SIMON LEON
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Project Overview
The product
This product is for buying tickets or a subscription to a streaming service so that you can watch movies in virtual reality. With friends or with strangers.
Project Duration
I worked on this for 2 Weeks | Aug 16th - 30th
The User Problem
When families, friends, and loved ones move far away, it is very hard to connect with them and feel present. Watching movies is one of those things that people love to when together, this website aims to help people stay connected when they cannot be physically together.
The Project Goal
My goal is to make a website that can display the benefits of VR presence and shared space to help build connections and support social interaction.
My Role
In this project I took on many roles such as UX Researcher, UX Interaction Designer, UX Visual Designer, etc.
Responsibilities
User research, wire-framing, prototyping, iterating, visual design, etc.
Understanding
The User
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User research
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Personas
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Problem statements
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User journey maps
User Research Overview
A lot of the research I conducted was within my immediate friend group and personal experiences as we are all heading off to university next month. This means a lot of us are moving very far away and some of my friends are going to be dealing with long distance relationships and friendships.
User Pain Points
1. Long Distance
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This is the biggest pain point because it largely limits the amount of activities and social interactions that users can do together. Leaving many to fall further apart or stop talking entirely.
2. Laziness
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Especially with Gen Z, wanting to stay in your room instead of going outside is a common decision in younger teens. Improving these indoor experiences can help them foster connections that train them for the real world.
3. Accessibility
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Those with disabilities often cannot experience the best form of cinema due to always needing to be on the base level, and also creates a hassle when needing to leave the house. Also in real theatres you are unable to change the volume.
4. No Presence
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There are some movie sharing websites such as NetflixParty in which you can watch a movie together and have a chat box open. Although as you use this feature, it doesn’t feel engaging or real unless you type, which is not how watching movies online should be.
User Persona
User Journey Map
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User Story
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“As a teenager who enjoys socializing online, I want to improve my virtual entertainment experiences so that I can enjoy them properly with the people that I can’t be with physically.”
Problem Statement
Jonathan is a social video game loving teenager who needs a way to watch movies with his friends and girlfriend without feeling disconnected because he likes staying indoors but appreciates social presence.
Starting The Design
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Site Map
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Paper wireframes
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Digital wireframes
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Low-fidelity prototype
Sitemap
The FAQS section was really important to me because that’s where I would be able to help expand the reach of the small VR headset market by helping regular people become comfortable with this technology.
Paper Wireframes
There were various aspects of my paper wireframes that I liked, I realised that I preferred options that were unique in nature and weren’t just text next to an image.
Digital Wireframes
I decided to add more visuals, such as images and trailers, because some of my competitors mainly just had paragraphs and minimal images about the movies themselves. I want this to feel like a real movie theatre, so adding the movie titles and posters seemed essential.
Low-Fidelity
Prototype
While connecting my low-fidelity prototypes I realized I didn’t truly have a “main” user flow, this is when I was able to add the flow for purchasing a ticket which truly added to the overall UX design.
Refine The Design
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Mockups
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High-fidelity prototype
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Accessibility
Mockups
With the branding of this product I wanted to use a colour palette that was modern and youthful. I also thought about drive in theatres and how the ambience of the night really adds to the experience. This is why I went with darker blue / purple colours.
When creating my low-fidelity design here, I was worried that this page would be too simple, but I focused on the end goal and my vision for what it would look like, this helped me trust the process. I ended up with a great simple page that lined up with what I had planned.
High Fidelity Prototype
Takeaways
Impact
This website and corresponding VR App could help bring families, friends, and couples closer together when moving away for university or work. Physical presence speaks louder than words and that is something current technology doesn’t allow for on a wide scale.
What I learned
I learned how to apply what I learned from designing an app to this web design, I was able to practice and improve my creative process to think of new and unique ideas that all correlate to a brand identity.
Next Steps
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The first step would be to create other sized frames to allow for a responsive design on all devices.
2.
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Second I would separately design the VR Application design as that is a corresponding product along with the website.
3.
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Third I would add tabs such as “Purchase History” and an option to sign up to an EmerseVr newsletter.
