Case study
datafy
Apr. 2024
datafy
Designing a novel end-to-end application that allows user to securely monetize their data.
Timeline
Tools Used
Team
Scope
Problem
Data sharing has become increasingly common with daily internet usage. It can be a scary and unrewarding experience.
Solution
Build a product that allows users to earn rewards from sharing their data and learn best practices about security.
Responsibilities
As the sole designer, it was completely on me to manage the project, conduct user research, ideate concepts, wireframe, and finally gather and iterate on feedback.
Methodology
Methodologies used included user personas, user/task flows, site mapping, wireframing, user testing, and information architecture.
Goal 01
Understand concerns about sharing data with companies online.
Goal 02
Learn what would make sharing data rewarding and fun.
Goal 03
Determine what features make up a reliable experience.
User Personas
After coming up with goals and conducting my interviews, I gained some great insight to how people thought about their data and what they were looking for.
Affinity Mapping
Affinity mapping helps categorize and make sense of sentiments I find and is a great way to prioritize features.
Helplessness
Almost all interviewees expressed some sort of feeling of helplessness. They felt like there was not much they could do about their data being shared and most didn't even bother trying to mitigate the risk.
Incentives
Every interviewee loved the idea of earning rewards from their data. We share our data constantly and companies profit off of it one way or another so why shouldn't consumers have the same opportunity?
Security
Everyone I spoke with expressed the need for more transparency. People know their data is out there, but who currently has it and how it's being used is often a mystery. Some sort of feature that educates users about common practices would be a huge addition.
Sitemap and User Flows
After synthesizing the information from my initial interviews, I was ready to start mapping out the experience. Starting with simple flows for how I imagined the user to behave, I began pathing the app from onboarding to checkout.
Design
Once I had an idea of how I wanted the experience to play out, I was able to begin wireframing. Below are a few of the main screens I mapped out.
Prototype Testing
I find the best test results come from a mixture of methods. Utilizing one-on-one interviews, Maze testing, eye mapping, and satisfaction scores, I was able to gain valuable feedback on my designs. Below are a few pain points I actioned on.
Pain Point 01
First feel was too playful for an industry like data. Colors were too busy and didn't feel as professional as it could be.
Solution 01
Pivot the branding to reflect a more secure sentiment, flatten out rounded edges, change color scheme and only use color when necessary.
Pain Point 02
While security score was well received, it was a little unclear what measures needed to be taken to improve their score.
Solution 02
Add a simple visual indicator for areas where users could improve their security score.
Pain Point 03
Users requested the ability to return to a quiz later on in case they want to exit.
Solution 03
Add 'Save for later' button that returns users to the quiz page so they can complete the quiz later on. The page also shows the progress of each quiz.
Final Design
The final concept became a gamified experience that allows users to monetize and take control of their data.
It's clean, intuitive, and effective. For a first of its kind, I think it sets a great precedent for similar apps in the future.
Conclusion
Creating a novel app with so many different elements was a fun challenge. Designing an experience that includes data security, shopping, activity monitoring and more stretched my capabilities and I proved to myself that it was doable with no baseline. Not only was it doable, but it turned out to be an intuitive and effective app that anyone could pick up and benefit from.