Project Overview
NeighborTools connects tool owners with renters in a safe, secure peer-to-peer sharing platform. Owners make money from unused tools, while renters save by avoiding purchases and supporting local communities.
In a team of three for 3 month we worked to design a website to facilitate the process of lending and borrowing tools among people.
Problem Statement
People struggled to find affordable tools for occasional use, and the lack of storage space made owning these tools even more impractical. Renting from traditional stores was too expensive, and borrowing from friends or family was not always an option, leading to frustration and inefficiency.
Our Solution
We developed a user-friendly website that connects neighbors for seamless tool sharing. Our platform ensures transparent pricing, easy booking, and reliable tool condition descriptions, eliminating the hassle of traditional rental stores. Users can conveniently browse nearby tools, check availability in real-time, and enjoy the affordability and accessibility of shared resources within their community.
User-Centered Design Process
For this project we used the User-Centered Design to ensure always keeping our users at the heart of every design decision. The process includes analyzing the problem and users, defining the features and product flows, designing screens using wire-framing and evaluating the app with real user testing. This is done in a cyclical way in order to constantly iterate and improve on the product.
THE SOLUTION
Let's Take a Look at the Final Design Before We Move Forward
In the video below, I demonstrate the flow for searching and borrowing a tool on the NeighborTools website.
DISCOVER
Now Let's Uncover the Journey to the Final Design
In the beginning of our journey we decided to educate ourselves to better understand who we are designing for and how users are currently rent/lend their tools, so we conducted an initial interview with 8 individuals.
Six out of eight interviewees expressed concerns about Potential Damage to borrowed tools and the Risk Of Fraudulent Activity.
Voices of the interviewees
Affinity Mapping
To sort out the info, we used Affinity Mapping, grouping user thoughts into clear trends.
Here's what we found is essential for our users:
- Concern regarding tools Damage.
- Knowing about condition or health of tools.
- Finding tools close to their location.
- Finding tools that fits their budget.
Checking Out What the Competition Is Up to to See Where We Can Shine?
We looked at Facebook Marketplace, as a good customer to customer app and Airbnb, as a
successful app for sharing personal properties, and eight other similar websites.
By
studying them, we learned valuable lessons to implement the user experience of our product.
We used them to inspire to build our information architecture and user flow.
- We discovered that we should highlight great features that Neighbortools has like search by distance, price suggestions, and confirming tools before deducting money.
- Also we inspired how to present these features and have a seamless and smooth borrowing journey.
Gaining Deeper Insight Into User Needs Through a Survey
We received a total of 46 responses to our survey.
76% of participants consider distance in borrowing a tool
and
65% of them preferred less than 5 miles traveling distance.
The most important factors in choosing a tool to borrow:
- Distance (75.5%) | Availability (71.5%)
- Rental cost (65.6%) | Tool condition (59.1%)
The most trust and security features for borrowing tools:
- Clear and updated images & description (72%) | Secure payment (72%)
- Clear rental terms & conditions (65%) | Transparent pricing (59%)
- Insurance & liability coverage (50%)
Top Takeaway of Research
Users prefer to rent the tools near by.
Users are concerned about the current condition of tools.
Transparent pricing and convenient payment are essential.
Seeing tool availability in real-time is crucial for users.
Users have concern regarding potential damage or loss.
DEFINE
Who We Are Designing For?
After conducting interviews, we identified a User Persona and brought it to life with visual, to ensure always kept in mind who we were designing for and could easily see what features were needed to make this product useful for our target audience.
Mapping Out the User Journey
We developed a user flow diagram to ideate and visualize what screens and interactions users would go through.
DEVELOP
Design Challenges and Potential Solutions
*** To better understand the solutions, I am presenting them in high-fidelity designs.
Challenge:
Uncertainty regarding Insurance and tool protection against potential damage or loss.
Solution:
Challenge:
Concerns regarding both the condition or health of the tool (specially power tools) and whether it matches the pictures provided.
Solution:
Challenge:
Proximity is an important factor for renters. Most of the users don’t like to travel far when renting a tool.
Solution:
Team Creativity: Unleashing the Potential of Teamwork
We brainstormed and sketched various design ideas for the NeighborTools website, taking into consideration the needs and pain points of our user persona. We prioritized essential features, such as home page navigation, searching tools, and creating search result and tool description pages. Through collaboration, we converged on a design that pulled elements from all the sketches before moving to the low-fidelity wireframing stage.
**Click any sketch to view details
HomePage
Profile
Search Flow
Tool Details
Iterative Design Process: Usability Testing (Round 1)
We iteratively created and tested wireframes and interactive prototypes to refine our
design.
By conducting multiple rounds of user testing, we ensured that our final product met
the needs of our user persona.
Iterative design process for 'HomePage'
Iterative design process for 'Tool's Description' page
DELIVER
Design Inspiration: Mood Board
In order to define the visual direction for NeighborTools, we revisited the persona and reminded
ourselves what we wanted our users to feel and think whilst using the website.
We wanted to
foster trust, establish a friendly, community-focused environment, and convey the
message that borrowing tools should be fast, affordable and hassle-free.
Creating Consistency: A Visual Style Guide for the Product
A visual style guide was created to ensure complete consistency across the product. This guide ensures that typography, color, and UI elements are correctly used by other designers, whether they are recreating or building upon the app.
Ensuring Color Accessibility for All Users
The contrast between the foreground and background colors of the primary and secondary buttons was
tested on color blindness websites
to ensure acceptability.
Iterative Design Process: Usability Testing (Round 2)
Search Result page
Tool's Description page
Delivered Design Pages
Home Page
Tool Details
Search Results
Search Result on Map
Search Filter
Confirmation Page
Creating Account
Inbox
Click an image to enlarge • Swipe to see more →
This Journey Taught Me ...
Reflecting on this project, it was a great learning opportunity for me as a UX designer. Working with a stakeholder and a team of designers taught me the importance of collaboration, communication, and flexibility. I learned to approach design decisions with a balance of user feedback and business goals, and to iterate designs based on ongoing feedback. Moving forward, I will continue to build on these skills and apply them to future projects.
Next Step
If I was to continue working on this project, my next step would be finalizing the mobile version of the platform and evaluating current designs through more user experience testing.