Cync
Setting the Stage
During 2021-2022 my team and I designed a mobile app product for rural chamber of commerce organizations. I contributed to the creation of the app through product development, content design, writing and UX.
As part of a one-year sprint that would be our capstone project at the University of Georgia (UGA), we began our journey into digital product design. Specifically, we were tasked with finding a real-world problem and asked to design a technology solution using digital media. Because of a shared history working with our local chamber, we decided to create a mobile app for rural chamber of commerce organizations to serve residents and promote economic growth in the community.
My Role
As the UX Designer/Content Strategist, my responsibility was to make sure the Cync experiences served user needs, was a valuable resource, and would attract and retain community interest. The tools I used to inform in-app experiences included research, content design, and UX testing.
Background / Challenge
We were confident we could make a positive impact on rural communities by designing a tech-comm solution to support the goals of the chamber of commerce. The instance would be customized for Gordon County in Georgia but designed to scale for chambers across the nation. The primary users are residents and the chamber of commerce in rural communities.
Key challenges
Education about the chamber is low in rural communities, so we needed to make a connection and show how chamber activities benefit residents.
Collecting and organizing information from multiple channels and mediums was time-consuming and hard to simplify.
Concepting and building features and technologies that would serve both audiences.
Narration of features was key to show value and encourage adoption.
Incorporating updated technology was challenging to build with our skill set, timeline and design parameters.
Approach / Solution
Our approach was centered around securing a partnership with a connection from the chamber. We were convinced we could build a better product and learn more if we built Cync around a specific community. A partnership would allow us to do that. From there, we could provide our recommended tech-comm solution to make Cync valuable and unique for the chamber and residents.
What we accomplished
Built a community-oriented mobile app for residents to easily find resources and local happenings.
Create a product for the rural chamber of commerce to help meet goals for economic growth and member retention.
Designed to be a one-stop-shop resource to benefit residents, businesses, and the chamber.
Made to scale and customize for chamber of commerce organizations across America.
Data/Results
100% of Chamber staff and members felt Cync would help bring greater awareness to activities and promote economic growth.
97% of users found value in the content and technologies featured in Cync.
90% of users felt Cync successfully merged the goals of the chamber with residents.
82% of users indicated they could envision using Cync 3-5 times per week on average.
75% of users found Cync easy to navigate and intuitive.
Members and staff felt very strongly the Gordon County Chamber could use Cync to better engage with residents and promote local businesses.
Overall, residents of Gordon County would be more informed about events, happenings, and resources from one source.
Overall, users agreed the technologies, like calendar sync, star ratings, and maps, would encourage them to use the app again.
Feedback from business leaders, residents, and chamber members agree that Cync would benefit the community and encourage economic growth.
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MY CONTRIBUTIONS
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Let’s connect.
Product Development
During ideation, our team used research from a variety of chamber apps and community engagement apps to draw inspiration and learn how to provide the best value for both Gordon County residents and chamber.
Research
Research on rural communities, chamber of commerce’s, and competitive apps set the foundation for making Cync a unique and valuable app.
Features
At first, it was a challenge aligning interest of residents and the chamber, but once we dug into the research we were able to find common ground.
Technologies
We added technologies we knew would be expected and a couple to exceed expectations. A roadmap for future iterations included additional technology updates.
Content Strategy
One of my main responsibilities was to bring order to the content. A major challenge was the overwhelming amount of content, events, and happenings scattered across a variety of different channels and mediums. Collecting and organizing them was a heavy lift.
Information Architecture
Through structuring and organizing the information architecture, we began to get a feel for organizing the solution.
User Journey Mapping
Journey maps with defined personas helped us prioritize and organize the content in a way that was most valuable to the end users (residents).
Content Models
Content models helped during all phases of development to keep content consistent, reduce cognitive load, and set expectations for users.
Brand Guide &
UI Component / Pattern Library
During the design phase, I contributed by documenting the Design System. While the decisions for the components within the system were made as a team, I put my skills for documentation and content design to good use through the creation of our design system.
Brand Style Guide
Building Cync to scale meant taking tight control of the brand. We created a detailed brand guideline to give each instance a cohesive look and feel.
UI Component Library
Building the component library for developers who may join Cync or hired by the chamber would bring unification and keep the integrity of the system design.
UI Pattern Library
Cync’s pattern library would aid UI experts make key decisions under the guidance of our library options.
User Testing
During UX testing we gathered participants, created a detailed testing plan with a series of quantitative and qualitative tests through surveys, Likert scales, and live in-person and remote user testing to learn more about how our target audience would use Cync. We used the feedback to prioritize updates before the final launch.
Participants
Representatives from all audiences participated in the study to provide valuable feedback and help us improve Cync.
Key Insights
In the post testing survey, we encouraged participants to share their overall reaction to Cync.
User Experiences
Using a series of qualitative and quantitative tests we were able to determine sentiment on different scales, which allowed us to prioritize iterations before launch.