Kiera McC
PROJECTS
Group Project at the Barcelona Code School
After being given the wicked problem of Tourism Instability, we delved into researching tourism as an industry and scaled that down to tourism in Barcelona itself. We interviewed tourists, expats and locals to try and gain an overall understanding of all angles of tourism and everyone it affects. This provided us with a lot of information to work with, in defining what groups we were going to target with our app.
Our research revealed that the majority of tourists and ex-pats are bored and therefore are drawn towards the easiest past times - drinking and spending time on the beach. Furthermore, a lot of our interviewees admitted that although they know they are not behaving adequately, they are not particularly interested in altering this behaviour as they believe they aren't in Barcelona long enough for it to make a difference. This drove our focus to ex-pats as they are in Barcelona for a longer period of time and therefore have the time to see the benefits of their improved behaviours. Ex-pats also expressed that they would enjoy becoming "more local"; this was positively received by locals who explained that they would be more than happy to accommodate and help others become more local.
After deciding that a "gamified" application would capture a wider audience, we worked on sketching the app. After a lot of trial and error, we had our sketches and were able to turn these into grey-scaled versions. We then developed a task flow to be worked through in the user interviews, and three style guides to take to the public for a decision to be made on the styles for the application. Once the public made their style decision, we used this guide to build up our prototype.
Produced on Figma, the user flow chart was an element that I was responsible for inside the remit of information architecture. Please follow the link above for a full view.
Equally, the site map was an element that fell under my responsibility. Please follow the link above for a full view.
The prototype screens were designed and multiple times. We trailed and tested different shades and tones of our three main colour choices, changing the voice and tone of each screens with every colour altercation. Eventually we managed to find the right shades in the palate which reflected the exciting, warm and friendly vibe we wanted our app to have. These colours were carefully added into the final prototype screens, the screens were linked to create the assigned task flow, and the prototype was ready to be taken to the public.
We took the prototype out to the public. After testing the app with different users across the beach and town, we were able to collect enough data to have a reputable sample size. Using the gathered data, we developed a table so we could clearly asses what we had learnt and make a judgement of how successful the application was in aiding our wicked problem of "Tourism Instability".
In summary, we saw that our app was a hit with our target audience and in turn, aids the wicked problem of instability in tourism. The app provides a fun, interactive space to learn and immerse yourself in Catalan culture. Expats are able to move through the city, increasing their local knowledge and relationship with the culture. Gaining respect and love for an area, creates a positive atmosphere and helps to eradicate friction amongst those traveling through, and those whom live there. In future production of the app, more clarity around specific discounts and the requirement to move around the city would be necessary.