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Explanation of Mysteries, 2024

UX Research: exploring local culture

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Overview

This project investigates the transformation of the Explanada dos Mistérios application, with the aim of improving the user experience in discovering cultural events and activities in Brasília. Our challenge was to conduct user research to better understand their needs and launch new features and improvements in time for Carnival, so that we could ensure that we were contributing to local culture during this very important period for Brazilian culture.

Function and duration

I, as a UX designer together with another talented professional in the field, prepared the entire research plan and, subsequently, built new interactions and features in the Explanada app.

The project lasted around 1 month guided by planning based on a lot of research and user-centered design.

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Problem Statement

The low democratization of information and visibility of the DF's cultural scene hinders its growth. To bring solutions, it is necessary to understand the expectations, behaviors and needs of the DF population in relation to cultural experience and the role of digital tools in this scenario.

Goals

Our objectives included:
 

  • Understand target audience behaviors in relation to the local cultural experience;

  • Understand what difficulties users encounter when searching for information about cultural events and how the application can help overcome these obstacles;

  • Understand user preferences regarding application functionalities;

  • Assess users’ willingness to adopt tokenization technologies;

  • Understand the target audience’s perception and trust in the application

Design Process

Research and Planning

In our design process, we followed a very well-defined plan so that we could have everything completed by Carnival. Therefore, we began by carefully defining our research objectives and identifying the main points to be addressed. To gain valuable insights, we conducted user interviews and a questionnaire. This allowed us to collect both qualitative and quantitative data to help ensure the success of our project.

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Within the structure of the research, we also defined demographic and behavioral aspects of who the participants would be:

Demographics: 

⤷  People over 16 years old

⤷  Men and women

⤷  People who live in DF

Behavioral:

⤷  Internet access

⤷  Use tools such as apps and online platforms

⤷  Are interested in cultural events

Furthermore, we defined which means we would publicize and invite participants to participate in the research, with Instagram and WhatsApp being the main ones. And finally, the deadlines for each stage.

As a result, we were able to collect more than 200 responses to the questionnaire and more than 10 interviews carried out virtually. All responses were recorded and documented for the analyzes that drove our strategic design decisions.

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Analysis and Insights

The analysis part was fundamental considering that we managed to collect a lot of information that we needed to transform into data. We use some tools such as Google Sheets, Notion and Miro to organize and carry out the analyses. From that point on, we had valuable insights into the need to have new features about confirmed friends, a menu with a complete profile, new UI solutions for the Carnival date and rethinking event categories.

Prototyping

We create prototypes, following the existing interface, respecting our Design System. We introduced new components for the special Carnival date, redefined the categories and inserted a new profile flow. Additionally, we perform a review of all system flows to ensure concise interaction with business rules. Our ultimate goal was to align the user interface with the user expectations we identified in interviews and questionnaires.

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Results

The results of our research were:
 

  • New features and flows within the app

  • The app's flows have been reconfigured, guiding users intuitively.

  • A renewed user interface to meet users' expectations regarding carnival.
     

We validate this entire process through usability tests with some users in virtual and pocket mode.

Impact

Our research and design solutions were essential for building a more robust app with important features that help promote local culture, whether on special dates like Carnival or in the population's daily lives. This research is part of the routine of our product team at Explanada, always seeking to improve ourselves with a user-centered design.

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