Runito
Close Quarters, Closer Connections.
Residents living in residential buildings lack a central online space to connect with neighbours. Runito provides a platform for neighbours within the same residential building, offering anonymity and freedom of expression without the obligation of moderation.
Role
Product Designer
Skills
UX Research, Visual Design, Prototyping
Duration
5 Months
Tools
inVision, Whimsical, Figma
Overview
Background
The growing trend of condominiums living in large cities in Canada necessitates the presence of online community platforms for residents, yet the multitude of disparate platforms creates a fragmented experience.
Problem
While an online platform for residents in condominiums is a must nowadays, there are too many different types of it leading an inconvenience for condo residents from each platform they use.
Outcome
I completed this solo project journey from researching user experience to developing a full prototype independently. While the product may not launch commercially, it's been a valuable learning experience, offering insights into industry standards and trends.
Motivation
My journey of hunting places over years in Greater Vancouver
Background Research
How many people are living in a condominium?
According to the latest census research, 13.3% of Canadian households live in a condominium, which is an increased ratio from the past five years. Vancouver, one of the big cities in Canada, has more than 30% of the population living in condos.
- CBC Article, '1.9 million Canadian households live in condos, census data shows'.
What types of people are living in a condo?
Over one-third of recently built dwellings, those constructed from 2011 to 2021, were occupied and primarily maintained by millennial(36.6%) renters or owners in 2021, the largest share of any generation. Millennials also represented the largest share of condominium occupants(30.2%)compared with the other generations.
-The Daily — To buy or to rent: The housing market continues to be reshaped by several factors as Canadians search for an affordable place to call home
User Research
With insights from the desk research, I interviewed people aged between 20’s and 30’s, who are currently living in a condo or have an experience as a condo resident.
Themes + Insights
Preference towards condominiums over houses mostly comes from safety.
Some interviewees did not join the community when it required their information to be public.
Because of the privacy issue, they are wary of having a deep relationship and talking about conflicts among neighbours.
Interviewees don’t have experience because their buildings do not have/own a platform.
The pressure of being an administrator to start the community is too heavy.
The community platforms provided by management team are usually for maintenance.
Key takeaways
As mentioned above, privacy concerns are shared among both groups. Residents' involvement on community platforms tends to decrease due to the absence of social features, leading to decreased activity levels.
More importantly, the majority of interviewees do not have experience with using community platforms, either because there are no platforms specialized to their building or because they have not been invited.
Market Research
I carried out these findings to conduct a competitive analysis of other neighbouring community platforms, aiming to position Runito competitively.
Strength
Provide a residence-specific platform for residents
Verify users in the building
Categorized forums for different use
Opportunity
No responsibility of form & user management
Minimalistic and modern UI style
Perfectly anonymous for everyone
How might we..
design community platforms that effectively address privacy concerns and exclusiveness
Define Users
Traditional preference
+ New Desire
A platform to communicate with neighbours in the residence building is a must, but there should be a boundary of privacy. With these insights in mind, I created two types of User Persona.
Information Architecture & Wireframes
Design System
Grid
Colour Palette
Buttons
Dropdown / Inputs
Checkbox
Icons
Marterial Design Icons
Navigation Bar
Toast Message
Shape into the final design
Finding 1
Users consciously anticipate encountering personalized content in the home screen that works as a dashboard.
Before
Users encounter trending posts across the board category.
After
Users have the option to pin specific boards they want to see first in the home screen.
Finding 2
Many of the testers encountered confusion when instructed to navigate to a particular category. Additionally, in addition to the issue with the Home page, the Browse page appears overly similar.
Before
Additionally, in addition to the issue with the Home page, the Browse page appears overly similar.
After
Board categories are clearly organized under the related group they fall under. Additionally, categories are discoverable through the universal search feature.
Finding 3
The previous onboarding screen was 99% ignored by testers, indicating its failure to serve as a guide for the app.
Intrusive Onboarding
Before
Onboarding screens were provided featuring screenshots showcasing Runito's main features, accompanied by a call-to-action button guiding users to the next step.
After
Simplified visual content has replaced screenshots on the onboarding screens, with the Start button appearing at the end.
Global Interfaces
Navigation Bar
I streamlined the design of menu items and enlarged them to ensure they were easily accessible within touch.
Activity + Message = Inbox
In addition to the Navigation Bar update, I combined notification and message screens into a single location to prevent redundant alert indicators.
Final Design
Next Step for Runito
Further exploration
I initiated this project with the aim of not only acquiring knowledge in mobile app design but also gaining insights into real project collaboration dynamics. I reached out to people from marketing and development backgrounds to gather feedback on potential improvements. Here are the ideations that I could work on after their feedback.
Customized User Experience
Scalability of Residence -School Dorms
Reflection
If I had more time & What I would do differently
Although this project was self-driven, I set a specific time frame to ensure that I could simulate the pace and demands of a real industry environment. This project also provides me with the opportunity to review design posts I've saved and apply them in practice.
Consistency on Cross-platforms
This project gave me, a long-time iPhone user, a chance to see how iOS and Android differ. I aimed to create a design system that works well on both platforms, keeping things consistent for users no matter what device they're on.
Power of Storytelling
I focused on making a conscious effort to prioritize it this time around as the storytelling aspect has frequently been overlooked. When conducting surveys, interviews, or seeking feedback, leveraging storytelling based on user personas help a lot to deliver and convey Runito's value. Notably, it made it easier to get people from target and non-target groups to empathize.