Birdup
UI/UX & Service Design
Team
Individual Project
Skillset
UX Research / UI&UX Design / Prototyping / Visualization
Project Info
Personal side project created within 6 weeks
Summer 2022
Project Overview
Birdup is a birder resource platform focused on richer activity information, easier fund-raising, and more birder employment possibilities. This project was inspired and created after the in-class project Bird Rolling Calendar.
Background
Why Birding & Birder User Group?
Birding originated as a bird hunting activity in the 13th century, and gradually developed into a bird watching activity driven mostly by interest or for the purpose of research in the late 19th century.
Why Important?
Ever since a long time ago, organized birding activity and data collection can not only help improve the relationship between human construction and the natural environment, but also generate high-quality research-grade recording information for bird studies, provide a wealth of raw data for conservation researchers and provide basic (corrective improvement) information for local community building.
Initial Research
Over the 14 years from 2006 to 2020, there were an average of 5.23 million birders in the U.S. However, less than 15% of the total population aged 16-24.
Interview & Analysis
Current Issues: | 1 | The bird watching/recording process is not standardized, the data provided is huge and complicated, the accuracy of some of them is questionable, and it is relatively cumbersome to use. | 2 | The existing platform is not very friendly to non-professionals/non-birdwatching enthusiasts (eBird). | 3 | The membership index is unstable, and the young group is small and prone to discontinuity. | 4 | Insufficient education efforts and possible vacancies for new members
Stakeholder Map
The birder and birding ecosystem consists of a complex but relatively fixed web of supply and demand relationships. The main sources of human and financial supports are local government, local community, conservation groups/NGOs, and educational institutions. In consideration of the project feasibility and scope, I chose to limit the target user group to local community/people and bird-related NGOs.
The main problems of current birder community and birding products:
Low user mobility | High barrier for new members | Inadequate resource and fundings
How to
create a self-sustaining business model of supply and demand within a relatively closed ecosystem of user and resource.
Introducing…
Birdup
Main Features
Event hub for all users
Explore
Easier event exploration with necessary information on distinctive card display.
3 Different Card Design
Intuitive information and clear interaction guidance for Event & Trip, Group & guide, and Recruitment posts.
Search
Flexible search filter system with essential element controls and event “hotspot” in map view.
Search by Date
Choose desired date to view distribution and information of events at the same time. Easier comparison when picking favored event.
Register
Event Info page with everything you need to know in advance.
Event Detail
Event information, rating, comments from previous participants…
Payment Process
Neat payment page and clear event confirmation details.
Message & Notification
Responsive notification and supportive group chat system
Manage Event
Event card design showing event information, event process / timeline and birding tips, easy to manage and preview.
Calendar View
Interactive event card in calendar view, easy to navigate and checking times.
User Role Circulation
One solution for the lack of user and source mobility is creating an auto-cyclic user ecosystem by encouraging easy and regulated role shifting process within the relatively fixed user group.
User Journey Map
Our target user groups are:
Birders | Bird Researchers | Conservation Researchers | Students | Educators | NGOs
They can be mainly summarized in 2 groups:
Participants | Organizers
Insights
The pain points for birding leaders/event organizers are concentrated in the early planning stage, which is needing a holistic planning system or templates to assist this process.
The pain points for birding participants/beginners lie in registration stage and attending stage. Since people want more involvement with the nature and and less technology distractions in the attending stage, my design mostly focused on helping participants in finding events and faster registration.