Problem: The Sep 2021 iOS update introduced unconventional icons and ambiguous UI, hindering navigation. Users also faced difficulty finding payment requests sent to them.
Goal: To improve navigation, reduce confusion to enhance usability, user satisfaction and customer retention, while aligning with Venmo's brand guidelines.
Role: I was involved in all phases of the project which included exploration, problem framing, goal setting, user research, ideation, wireframing and prototyping.
Disclaimer: Not affiliated with Official Venmo.com. Concept project under Rutgers Creative X's Creative Labs Program.
Hetvi brought up how the ambiguous icons, stacked nav bar and cluttered UI led to a frustrating user experience for her.
Prompted by Hetvi's and our own frustrations with the Sep 2021 updated Venmo app, we found that the drastic changes in icons, and navigation bar had caused confusion among others as well. Through surveys and interviews, we confirmed widespread dissatisfaction. Recognizing the importance of user experience in customer retention, we decided to redesign Venmo as part of the creative labs.
We collectively conducted a product audit to understand the current user experience and users' pain points.
Problem Statement
Venmo's iOS update introduced unfamiliar icons and navigation challenges, compounded by difficulties locating payment requests. Our objective: optimize navigation, mitigate confusion, and elevate user satisfaction while adhering to Venmo's brand guidelines.
Research: A 115-response survey and 2 detailed interviews helped uncover additional pain points and validated our existing assumptions.
We prepared a quantifiable survey and distributed it through GroupMe chats, WhatsApp, Instagram and discord groups. Two in-depth interviews were also conducted to gather qualitative data about user's preferences, habits, motivations and pain points.
Key Findings: Most users couldn't understand the icons and were unsatisfied with the navigation bar with it's unnecessary crypto tab and ambiguous pay/request button.
Major insights and key takeaways from research
Design Sprint to rapidly ideate solutions for those crucial problems
1. The How Might We (HMW) activity helped us frame specific user pain points into questions which we then answered providing us with opportunities for innovative problem solving.
2. Our team collectively evaluated the designs of competitor apps as part of our mood-boarding activity. This helped us gain inspiration and insight into industry trends and best practices, which helped us identify areas where the competition excels or falls short, and generate ideas for potential improvements to our own app.
3. In the last stage of the sprint, we created paper sketches of the home screen. This step allowed us to quickly iterate on different design ideas and explore possible layouts before moving to digital designs.
Initial Wireframes
We were able to experiment with different layouts and identify potential issues early on. These wireframes allowed us to iterate quickly based on feedback from Creative X team.
The End Product: An Easy-to-Use Interface Even for Your Grandma
Style guide
Key Takeaways
Leading my first UX project in a collaborative setting was an enriching experience. Clear communication and collaboration proved crucial to keeping everyone aligned and on track. Weekly check-ins maintained our momentum, though unforeseen time demands for hi-fi designs arose.
From the design perspective, I think we should've designed more screens to demonstrate the holistic flow of pending payments and overall navigation. Additionally, hi-fi design iterations should have been prioritized in the wireframing stage to mitigate time constraints.
Next Steps
While this project addressed significant pain points for Venmo users, opportunities for further improvement remain. Potential next steps include:
- Addressing difficulty in finding unsaved contacts by streamlining search functionalities—a prevalent pain point from our research.
- Conduct in-depth research on app elements like colors, fonts, and interactions to enhance UI accessibility.
- Conduct user testing with a diverse group of Venmo users to evaluate the effectiveness of our design changes and gather quantitative data on user experience improvements.