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Carnival
During my course, INFO 360- Design Methods, as a final project, my team was given a chance to redesign the Carnival app. Our top priority while developing this application was ensuring safety within the app. This app caters to the needs of families looking for safe activities for their kids, and young adults seeking entertainment while maintaining their safety as well.
Role: UX Designer
Term: Feb- Mar 2023
Tools: Figma
Project Type: Group
Carnival began to notice a shift in vacation preferences and travel planning habits, leading to a decline in the cruise industry. In order to keep up with these changing times The cruise industry began to introduce events and attractions within the ship. With so many options to choose from, customers often struggled to discern what options were available and which ones aligned with their interests.
We first needed to understand why customers chose their vacation type. By doing so we could understand what perks Carnival provides and how the app could to highlight it.
We began to list out the different reasons for choosing three different types of vacations.
We concluded that cruises were convenient and allowed for all generations to enjoy in their own way. The app should reflect the ease of taking a cruise, as well as providing events that are inclusive of everyone.
Road Trip
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Would have to figure out route.
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Break/stopping points.
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Would have limited space for long periods of time.
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Decide food.
Plane
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Travel to a new state/country.
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Plan/book activities local to destination.
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Book a Hotel.
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Rental Car .
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Restaurants/Food accommodations.
Cruise
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Sail to a preplanned set of destinations.
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Events for kids and adults on cruise.
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Tourism activities at destinations .
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Chefs and meals are all inclusive.
What was the issue?
Wait... what did the cruise industry have to offer?
Brainstorm Breakdown
Overall
After understanding the perks and reasons people choose carnival first, we then moved on to determining what success looks like for the redesign. Success for this project would be measured through survey data! We came to a conclusion that...
For families...
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There should be entertainment for children
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It should be price conscious.
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And a way to keep track of children's safety
For singles
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There should be a way to meet others on the cruise
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Online safety should be prioritized.
Who is our audience?
What would success look like?
“Many passengers will be first-time cruisers, couples, singles and multi-generational families looking for good value in cruising and a wide range of entertainment and dining options.” (CruiseCompete.com)
Singles
Families
Our two target groups were families and singles.
I want to have a trip where everyone can enjoy and be safe. Having alone time would be a plus!
The Jeffersons
AVERAGE INCOME
$120-130k
LOCATION
Portland, OR
OCCUPATION
Biologist & Teacher
STATUS
Married with 2 kids
EDUCATION
Bachelors of Science
Frustrations
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So many events to choose from, not sure what are appropriate for their family.
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Hard to leave children alone, they worry that they are not able to contact them if needed.
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Price is not clear on events, makes it really inconvenient when looking for events
Core needs
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Safety measures implemented for their children.
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Events that fit within their price range
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A vacation that is convenient and hassle free.
Bio
The Jeffersons are a family of four that live in Portland, Oregon. They both received a Bachelor of Science and work as Teachers and Biologists. They are looking to book a trip on Carnival because of the convivence its provides. They are looking to spend $5,000~$6,000
I am looking to take a break from work and potentially meet new people my age
Kelly Johnson
AVERAGE INCOME
$100k
LOCATION
Baltimore, MD
OCCUPATION
Sales Manager
STATUS
Single
EDUCATION
Masters in Business
AGE
27
Frustrations
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She has to rely on going to events to meet people, even if they are inconvenient and out of her comfort zone.
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She has to provide personal contact information to people who she may not want to further engage with.
Core needs
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An easy way in meeting new people, that interest her.
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Online and public safety since she wants to meet new people on the cruise.
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Flexibility in regards to how she wants to meet people.
Bio
She currently lives in Baltimore. She finished her master in business and has just been promoted to Sales Manager. She is currently single and like to go out and meet new people while sailing and exploring new places.
User Personas
Lets start sketching!
Low-Fidelity Wireframes
Sketching Specifics
We began to list out the different reasons for choosing three different types of vacations.
Family Use Case
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Prices were marked in colors and clearly noticeable in card design.
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The events page had, what we called, "Fast filters", meaning users could click on preset filters.
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Tabs included, kids, For You, All events.
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Description page would include event coordinator information
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Profile would allow for fast access to event coordinator information.
Singles Use Case
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Added community feature so that people could meet each other at their own convenience.
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Profile to mimic Instagram and Facebook, a tool that many people are aware of.
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Message feature for people to connect further.
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Privacy screen as part of onboarding so that users are aware of security measures placed within the app.
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Also gives them the option to personalize their experience/safety.
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of users responded positively when asked if they were to use this app.
of users said the app was easy and seamless!
After creating a basic prototype, we did a qualitative study
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The single people who tested this product mentioned that there was a kids only filter but not an adult only filter. It would have been easier to navigate the app if there was an adult event filter.
The families that we interviewed almost all stated that they appreciated the filter feature. It was helpful as couples wanted time alone on vacation but wanted the kids to enjoy as well.
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The most common suggestion from both target groups was the idea of a tutorial feature of the app. As older generation may feel lost or confused, and for everyone else it would save time as they would not have to figure out what each button does.
After brainstorming the initial design and creating a basic prototype, we conducted an interview to understand how users would react to our app and gather general suggestions. Our questions were framed to address the main aspects: user alignment with our personas, their experience, design pros and cons, and areas for improvement. The demographic that we targeted for this interview were families and recent college graduates. To assess the results effectively, we asked recipients to utilize a ranking system. The three main points that were concluded from this research were
84%
86%
of users said they would recommend this app!
82%
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Based on our findings we decided to change a few features
Design Details
Heading:
Body:
Inknut Antiqua Bold
Inknut Antiqua Regular
Color Palette:
After many iterations... the final product
After 2 long months I learned many things
After 2 long months I learned many things
How to be a Team Player
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What to change for next time
Being able to figure out a steady timeline was a challenge for our team, so moving forward setting team guidelines and structure through frameworks like Agile, Scrum, etc, will ensure a smooth design process. Moving forward adding features like a functioning calendar to the prototype would enhance our vision of the app.
The Design Thinking Process
We used the design thinking process (discover, design, ideate, prototype, test). We were able to identify what the problem was, what the user wanted and does this ultimately align with business goals. This design process allowed us to take an ambiguous problem and create certainty with a solution.
Importance of a target audience
Identifying a target audience allowed me to research and identify trends within the specified end users. Researching the functionality of Carnival made me realize how crucial it is to empathize with the users and create an experience that will benefit everyone.
During our project we were unfamiliar with each others work styles and habits. Initially we struggled to find a time period that worked for all of us. This experience taught me how to take a large and complex task and break it into smaller parts making the goal more flexible for everyone to work towards.
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Want to SEA everything in action? Here is the link to the prototype! Carnival
