MAKERSPACE

Timeline: 7 Weeks

Role: UX/UI Designer, UX Researcher

Tools: Figma, Adobe, Dall-E

Platform: iOS

MakerSpace connects creative professionals, freelancers, and small businesses with short-term, flexible workspace rentals tailored to their needs. From workshops to art studios, MakerSpace provides a user-friendly platform for browsing and booking fully-equipped spaces. Local owners can also monetize underutilized property while fostering a vibrant creative community.

PROBLEM SPACE

Creative professionals, freelancers, and hobbyists often lack access to affordable, flexible workspaces, which limits their potential. Long-term rental commitments and high costs make it difficult for them to find spaces equipped with the tools they need, stifling creativity and productivity.

How might we provide creatives with accessible, flexible workspaces that support and enhance their creative practice while fostering collaboration and community?

ULTIMATE IMPACT

MakerSpace will empower creative professionals, freelancers, and small businesses by providing them with accessible, flexible workspaces that enhance their creative practice, foster collaboration, and support economic growth, ultimately building a thriving community of innovators and makers.

PROCESS OVERVIEW

INITIAL RESEARCH

TARGET USERS

Artists & Hobbyists

Small Businesses Owners

Freelancers & Startups

Co-work Teams

ASSUMPTIONS & CONSTRAINTS

HYPOTHESIS:

By simplifying bookings and providing customizable, accessible spaces, MakerSpace addresses key pain points like availability, pricing, and equipment access, leading to higher user satisfaction and engagement among freelancers, creatives, and hobbyists.

INITIAL INTERVIEWS & SURVEY

Objectives: To understand how having an ideal workspace impacts creativity, pinpoint obstacles that hinder execution, and examine the time and financial investments users consider in their process.

Survey: I surveyed with 38 respondents who self-identify as having a creative profession or hobby to gather practical data on their age, locations, current spaces, needs, and roadblocks.

Interviewees: Interviews were conducted with eight users in the target demographic to gather and analyze both practical data points such as age and location, as well as conceptual information such as goals, inspirations, and motivations.

SURVEY SNAPSHOTS

INTERVIEW SNAPSHOTS

KEY TAKEAWAYS

Lack of Space

Limited space keeps users from prioritizing their creative projects

Ability to Focus

Dedicated workspace is important to most users to maintain focus

Cost

Cost is the most consistent roadblock amongst users in finding the ideal workspace

IDEATION & WIREFRAMES

Based on initial research, I put together a list of the most common pain points and user wants, and chose three that could ground the primary functions of MakerSpace.

FEATURE IDEATION

LOW-FIDELITY WIREFRAMES

USER TESTING & ITERATION

USER TESTING ROUND 1

Purpose: To assess the usability, navigation, and booking process to identify any user pain points and ensure the core functionalities meet user needs.

User Tasks:

Find Christian’s Workshop
Select reservation dates
Complete booking
Message host

Demographic: I tested nine users; five who self-identified within our target demographic, and four who did not, to assess usability across a broader spectrum of potential users.

ROUND 1 INSIGHTS

ITERATIONS

USER TESTING ROUND 2

Purpose: Focus on ensuring all necessary features were included and that the design was user-friendly, addressing feedback from the initial round to improve the overall experience.

Demographic: Eight additional users were tested. Three self-identified as creative professionals or hobbyists.

ROUND 2 INSIGHTS

BRANDING AND VISUAL IDENTITY

VISUAL IDENTITY

I chose "calm" and "creative" as the guiding principles for MakerSpace’s visual identity. The primary dark, muted teal conveys reliability, the secondary medium teal brings attention to action items, and golden yellow accents bring a touch of energy. The logo, featuring tools, highlights the platform’s hands-on, creative nature, with a modern and approachable design that resonates with both professionals and hobbyists.

TYPOGRAPHY

Rather than get creative (I leave that to the users), I used SF Pro typography for its clarity and seamless integration with iOS for a user-friendly experience.

IMAGE GENERATION

Recognizing that the high fidelity prototype would require many rental space images to be attractive, I used AI to generate potential rental spaces, ensuring both visual appeal and avoiding copyright issues. AI being an imperfect tool, it took some practice to generate images that weren’t… bizarre.