Instagram GO, the motivator extension.

User Research

Visual Design

Prototype

User Testing & Iterations

Design System

Duration: 3 weeks

Completed: Sept 2021

Academic

Overview

Instagram GO is an extension of Instagram that, at its core, builds communities and connects users while motivating them to push their creativity to the next level.
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As a team of 5 designers in a UX boot camp, we designed an extension for Instagram because of its extensive user base and photographic nature to utilize as a solid foundation to direct our concept to motivate users to be creative and active.

Background

During the pandemic, people's negative outlook stemmed from the unwillingness or inability to interact actively with people. To alter the situation, we set our aim for the project to positively impact society by utilizing social media and inspiring content creation. Photography plays a significant role in sharing content on social media platforms like Instagram, which drove our central concept of the design.
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As 1 of the 5 designers on this project, I focused on the overall user experience, visual design, and interaction design.

Below are key achievements for this project:
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1) Time efficiency by creating a mini design system. Due to the time constraint, we needed to find a method to create prototypes for testing and final presentation timely. I constructed a mini design system in Figma that consisted of low and high-fidelity components to share with the rest of my team to utilize.
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2) Built a replica of Instagram to gather accurate insights. For our user tests to gather insightful data, I opted to replicate the live Instagram user interface.
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3) Collaboration with team members from different backgrounds. By working in a team of professionals from the graphic design, marketing, and content writing industries, our team dynamic promoted an efficient workflow and growth from learning amongst peers. Instagram GO is an extension of Instagram that, at its core, builds communities and connects users while motivating them to push their creativity to the next level.As a team of 5 designers in a UX boot camp, we designed an extension for Instagram because of its extensive user base and photographic nature to utilize as a solid foundation to direct our concept to motivate users to be creative and active.

Discovery

Through user interviews, we were trying to evaluate how photography could positively affect the lifestyle of social media users and whether other alternatives can also have a positive influence.
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We conducted interviews with 8 avid social media users in the age group ranging from 25-40 and also acquired quantitative data through Instagram Story surveys to have more validating insights.
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Below are Instagram Story survey data:

Here are the insights we received:
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1) Photography brings optimism. Around 77% of our survey feedback states that photography empowers people to go outside, strive to create inspiring content, and interact with others.

‍2) Fitness also can bring a positive influence. Around 88% of our survey feedback states that fitness promotes an energetic lifestyle.

3) Extrinsic motivations incentivize people. Around 75% of our survey feedback states that incentives motivate them by offering competitions, challenges, and prizes.

Defining the Issue

Based on the feedback gathered from quantitative and qualitative data, we faced tremendous variation in motivators. We began to explore ways to integrate and merge the different motivators as an inclusive feature.

Objectives and Approach

By analyzing the insight we gathered from social media users, we:

‍1) Easy Access to Points of Interests Nearby. We planned to build an interactive tool enabling social media users to conveniently share their points of interest and create inspiring content via the location service.
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2) Promoting physical activities. We aimed to design a feature which could enable the recording of walking distance for social media users to build toward an energetic lifestyle.
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3) Incorporate intentional interaction. We opted to find a way for people to obtain self-recognition and sustain a fulfilling lifestyle.

Staying true to the features we want to implement, we constructed a user flow diagram to guide us as we move into the prototyping phase.

Prototype, Test, and Iterate

When we began sketching our design, we decided to keep the overall aesthetics of Instagram and build the GO elements (colour, icons, and post structure) unique simultaneously.
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Here are some key features we implemented:
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1) An interactive map. To enable users to discover nearby points of interest, we decided to integrate a map with a "hold-and-release" interaction on the GPS marker to activate the camera for quick snapshots.
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2) Steps tracking. Applying a steps tracker for our feature empowers the users to keep track of walking distance when traversing to points of interest.
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3) Creating challenges. We designed a platform that allows Instagram users to join or create challenges to incentivize interactions. There is potential for businesses to participate in and reward competitions and challenges.
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4) Position of GO icon. We opted to place the GO icon on the main navigation bar for ease of access.

In the first round of testing, we received positive feedback. However, there needed to be more insightful data because it was difficult to interact with our sketched wireframes. We created a digital prototype to perform a second round of user tests.

By conducting another round of tests for our mid-fidelity prototype, we discovered that some visual queues were performing below what we anticipated.

Here are some findings:
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1) The progress bar was difficult to locate on challenge screens. The size and placement of the progress bars made it difficult for users to view their progress. We promptly adjusted our progress bars to progress rings because the circular rings were more welcoming and seemed virtually easier to fill.

‍2) Selected icons needed to be clarified. Some of the icons did not convey the message we had intended. For example, the flag pole icon we initially utilized needed to be clarified for our users because they believed that the feature represented achievements instead of goals. As a result, we replaced it with a checkered flag to communicate the message more clearly.

Progress Indicator: Before

Progress Indicator: After

Goals Icon: Before

Goals Icon: After

Final Design

By incorporating all the feedback from previous user tests and iterations, highlights of the final design are shown below (Figma prototype available here):

To seamlessly launch Instagram GO, Instagram would post an official story (a common practice for Instagram) with a blue ring to announce the new extension.

Instagram GO will show you how to get to the point of interest of your choice.

Users can choose from joining public challenges, private challenges, or free roaming.

Want to capture the moment? Use the shortcut we carefully crafted into Instagram GO.

Takeaway

Here are some takeaways:

‍1) Efficiency is key. With our time constraint, each person had to contribute in their own way efficiently, playing to their strengths and being willing to communicate with each other.
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2) Willingness to step out of comfort zone. Keep an open mind to new ideas and philosophies to learn and develop. Be willing to integrate new methods or workflows to improve efficiency. Never set boundaries to limit yourself.
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3) Be mindful of knowledge beyond my expertise. By presenting our concept to industry professionals at "Demo Day," the feedback we received from data analysts and cyber security professionals offered us a broader mindset. For instance, cyber security issues need to be addressed when we encounter projects related to the tech industry.

Work

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