Category
UI/UX, Mobile App
Year
2019
Role
User research, wireframing, prototyping, illustration, animation.
Project type
Passion project (individual)
05 / Mailennial
Mail-ennial is an app that guides millennials (and younger generations) with the process of mailing a letter or package.
PROBLEM
1-1. User Interviews
I selected various interviewees belonging in different young generations: Millennials (1981-1996) and Gen Z (1997-2015). I handed each of them an envelope with a letter inside and told them to take me through the process of mailing it. Only about 30% of them were able to correctly describe how to mail the letter without hesitation or questions. Here are some standout responses from the majority who had trouble:
After conducting user interviews, I found out that many of my similar-aged peers felt the same. I developed this idea into a passion project because I want the next generation not to be as clueless and technology-dependent as I was.
I conducted the same process, but this time I asked them to take me through the mailing process of a package.
2-1. Solutions/Approaches
PROCESS
- I learned that even a task as simple as sending a letter may result in the most confusing UX processes because so many factors can be taken into consideration. Although I could've ended up lost, doing this project taught me that breaking the task into the most basic steps before factoring in details makes it easier to create wireframes.
-Also, I found it interesting how much users crave a sense of progress, even for simple tasks (like packing an envelope). I wonder if it is because users like us are so tech-dependent; we have become impatient because we are so used to being able to click to the next step/screen.
INSIGHTS & TAKEAWAYS
Mail-ennial is an app that guides millennials (and younger generations) with the process of mailing a letter or package. As an adult born in “Generation Z”, I noticed that I had NO idea of even the basics of mailing a letter, let alone any understanding of the US mailing system. I decided to online research my generation’s “mail illiteracy”, and I found out that I definitely was not alone:
Chosen solution: A hybrid of 3 and 4.
This is because AR detections and Ruler programs have technical and accuracy limitations. Even the smallest of miscalculations can be pivotal when mailing a package.
2-2. Solutions/Approaches
I ideated the factors that defined the different ways and types of mailing.
2-3. Flow Map
I created a user task flow map that outlines the user's main goal.
2-4. Lo-Fi Wireframes
2-5. Hi-Fi Wireframes
3-1. Design
SOLUTION
3-2. Clickable Prototype
Prototype for mailing paper (left) and packages (right)
3-3. Iteration 1 based on user testing & feedback
Added a "create account" option. This is because users wanted to have a record of the things they've previously mailed; in the case that they have to mail a similar thing, they can just select a previous mailing and go through those steps instead of inputting the same data again manually.
3-4. Iteration 2 based on user testing & feedback
Added number indications for the packing and mailing steps to give users a sense of progress.
