crucial to embrace the iterative learning process and adapt as you go along.
What can we do next?
Finalizing the mobile version of the platform.
Evaluate the current design by doing more user testing.
Consider a solution for when tools become outdated or less utilized over time.
