Client:  CoTripper CEO Krystin Hargrove

Role:  Researched in a team of 3, ideated and created solo project under consultation from a senior designer

Timeline: Sep. 2023-Nov.2023 (10 weeks)

Background

CoTripper is a lifestyle and parenting community for single moms. They aim to deliver travel destinations, products, and community information that will inspire single moms to travel more with kids. CoTripper’s  current  product includes a bi-monthly newsletter to single mom subscribers, covering all manner of travel related to support and empower single moms. They wants to explore product development opportunities exist to further grow their subscriber base.

After conducting research with 2 UX design colleagues,my role was to identify current user problems and opportunities to create an online community for single moms.  I defined key personas, user journey, and then created high-fidelity prototypes for both web and mobile users.

CoTripper has been struggling to attract new subscribers. The current user experience for subscriber growth includes a single landing page with a call to action to subscribe.

Current website

The Goals

Business goals

• Create a community for single mom and disrupt how society views single moms

• Build connections between single moms in the community

• Create more digital footprint (ie. More users volunteer to write blogs)

• Drive stronger word of mouth and increase subscribers from 400 to target of 10,000

User goals

• Looks for an online single mom community that they can trust and get useful information regarding traveling and resources for singe moms

• Wants to find communication channels to connect with other single moms on CoTripper

• Looks for a representation of the lifestyle and experience of single motherhood

 Offer a platform that provides useful resources for single moms to navigate their day to day life, and connect with other single moms through a safe online community and family trips.

The website prioritizes six main pages: blogs, resources, trips, get involved, about us, and contact us. In addition, there is also login/profile management pages to show exclusive features for the community members.

The homepage

• A hero banner with attention-grabbing image, tagline and mission statement to show the website's purpose and target audience.

• A clear call-to-action follows, inviting users to join the community.

• Show users what CoTripper offers ,which including featured blogs, signature trip and community events.

The community

• 3 different types of single mom lifestyles and their needs when they are looking for online community.

• The personal account profile allows user to access personalized information and perks.

• Uses can connect with other single moms on the platform by sending inbox message or joining annual trips

The resources

• Users find helpful information including life hacks, recommendations from experts and tips for travel planning on resource page.

• The get involved page allows single mom's to get to know each other in real life, and also encourages them to share their own experience by writing blogs or hosting community events.

SECONDARY RESEARCH

Competitors offer resourceful community and allow uses to connect with each other, but not through trips

I conducted a competitive analysis to find out what features the competitors are offering and the opportunities for CoTripper to stand out in the single mom community. Because CoTripper is both an online community and a travel site, I looked into other travel sites, mom blogs and single mom community groups.

PRIMARY RESEARCH

Every single mom has different needs and preferences when it comes to family traveling and online single mom community.

To better understand single moms’ perspectives and behaviors, we conducted 1:1 user interviews with potential users who may use this product or have had experience with similar products. Our team interviewed a total of 8 single moms to learn their thoughts on single motherhood, their needs to build a sustainable single mom community, and their preference for family trips.

I defined 3 user archetypes based on the interviews. The archetypes informed our user needs, leading to user stories and feature design ideas.

1. single moms who are only looking for travel information from other experienced single moms

2. single moms who are open to travel with other similar minded single moms

3. single moms who are looking for companionship with other single moms during a trip

Insecure mom

Uses are looking for an inclusive, safe and resourceful community

Key insights from the user interviews

• People are looking for a safe single mom community where they can find information that help them to navigate day to day life

• People want to hear from experienced single moms who share their personal lives and growth in the community 

• People want to connect with other like-minded single moms online and in person before signing up for a trip 

• People are looking for safe and well-planned family trip

How might we

• Build a trusting community that helps single moms navigating their  day to day life?

• Create a platform where like-minded single moms can connect with each other and share insights either online or in person?

• Provide single moms with the unique resources that are tailored to single moms and kids?

PAPER WIREFRAMES

Focus more on building a community to meet users’ needs rather than planning a perfect trip

Our client emphasized that the priority is to build a community, not planning a perfect trip. I tried to focus on building a platform that users can find resources easily, personalize contents, and interact with other users online or in person before they sign up for a trip.

To determine the level of efficiency of design and usability within the user interface of the interactive prototype, both moderated and unmoderated usability testings were conducted.

USABILITY TEST INSIGHTS

What worked:

• 5/5 users were able to successfully subscribe to the newsletters, create an account, and log into the account

• The “join the community “ button  on the home page gives the user an overview of what CoTripper offers

• 3  different types of single mom life style makes them feel included and help them to decide if they want to spend more time exploring the website

• The drop down menu is very helpful to filter different categories on resources and trips page

What can be improved :

• Add more detailed sections on the homepage to showcase what CoTripper provides

• Add more detailed description of what single mom community offers after the user clicked “join the community” CTA, so the user knows what to expect and can decide if they want to just subscribe to the newsletter or create an account to get more benefits

• Adjust text size and color contrast of CTA, so it’s easier for user to read

The Final Design

1. Explain what CoTripper offers and the benefits of joining the community upfront

Results& Reflection

Impact

• A potential user said that she will prioritize CoTripper because she prefers being in a community for single mom only rather than getting involved in different online groups for moms in general.

• Another potential user said that she loves the “get involved” section and the opportunity to give back to the community.

• A few potential users really appreciate CoTripper giving single moms the opportunity to join a unique community that can move them somewhere

What I learned

• There are many opportunities identified in research, and I want to focus on essential information that allows user to make an easy transition from the minimalist website to a more comprehensive website

• It’s not easy to build an online single community that meets everyone’s needs, but going through each step of the design process and aligning with specific user needs helped me come up with solution that meets majority’s needs

• Most single moms are very busy. They usually get information on their phones, therefore the mobile first design is more ideal for the target users

View desktop prototype