The Bibim provides opportunities for expats to build friendships through exploring events with a clear purpose in a language they know.
#UX Research #End-to-end #Self-initiated
Story
When I lived in China, it wasn't easy to find opportunities to connect with people.
I arrived in China when I was 26, being excited about new adventures as an independent young woman. However, it wasn’t easy to find people my age who had similar interests and values. I joined the gym, but I wasn’t able to communicate with ladies in their 50s who didn’t speak English. I started feeling a barrier that I couldn’t overcome.
Camping on the Great Wall
Survey
How are expats doing in Korea? 🇰🇷
After coming back to Korea in 2020, I read an article that explained the rapid increase of foreigners in Korea, which triggered my curiosity. ”The number of expats in Korea is expected to grow to 25% of the total population in Korea by 2024. As it’s rapidly growing, there’s a higher need for a community that helps expats to settle emotionally and physically.” (Korean Immigration Service)
To find out the needs and pain-points related to expats' social life in Korea, I conducted a public survey. It was so fascinating that people were interested in this topic. Within 2 days, I was able to get responses from 194 people.
“ We want to connect (74%) with new people,
but we are not confident (69%).”
Interview
Let’s hear their stories carefully.
I interviewed 5 expats in Korea. They were from 5 different countries, and the range of time in Korea was from 2 months to 7 years. What I found about this interview session is that telling your story sometimes involves vulnerability about your struggle. I believe that great UX design comes from the designer’s true heart of caring about users. For one of the interviewees, I took a bus for 1 hour to interview her at her work place. I showed that I care about her, and I was able to hear her deep stories.
Core Takeaways
I recorded each interview and analyzed core data to find out their common pain-points and needs.
Hurdles
“Language is the biggest barrier of our life in Korea” (100%)
“We want to avoid feeling awkward from not knowing others’ expectations (cultural and common interests)” (100%)
“We are not sure where to find opportunities to meet new people” (80%)
”We experienced lack of consistency with meetups as they went on” (80%)
Expectations
“We would like to bring friends in order to feel peace of mind”
"Encouraging," "positive," and "care" were the top three things people want in a community
Considerations
“We consider location, purpose, and participants when it comes to events”
Solutions
Time to Map Out Solutions!
I set a timer for 20 minutes to write down as many ideas as possible based on the users' common goal above. Then, I summarized the ideas into some common themes: Purposeful, Consistent, and Safe.
With these ideas, I organized them in a chart based on efficiency and difficulty. As a result, I got the following ideas:
More functions besides MVP
Logo idea
Bibim means mixing in Korean, particularly relating to ingredients in yummy dishes. One of the most well known Korean dishes is bibimbap, which reminded me of the multicultural community in Korea. The ingredients are different, but they make a beautiful combination in a bowl, which happens when people unite and connect.
ㅂ is sound of B in Korean. So I made a combination of b and i (from bibim) which forms ㅂ. The main themes I would like to communicate through this logo are connection and combination.
Results
Turning solutions into visual design!
We need to make an app that finds events that match users’ languages and interests, so they can find a supportive and safe community that deepens their values and friendships.
1. Purposeful —
Picking Interests & Event Categories
Picking interests is a part of the sign-up process. Based on their choices, Bibim offers event recommendations on the main page. Since the events have a purpose beyond making friends, they can be an ice breaker without the awkwardness. I made this part optional, so that users can always come back later to choose their interests after taking a look at the main page in Bibim.
2. Consistent —
Brief Information & Event Suggestions
In each event profile, I made sure to indicate the four main things that people wanted to know before making decisions. Through this process, users’ Worry will turn into Wow instead. Also, as 80% of users expressed their hope to be with someone who they can rely on, I added the “Your Friends’ Picks!” and “Go Back to See Familiar Faces!” sections.
3. Safe —
Rule Agreement in Sign-up Process & Profile Section
To ensure a place where users feel safe, I added a Terms of Service that users must read and agree on before they finish their sign-up process. Also, by revealing a little of each user’s profile, I struck a balance between showing authentic people you can trust while also maintaining users’ privacy.
Usability Testing
Let's see how it works on real users!
I interviewed 4 participants. Instead of giving them a written scenario, I let them figure out a way to navigate MVP functions, so that they could comfortably explore and give me feedback freely.
“Making friends despite living in an international community is better than being alone. It’s like summer camp!”
“Yay! I have been looking for a discussion group in a mutual language!”
“Bibim is a good way to start a friendship, but it would hopefully go beyond this app—deeper.”
“I like how I can just click categories for whatever I want to do.”
You know what they say about assuming...
There were times I was tempted to ask questions to users based on what I assumed. It's like when you assume two people are dating, and you are never right! Go and ask instead! It was helpful to have people around who would ask me, "where did that come from?"
UX is a Story of People
It was such a nice experience to connect with people before asking for interviews. It is wonderful to be able to hear someone's stories, heart-to-heart. Good work comes when you care about people.