INKTANK
A mobile app for users looking for tattoo inspirations and artists. Getting a tattoo for many is an incredibly personal experience. There are very few apps on the market that seem to address the complexity and emotional element of finding the right design and tattoo artist. INKTANK aims to fill that gap!
2018
Areas of Focus
-
Market Research
-
User Research
-
Personas & Journey Mapping
-
Card sorting & sitemapping
Challenges
1. The GREATEST challenge was creating a service for a product that is forbidden in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia where I was residing at the time of the project.
2. IT and security issues, due to the strict restrictions in Saudi Arabia. This threat was easily avoided by using VPN services.
Read more about the cultural challenges I faced in this project in my blogpost.
Key findings from the competitor analysis and user research revealed that users want:
-
an easy way to find designs and artists
-
an easy way to schedule appointments with artists
-
a way to save and 'test' the design first
Research also revealed that most users get a tattoo for sentimental reasons and competitor brands failed to provide emotional value. To fix this it was important to identify pain points and make finding the right design and tattoo artist an easy and enjoyable process to limit any feelings of future regret experienced by the user.
PROBLEM STATEMENT
Users need a simplified way of finding design inspirations and local artists because they want to feel they are making the right decision when choosing a tattoo style and artist that will give them emotional satisfaction without regrets. We will know this to be true when we see more users using our app to find local tattoo studios, as well as an increase in app ratings
and user reviews.
User Flows & Journey Mapping
The journey map and storyboard of persona Dave illustrates what emotions he may encounter when booking an artist.
Wireframing
The journey map and storyboard of persona Dave illustrates what emotions he may encounter when booking an artist.
Prototyping & Testing
Three test objectives were set to determine if users can:
-
locate and book an artist.
-
set up a preference style from their profile page.
-
browse for a design and save it.
Prototype
Prototype created with Invision.
Final Thoughts
User-centered design has taught me the value of empathizing with the user and considering their emotional journey throughout the entire design process.
I also learnt the importance of implementing visual planning in the early stages of the project and to be able to step away from design decisions when necessary.