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Final Year Semester 2 Hand In Index

All IXD503 Posts

All IXD503 Research

IXD503 UI/Design Posts

IXD503 Sketches

Consumer Platform Hi-Fi

Business Platform Hi-Fi

Promotional Site

Launch Strategy

Colophon Report

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Colophon Report

Using my sketches as a reference for my layout I set to work creating pages to hold my written content. I started by creating my colophon in Figma, before later moving on to recreate the design in Adobe InDesign. The reason I made this decision is because I find InDesign quite awkward to use, as such I felt quite hindered when it came to quickly explore different layout options as it would take me longer to iterate, by starting in Figma and later replicating my chosen designs in InDesign I could avoid this.

Overall, I'm happy with how my report has turned out. I ended up really liking my decision to have imagery backgrounds that bled into the other pages, it helped tackle the issue of excessive white space whilst also adding a creative flare. Additionally also like that my design has come out very consistent overall, making it appear well-polished and thought through

Read Finished Report

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Colophon Report Sketches

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Colophon Report Content

To kickstart my report I wrote the content of my Colophon. In my Colophon I cover the following:

What Pitch In is

How Pitch In Works

My strengths and weaknesses going into the project

The challenges I faced during the project

Who the target market of Pitch In is

What technology/tools I used during the project

Final conclusion reflecting on the project

My aim during the writing of my Colophon's content was to outline all that I've accomplished during the project, from what research I conducted to the product decisions I made. Overall I think I've achieved this goal I've covered how my process has shaped Pitch In into what it is today, for instance in one section labelled "lack of topic knowledge" I explain that my initial understanding of the issue behind Pitch In was limited at the beginning so I had to make up for it with lots of research, I then go into detail regarding what research I conducted and how it shaped the product such as the use of user testing to find faults or room for improvement in my product designs.

Read Written Content

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Business Platform User Tests - Round 3 - Changes Based on Results

During my third round of user testing, the users I tested with were able to competently move through the app with ease and no guidance. The only issue that was revealed during this round of testing was that the input for selecting a product group was incorrect, however, this has now been corrected to say "product group"

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Consumer Platform User Tests - Round 3 - Changes Based on Results

During my third round of user testing, it was revealed that I had overlooked the need for functionality of changing a user's location in the "my account" section settings. This was an incredibly important catch as otherwise, users would have needed to create new accounts every time they moved so that they could set a new location, now if, for instance, a user is to move city they can simply update their location.

Additionally, there was an action on the app that was missing its prototype connection, this connection has now been made to resolve that issue.

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Business Platform User Tests - Round 3 (Self-Discovery Test)

In my past user tests, I've intentionally focused on the key features/flows of my product, however, to be sure I don't neglect the rest of my product I want to conduct one more user test which I've dubbed a "self-discovery" test as I'm not providing a structure for the test, I simply want the users in to explore the app however they like in this session.

During the user test, all the users tested we able to navigate the app and complete flows with ease. The only issue that I discovered during these testing rounds was that the input used for selecting which product group a product belongs to had been labelled "sort products by." This input label will be updated to correctly reflect what the question being asked is.

Read User Test Notes

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Consumer Platform User Tests - Round 3 (Self-Discovery Test)

In my past user tests, I've intentionally focused on the key features/flows of my product, however, to be sure I don't neglect the rest of my product I want to conduct one more user test which I've dubbed a "self-discovery" test as I'm not providing a structure for the test, I simply want the users in to explore the app however they like in this session.

During the user test, I discovered two new issues with the design of the app. The first issue discovered was some missing prototype links that caused the user to not be able to complete a flow. These links will be reconnected. The second issue that was there was no existing flow for changing a user's location, this means that if a user were to move city they would need to create a new account to continue helping their local community. Thankfully a flow for changing these details already exists on the business platform of Pitch In, so I simply need to port these designs across.

Read User Test Notes

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Future Plans - Moving Forward in Invent 2021

I have good news! I just heard that my Invent 2021 application was successful and that I'll be moving forward to the qualifying rounds of the programme. Whilst it's still quite far from realising it's potential, it's a good first step, and it's also nice to see that Pitch In is able to capture the interest of investors.

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Future Plans - Applying to Invent 2021

Hoping to see if I can take Pitch In further I've applied to Catalyst's Invent 2021 Programme, which should hopefully provide me access to mentorship and funding if I am to succeed in the programme.

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Launch Strategy Design

Using the layout sketches as a reference for structure, and the written content I had produced based on the research across both semesters I started to design the finalised Launch Strategy.

Click the link below to read the finished pdf

Read Launch Strategy

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Launch Strategy Sketches

Having written the content for my launch strategy in a google doc, I started to prepare sketches as plans for how I could present this content, these sketches will then further act as the basis for the completed page designs of my Launch Strategy.

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Launch Strategy Content

Taking my research from both the first and second semester into account, I've created a launch strategy plan that outlines how I want Pitch In to operate as a business as well as how I plan to bring awareness to the product during its launch.

My plan for how I wish Pitch In to operate centres around how Pitch In is funded and how it plans to spend its money. In the plan, I outline that Pitch In is a non-profit and as such plans to reinvest the excess money left over after covering operational costs into homeless shelters as part of its effort to continue the fight against homelessness.

When it comes to Pitch In's marketing plans I break my marketing approach down into the following sections:

- Distribution Channels

- Social Media Content

- The Giving Report (Content Blog)

- Promotional Website

- Point of Purchase Marketing

- Transit Advertising

- Merchandising

To keep this post concise I won't go into the reasoning behind these choices here, but if you would like to learn more you can read the written content of my Launch Strategy by clicking the link below.

Read Launch Strategy Content

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POP (Point of Purchase) Marketing and why it can help Pitch In

What is POP Marketing

Typically POP marketing refers to businesses strategically placing low cost or promotional products nearby the checkout area of their store so as to drive further sales through impulse buys.

However, this definition is overly relevant to Pitch In, for Pitch In's purposes POP marketing would be the placement of marketing materials such as promotional business cards or A5 Displays at the checkout points of stores that join our platform.

Why use POP Marketing?

The businesses on the Pitch In platform are incentivised to promote Pitch In as it can result in higher profits for their business. This is especially true if they are being to convert their existing customers into Pitch In users as their loyalty to the local business increases the chances that this new user will donate products from their business. Taking this into consideration it makes sense to provide the local businesses on the platform with the means to convert new users, in the form of POP marketing materials.

The example of LoyalBe

I was first introduced to this method of marketing for digital products with a company that did some freelance work for in the past. LoyalBe is a belfast based company that specialises in digitalising the loyalty card system. Users can essentially build loyalty points with any local business that joins with the platform each time they shop with this business.

When I did work for LoyalBe one of the tasks I was issued with was creating promotional business cards that included QR Codes that could be used to download the app. These cards would then be placed at checkout and could be taken by customers so that they could join the businesses' loyalty card system. You may have even noticed the cards in shops around you if you live in the Belfast area, for instance I remember spoting them in Guilt Trip Coffe & Donuts.

Sources

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Source 2

LoyalBe

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What types of clothing do homeless individuals need most?

The topic of what goods those experiencing homelessness need most was something I briefly touched upon when interviewing Another World Belfast last semester, but I wanted to delve into the topic further to see what clothing items were needed most.

The reason for studying this is that part of my plan with Pitch In is for the business to operate as a non-profit with excess funds raised beyond those needed to cover operational costs being reinvested into homeless shelters in the form of supplies. I thought it would be a good idea to supply Pitch In branded clothing whenever shelters ask for clothing articles (however if other items are needed more these will be prioritised) as this would allow us to both help those in need whilst also raising awareness of the platform among those in need and those who can help them.

After compiling the thoughts of multiple homeless charities on this topic I can confidently say that the clothing/objects that homeless individuals need the most are the following:

Warm Clothing, eg: hats, scarves

Undergarments, eg: socks, underwear

Blankets

Essential Objects, eg: bags/boxes for carrying belongings, water bottles

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Sources

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Usage of Public Transport across Socio-Economic Groups

As part of Launch Strategy planning, I have started researching transit advertising. Whilst planning the Launch Strategy I had the hypothesis that transit advertising (advertising on modes of public transport or hubs of public transport) would be an ideal method of advertising to our customer base, my theory was based on the idea that those from low-income backgrounds were more likely to use public transport and that these individuals would also be based in urban areas in which public transport was more comprehensive.

Confirming the theory

According to the study, "Transport and inequality" published by the UK Government, identifies the link between being from a low-income background and using public transport more so than those from more privileged backgrounds, as those from a background of higher-income are more likely to own cars or access other forms of private transport.

Transport and inequality study

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Pitch In Promotional Website Build

Using the mockups I designed as a basis, I've constructed the mockups as accurately as is possible within Webflow. I decided to use Webflow as in the first semester this year there was lots of talk about the future is "No Code" so I thought this would be a good opportunity to familiarize myself with some no-code tools. Overall Webflow is a powerful tool, I was surprised by how much can be achieved in the tool, however, I acknowledge it is not perfect, but for the purpose of general website building, it can do most of the work needed by the client so long as they are not looking for a web application.

View Website