Neighborly
CASE STUDY
UX Design | Wireframes | Visual Design | Interactive Prototyping
Neighborly is a social network that connects and supports residents in your area. It is the best way to know about what’s going on in your neighborhood and help and get helped from those nextdoor to you.
CHALLENGE
With everyone being online more and busy with work, home, children or other responsibilities, it is becoming difficult to meet people in person, even those who live right in your neighborhood. In addition, homeowners need support to watch their property when away for long and need recommendations for services, school related information that they can trust.
SOLUTION
Neighborly can help! It is an easier way to connect with your neighbors. Whether it’s finding a lost pet, learning about an upcoming block party, knowing about any home burglary or forming social groups, this is a free tool for you and those nextdoor! You can use the Neighborly app to send urgent alerts, make new friends who live closeby, get recommendations for a plumber and more...
RESEARCH
I used my neighborhood (Bubb Road, Cupertino, CA) as a sample area to research. I spoke to my immediate neighbors and conducted a survey to get responses on what they needed and wished for our area and their own needs. I also researched online about the age, ethnicity, economic, educational, gender profile of the neighbors as well as the property values, religion and languages spoken at home in the neighborhood.
Link to Detail Research
Needs of the Community
1] Build a network of support for (mostly asian) homeowners who may travel away to a foreign country for an extended period of time * Keep a watch on their property * Tend to the garden if necessary * Walk/watch pets * Support any teenage children living by themselves
2] Get to know neighbors (next door and beyond) and form social contacts to get help with * Carpooling for kids’ activities, near and esp. far! * First-hand feedback about choosing classes, clubs, electives in middle and high school
3] Help with other homeowner’s issues: * Report any crime/suspicious activity * Share contractor/handyman/cleaners contacts * Share any pest control, gardening, home remodel info. * Got too many persimmons? Share your produce! * Find a new home for books, bikes, furniture, other items you may no longer want
4] Build companionships/friendships who meet in person * Form walking/biking groups * Form bridge/card groups for seniors * Form book clubs/other hobby groups * Help busy moms with taking turns by running errands * Share contacts for your trusted doctors * Have lunch/tea together and share ethnic recipes/dishes * Make calls/visits to seniors who may be alone and may not speak english very well
Target Audience
Based upon the observations from the research and my conversations, the primary and secondary target audience is defined as follows:
Primary Target Audience
Adults - Adult: M/F, Age 35-55 yrs
skilled, married with children, working-class homeowners
from upper-middle-class suburban household
Secondary Target Audience
Seniors: M/F, Age 55-70 yrs
Working/retired homeowners or long term visitors
from upper-middle-class suburban household
Proposed Solution
User Persona | Wordlist | Type Studies
Logo Design
Information Architecture Map
I compared my IA map to that of a similar app, Nextdoor. I found that it had too many options for the user to choose from. I decided to omit the category "General" and revised my flow to be able to also access posts from "Groups". I also decided to layer the application functionality into phases to simplify the implementation. (For example, "Invite Neighbors" function is delegated to next iteration of Neighborly App, hence not listed on the current IA map.)
Select Task Flows
Neighborly microsite is a scrolling site where new users register for the Neighborly App and sign-in. The site links to the app and describes its functions, such as "Form Social Groups" or "Find Lost Pets".
Mobile App Design
Link to Prototype
Link to Prototype
I had my friends and neighbors use a prototype for the app. They found that registering at the website and signing-in there was convenient if they stayed signed-in. They requested being able to send an urgent alert directly from all screens and NOT have to go back to home screen of the app for the same. They also thought that the pet directory was useful and requested having the lost pet display a sign saying so on the pet's profile. I have taken these suggestions into consideration while coming up with final designs and the prototype for the mobile App.
“There are three responses to a piece of design....yes, no, and WOW! Wow is the one to aim for.” - Milton Glaser
Kimaya Firodia Kelkar is a talented and driven UI / UX and graphic designer based in the lovely San Francisco bay area. She strives to make her designs unique, usable and ones that convey the essence of the content.
Kimaya believes that creativity can be expressed in many forms and programming is one of them. She spent early years in her career designing algorithms and creating code!
She always loved all things art and likes to spend her free time composing Ikebana arrangements, taking photos, sketching, painting, listening to music, reading and traveling. She feels that using new media to achieve delightful visual communication is the key to successful design.
She looks forward to hearing from you!
hello@kimayafirodia.com