Shutter Photo
Shutter is an international shopping app for photographers, filmmakers and everyone in between.
Overview
Shutter App was a personal project that I did in University. The professor prompted us to design an app from start to finish. I wanted to create an app that spoke to both of my creative outlets. Photography and user experience design. The reason a University project is in my portfolio is because it shows my design process and thinking.
The Problem
One of the biggest questions that gets asked in the photography world is, “What camera or lens did you take that picture with?” This question very rarely gets answered by your favorite photographer on social media and its super hard to choose which brand, body, focal length and accessories to choose from without having some expert advice.
My Hypothesis
I wanted to create an app that allow photographers and filmmakers of all levels to see what gear their favorite creators in the field were using and to buy that gear right within the app. This way the user would easily see all the information that they would need to make a purchasing decision all in one flow.
User Personas
I started by identifying who my users were. I created three personas that I believed would give me the best end results when user testing.
Jonni is a full-time filmmaker in his late 20s. He loves when his clients or others ask about his camera setup because he gets to share with them everything about his unique build. Shutter also allows him to express his creativity through the app with other creatives as well find good deals.
Ernst is the architect in his 50s. When he isn't at work, he is firstly a family man. He loves spending time with his children and spouse and capturing family memories. He needs a way to purchase a camera without getting lost during the purchasing process.
Aubrey is a university student who enjoys solving complex problems through visual storytelling. She wants her gear to reflect her art that she captures. Aubrey wants to have the best gear she can for the price so that she doesn’t feel limited by her tools.
Preliminary Wireframes
After I created the personas, I started creating simple wireframes in Figma to start create ideas an architectural structure for the app.
Usability Testing Results
After two rounds of moderated usability tests in Maze with 8 different users, the main purpose of the app fell short. The majority of users didn't find value in the social part of the app. Users just wanted to use the app as an way to review and purchase gear with some expert advice as needed. They said that most of the time well-know creatives already had a video or list somewhere on their profile where people could find there gear list.
The Solution
Going back the drawing board, I still felt like there was value in having gear lists for popular creators somewhere on the app. So on the discovery page of the app, I came up with a list of well-known creators with different backgrounds that I could find gear lists for and put that as a category on that discovery page.
I then did a third round of usability testing for that discovery page with 4 different users. The users found it helpful to know what kind of gear each type of creative was using for their specific field. So overall, knowing the gear your favorite creator was using became just a feature rather than the whole purpose of the app.I then did a third round of usability testing for that discovery page with 4 different users. The users found it helpful to know what kind of gear each type of creative was using for their specific field. So overall, knowing the gear your favorite creator was using became just a feature rather than the whole purpose of the app.
Challenges
Eliminate barrier to entry on application startup.
I created a way for users to enter into the app and start looking around without have to sign-up or log-in.
Create a minimalistic UI while keeping products as the focus.
Kiss - Keep It Simple Stupid
Provide a seamless & linear purchasing experience.
As an e-commerce app, the purchasing experience was always sought after as the MVP.
Takeaways
As a photographer myself, Shutter is an app that I have noticed that is missing from the marketplace. I wanted to communicate the importance of expressing yourself through different creative outlets and being able to find the right tools for the job. Through this process, I learned the importance of listening to the user and being able to pivot large features to fit the user’s needs.
Shutter Photo
Shutter is an international shopping app for photographers, filmmakers and everyone in between.
Overview
Shutter App was a personal project that I did in University. The professor prompted us to design an app from start to finish. I wanted to create an app that spoke to both of my creative outlets. Photography and user experience design. The reason a University project is in my portfolio is because it shows my design process and thinking.
The Problem
One of the biggest questions that gets asked in the photography world is, “What camera or lens did you take that picture with?” This question very rarely gets answered by your favorite photographer on social media and its super hard to choose which brand, body, focal length and accessories to choose from without having some expert advice.
My Hypothesis
I wanted to create an app that allow photographers and filmmakers of all levels to see what gear their favorite creators in the field were using and to buy that gear right within the app. This way the user would easily see all the information that they would need to make a purchasing decision all in one flow.
User Personas
I started by identifying who my users were. I created three personas that I believed would give me the best end results when user testing.
Jonni is a full-time filmmaker in his late 20s. He loves when his clients or others ask about his camera setup because he gets to share with them everything about his unique build. Shutter also allows him to express his creativity through the app with other creatives as well find good deals.
Ernst is the architect in his 50s. When he isn't at work, he is firstly a family man. He loves spending time with his children and spouse and capturing family memories. He needs a way to purchase a camera without getting lost during the purchasing process.
Aubrey is a university student who enjoys solving complex problems through visual storytelling. She wants her gear to reflect her art that she captures. Aubrey wants to have the best gear she can for the price so that she doesn’t feel limited by her tools.
Preliminary Wireframes
After I created the personas, I started creating simple wireframes in Figma to start create ideas an architectural structure for the app.
Usability Testing Results
After two rounds of moderated usability tests in Maze with 8 different users, the main purpose of the app fell short. The majority of users didn't find value in the social part of the app. Users just wanted to use the app as an way to review and purchase gear with some expert advice as needed. They said that most of the time well-know creatives already had a video or list somewhere on their profile where people could find there gear list.
The Solution
Going back the drawing board, I still felt like there was value in having gear lists for popular creators somewhere on the app. So on the discovery page of the app, I came up with a list of well-known creators with different backgrounds that I could find gear lists for and put that as a category on that discovery page.
I then did a third round of usability testing for that discovery page with 4 different users. The users found it helpful to know what kind of gear each type of creative was using for their specific field. So overall, knowing the gear your favorite creator was using became just a feature rather than the whole purpose of the app.I then did a third round of usability testing for that discovery page with 4 different users. The users found it helpful to know what kind of gear each type of creative was using for their specific field. So overall, knowing the gear your favorite creator was using became just a feature rather than the whole purpose of the app.
Challenges
Eliminate barrier to entry on application startup.
I created a way for users to enter into the app and start looking around without have to sign-up or log-in.
Create a minimalistic UI while keeping products as the focus.
Kiss - Keep It Simple Stupid
Provide a seamless & linear purchasing experience.
As an e-commerce app, the purchasing experience was always sought after as the MVP.
Takeaways
As a photographer myself, Shutter is an app that I have noticed that is missing from the marketplace. I wanted to communicate the importance of expressing yourself through different creative outlets and being able to find the right tools for the job. Through this process, I learned the importance of listening to the user and being able to pivot large features to fit the user’s needs.