At a Glace
The following is a proposal for a website similar to Time Out, but for suggesting date locations and activities. The site can suggest venues based on what date you are on, be it first or second date, a special occasion such as an anniversary, and even atmosphere of venue. I chose this domain because though there are many mobile applications and websites to find partners, the online dating world could aim to tailor dating experiences by suggesting date activities around London
Approach
I began the project by interviewing three Londoners who have recently dated to find out how they would like to find date related information. My initial aim was to conduct informal interviews to hear about unbiased dating experiences in London, followed by conducting a card sort from my observations and findings. I wanted to get an understanding of what makes avenue “date appropriate” while also finding out more information on where people go or how they agree upon a location. I interviewed a participant who had become recently single in the past year and could now be described as a “serial dater,” sometimes going on up to four Tinder dates a week. Another interviewee was more of a traditionalist, not using any dating apps but had been on several dates in the past year and often met potential dates in bars or through mutual friends. The last participant I interviewed is in a long term relationship and often plans date nights with their partner for special occasions or if they need to catch up on some quality time together. Apart from the interviews, I also did a small scale informal review of Time OutLondon which became incredibly useful to me when building my sitemap and wireframes, as the way the information is laid out on the site was what I was aiming my own site to look like in terms of refining results when users look for date options.
Domain Model
The interviews offered meaningful landmarks to the domain model (such as the complexity of compatibility between two people and the consequences of dating), but they also resulted in what elements were not relevant for the sitemap. Card sorting is a heuristic approach to obtain information through content and categories. Naturally, by asking participants to do a card sort it was easy to get a good idea of how dating is categorized by occasion, amount participants want to spend on their date, activity, atmosphere, location, and timing.
Sitemap
I was able to implement my card sort findings on my sitemap. Hierarchies yield an easy way to organize information and are a great place to start to start the process. The top-down approach enables a quick comprehension on the scope of the site, minus the content-inventory process, which can be quite extensive. This enabled me to grasp the scope of the website without going through an extensive content-inventory process. You can begin to identify major content areas and exploring possible organizations schemes that will provide access to that content.
User Journey and Wireframes
Through usability testing, I evaluated my wireframes from an IA perspective with two potential users. My aim was to evaluate how well organized, labelled, and easy navigation was for users, as well as ensuring the tasks were realistic. I did this by giving both users three tasks to complete and presenting my paper wireframes. While my participants explained their navigation, I asked the if I could record their voice so I could listen back on their comments and process. My chosen tasks were inspired by my initial interviews with Londoners as they each had very different dating situations. The tasks I asked users to complete were:
1. This weekend is predicted to be a rare sunny forecast in London. Your partner just received a promotion at work and you want to go for cocktails in an outside area to soak up the sun’s rays and celebrate.
2. You have been on an initial date with someone you met on Tinder and really want to get to know them better. You are looking for a casual setting and don’t want to spend too much money.
3. You have asked a mutual friend on a date and really want to wow them. The budget isn’t a problem and you are happy to splurge on this person as they have characteristics of spousal material. You want to go all out!
