CASE STUDY
INTU8 Magic 8 Ball
How To Create an Intuitive Magic 8 Ball App
Roles:
Sadie Cruz
Project Manager, Prototyper,
Researcher, Visual Designer,
Co-Information Architecture
Isaac Wei
Co-Researcher
Danna Balassyano
Information Architect,
Co-Researcher
Deliverables:
Brand Strategy, User Research Plan,
Wireframes, Style Guide, Prototype
Tools:
Figma, Google Forms, Google Sheets, Miro
Time:
4 Weeks
UNDERSTAND
The Problem
The challenge was to create a magic 8 ball app for people as a way to ease anxiety during the pandemic.
We began the project researching the origins of the Magic 8 Ball and creating multiple competitive analysis of apps on the market.
Findings
1. The magic 8 ball founder, Albert C. Carter, was influenced by his mother who was a clairvoyant and believed in spiritual properties.
2. People in the app reviews wanted a more authentic answer that related to them.
3. Users were turning to a novelty app for honest advice and this was causing enough frustration that they were opting for a less fulfilling option.
So, our team asked...
How might we make the answers to an
8 ball app more intuitive for our users?
UNDERSTAND
The Survey
Insight from our Magic 8 Ball Survey
We created a user survey to test our hypothesis and understand the thought process of people interested in magic 8 balls and astrology.
43% Often
How often do you look outside of yourself to help you make a decision?
56% Yes
Do you think Astrology can help you make decisions?
What is your biggest fear or concern about using an intuitive 8 ball app? (open-ended)
Reliability, Accuracy, Privacy
UNDERSTAND
Research Findings
1. Users want a personalized app
During market research, users wanted the ability to customize their magic 8 ball and be able to give them more accurate advice.
This gave us the idea to create a more intuitive app that was centered around astrology.
2. Correlation linking decision making & astrology.
During are survey, most people who looked outside themselves for decision making believed in astrology.
3. Addressing user concerns about astrology decisions
During are survey, people who believed in astrology wanted their advice to be accurate, specific, and reliable.
We researched specific astrology practices and worked with an astrologer.
OUTCOME
#1: Sun sign to Moon Sign
In our usability test with Sanaa, professional astrologer,
In Horary astrology the moon sign is more relevant to decision making and represents the emotional aspects of a person.
BEFORE
AFTER
OUTCOME
#2: Using the Mental Models
for Menu Bar
In a usability test, it was pointed out the oddity of adding an about page to main menu.
After checking in with other sources, we decided to change the four menu buttons to three.
BEFORE
AFTER
OUTCOME
#3: Adding Personalizing Features
When conducting the usability test, most of the participants wanted more options for the page.
We add a button to change the photo that we miss in the first frame and add the moon sign information to personalize the page a bit more.
BEFORE
AFTER
IDENTIFY
The User
We conducted user interviews and combined those findings with our research results, and created user personas for the app. These personas describe the demographic that we were trying to reach for our app.
From our research, we selected a niche market of people who believe in astrology. Those users would use the INTU8 app as one of the tools they use in their decision making.
IDENTIFY
The User Journey
After understanding our user persona, we create a user journey representing a person who would use INTU8. By gaining that step by step's thought process, it was easier to understand what features we needed to add to our app. From our user interview, we understood our personas' pain points and created the app with that in mind.
IDENTIFY
The User Story
Creating a user story came easily. After our user interviews, we understood more about our user's thought process to want to use our app and how using it will help them answer.
IDENTIFY
Key Insights
After creating the user journey, we wanted to hone into our qualitative and quantitative research's main insights. This was a chance to combine those thoughts to develop principles to help us design the app.
Nostalgia
Nostalgia is the main feature of using an 8 ball app. We want our users to feel reminded of the toy aspect of the 8 ball.
Personalization
Personalization helps separate us from the rest of the market and allows the user to connect to the app and make it their own space.
Authenticity
Authenticity is one of the main concerns that surveyors had, and it motivated us to make it as intuitive as possible and partner with professional astrologers.
Spirituality
Connecting to the origins of the 8 ball app made us realize that the 8 ball can be more than a toy and can be used as an actual tool to help grow the user's intuition.
IDENTIFY
The User Flow
After creating the story maps and the user journey, we started our user flow. We considered each step our users would have to go through to ensure they get the right answer to their questions using horary astrology.
EXPLORE
The Sketches
We idiated and sketched the interface for the app. We wanted to get a chance to brainstorm and combine our ideas to make the best looking interface for our app.
EXPLORE
The Wireframes
We conducted user interviews and combined those findings with our research results, and created user personas for the app. These personas describe the demographic that we were trying to reach for our app.
EXPLORE
The Results
We put our information architecture to the test in the usability test of our first clickable prototype. We realized three things that we needed to fix.
Missing
How often do you look outside of yourself to help you make a decision?
Confusing
Payment flow for premium sign-up, loading screen for decisions, the affordance of forgiveness
Reviewed Nielsen's 10 Heuristic guidelines
Checklist
EXPLORE
The Brand
Combined with the competitive analysis and the initial research, we decided that the design elements for INTU8 had three themes in mind: a video game feel, a mystical and spiritual vibe, and an astrological dark but colorful design.
8 ball
Highlights the magic 8 ball
Hourglass
An hourglass represents the time which is a major aspect
of horary
Sand
The sand is in the shape of a triangle because it represents an aspect of astrology called Trine meaning the easy flow of communication.
EXPLORE
The Prototype
We conducted usability testing for the wireframe, which helped us create the first version of our high-fidelity prototype. Using that feedback, we edited the first version and completed another round of usability tests that helped us make this latest version of INTU8.
OUTCOME
#4: Clarifying our Horary Astrology Results
While working on the prototype, we had an official reading done by an astrologer.
We focused on the main aspects that needed to be shown to help make the user decide. Her direction made the app more accurate. We also added an "ask another question" button to make it easier for the user to start over.
BEFORE
AFTER
EXPLORE
Next Steps
This project has taught me a lot about researching for a niche market and making sure that this app meets their needs. How to organize and plan with a team. Many things can go wrong, but how you handle the issues is all that matters.
During the final rounds of testing, we found a few more ways to make INTU8 more intuitive.
New Members Friendly
Even though there is a guide page on the app, we want to make the app more accessible to newcomers to astrology.
Usability Testing
We need to do another round of usability testing for the changes we made based on our previous usability testing round.
Disclaimer
We want to ease the concern for getting too attached to the app, and we need to brainstorm a plan to do that. A possible solution could be disclaimers.
OUTCOME
The Tested Prototype
We conducted user interviews, used the key findings from our research, and learned from our user testing to create the intuitive magic 8 ball infused with horary astrology.