Works

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The Zoo

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Design Process

Key Moments in

The Design Process

Photo of Screens

Detailed Info

Giving Users The

Info They Wanted.

I knew I wanted the animals to be the focal point of each plaque, so I started creating a design that really let them speak for themselves. How could I incorporate personal details about the animal without creating too much information on the screen? I began making ways for interactive elements to handle this task. Although I ended up with a finished product with screen 3, something didn’t feel right. During our guerilla usability test, some users had issues with knowing what elements were due to the number of elements in their faces. There wasn’t enough balance here to make users not feel overwhelmed. I redesigned my screens and ended up with something a bit more minimalistic.

The Research

Secondary

Research Studies

The big question at the beginning of our research was “What do users value from their visit?”  In our initial process, I thought that being able to read plaques and see animals was a sufficient visit. In a closely related research study on this topic, it was shown that out of 500 people, only 16 families with children under 18 read plaques. This threw me for a loop as I knew plaques were some of the easiest ways to get information out to the public and without them there would be a heavy emphasis on the keepers and tours. I began gathering surveys and user interviews to confirm if this particular study was true and if so, we would need to pivot our focus.

The Research

Secondary

Research Studies

The big question at the beginning of our research was “What do users value from their visit?”  In our initial process, I thought that being able to read plaques and see animals was a sufficient visit. In a closely related research study on this topic, it was shown that out of 500 people, only 16 families with children under 18 read plaques. This threw me for a loop as I knew plaques were some of the easiest ways to get information out to the public and without them there would be a heavy emphasis on the keepers and tours. I began gathering surveys and user interviews to confirm if this particular study was true and if so, we would need to pivot our focus.

Navigating

Fun and Interactive

I wanted visitors to be able to explore the map and find things around the zoo without having to be walked through it step by step. At first, I considered adding similar icons that Google Maps uses to show what is around the park map, but that didn’t seem “fun” to me. So instead I added an illustrated park map and thought about how I could take it to the next level. I added small elements like being able to click the animals on the map to make it more interactive, but due to time constraints on my project, I made just enough interactive so that I could get my usability tasks done.

Events

New Ways

to Purchase

For the event purchasing screen, I wanted to give a sense of familiarity. I didn’t want users to have to relearn screens depending on where they were in the app. The same elements that were shown on other screens should be the same on the new screens letting users learn the app faster. I also made a mistake using the same color for my CTA and tab selection. I did end up redesigning this part differently after my first round of usability testing.



For the event purchasing screen, I wanted to give a sense of familiarity. I didn’t want users to have to relearn screens depending on where they were in the app. The same elements that were shown on other screens should be the same on the new screens letting users learn the app faster. I also made a mistake using the same color for my CTA and tab selection. I did end up redesigning this part differently after my first round of usability testing.



For the event purchasing screen, I wanted to give a sense of familiarity. I didn’t want users to have to relearn screens depending on where they were in the app. The same elements that were shown on other screens should be the same on the new screens letting users learn the app faster. I also made a mistake using the same color for my CTA and tab selection. I did end up redesigning this part differently after my first round of usability testing.



For the event purchasing screen, I wanted to give a sense of familiarity. I didn’t want users to have to relearn screens depending on where they were in the app. The same elements that were shown on other screens should be the same on the new screens letting users learn the app faster. I also made a mistake using the same color for my CTA and tab selection. I did end up redesigning this part differently after my first round of usability testing.



Where to Next?

Back to The Zoo Case Study

View Key Moments in My Research Process