An app for pottery enthusiasts to learn, find workshops and form a community. Fire and Glaze inspires you to find a connection to yourself through nature - connect to nature, connect to soil, connect to you.
Duration  Feb 2022 - Apr 2022
Tools  Figma​​​​​​
My Role 
As the UX Designer, I was responsible for the app’s design and development including user research, wire-framing, prototyping and testing. While the research phase was a collaborative effort with my team, the design phase was carried out individually.
The Challenge
People are seeking hands-on creative outlets outside of their daily routines and screen-heavy lives. Pottery offers a creative outlet for individuals of all ages to explore their creativity and connect with a passionate community. There's a need for a platform that simplifies the process of discovering local pottery workshops and events, connect with fellow potters, and providing opportunities to learn, share or even sell their work, all within a user-friendly interface.
The Solution
An app to encourage people to appreciate, learn pottery and develop a community. There are apps that help you learn pottery and maybe even find local pottery workshops. But users needed a one stop solution to expand their knowledge, find and book classes, be part of a like minded community, have a forum to discuss their interests and questions and have a space to share their work and even buy these products to show their appreciation/expand their collection. Fire and Glaze aims to help users do all of these in a single app, without overwhelming the user with complexity. 
Research
We identified the purpose of the app and the target user group. The target audience included people of all ages interested in pottery, looking forward to learn it and connect with people with similar interests. The team brainstormed ideas and explored names for the app and came up with a list of tasks the users will undertake and a list of names. The next phase of research was finding the competitors. A few apps were identified - Clay Lab, Pottery Master Class, Pottery Helper, Pottery Notes. A competitive analysis was done and we found that none of them were direct competitors as they did not provide all the functionalities we aimed to have in our app. Two key personas were developed based on research into the target market.

Meet Mara - a high school student

Meet Tony - a busy architect

The user and business goals of the app were defined. The goal was to build a user-friendly platform, that creates a vibrant community centered around pottery and ceramics. The platform has 4 core functionalities:
1. Learn - Offer access to pottery classes and workshops, helping users develop their skills
2. Discuss - Connect individuals interested in pottery, enabling them to share their passion and learn from one another
3. Discover - Provide a marketplace for buying and selling ceramic art
4. Manage - Enable users to track their progress, organize their activities or profile​​​​​​​​​​​​​​
Ideation and Design
Using the insights gained during the research phase, user journeys for both personas were created. We conducted a card sorting session to brainstorm the content and features of the app, then categorized them into groups that could eventually form the basis for pages/views in the application. From there, we mapped out detailed user flows, illustrating the steps and interactions each persona would take to accomplish specific tasks within the app. These flows helped visualize the user experience and ensured a seamless navigation process throughout the app.

Card Sorting

The design phase of the project was done individually. I created a series of paper wireframes to visualize the app’s structure, layout, and user interface. The wireframes served as the blueprint for the app. The goal was to ensure that each screen was intuitive while maintaining a user-centered design approach. Here are some of my wireframes that illustrate the core structure and interactions of the app.
Low Fidelity Wireframes
Mid Fidelity Wireframes
After conducting usability testing, it was clear that the icons were unclear and appeared too bulky, making navigation confusing. Additionally, users had difficulty determining which screen they were on. To address this, I added titles or guiding text at the top of each page for better clarity. Users also requested more detailed information about each class, beyond just the price, such as the location and dates of the workshops.
High Fidelity Wireframes
Revising the Design
After further testing, the designs went through another round of iteration based on feedback from users and mentors. One key issue identified was readability, particularly in terms of accessibility. Users also wanted to search for online and offline classes easily rather than just filtering by location.
Final Design
The design process was driven by these keywords - Connected, Earthy, Fluid. This served as the foundation of all the design choices made throughout the design. A simplified design system also called a style guide was created. It outlines the color palette, typography, iconography, design components and image treatment ensuring that every page and interaction aligned with the established themes.

Style Guide

Home aka Marketplace
The homepage doubles as a marketplace, reducing clutter and allowing users to easily browse and discover new or interesting items every time they open the app. Users can quickly access both content and products without navigating through multiple pages.
Learn from the best
Finding online or in-person pottery classes and workshops have never been easier! With easy filtering options, users can quickly find nearby classes and book them directly through the app.
Discuss and connect in the Community
Community section serves as a forum where pottery enthusiasts can come together to discuss, ask questions, share their experiences and showcase their work. It's a space for users to connect, exchange tips, get feedback, and support each other in their creative journeys.
Me and my dashboard
The profile section acts as a personalized dashboard, offering an overview of your courses, progress, community engagement, and marketplace activity. Track your journey, celebrate milestones, and stay motivated as you grow your pottery skills.
Reflection
Working with a team sparks diverse ideas and strengthens the design process - Brainstorming and engaging in idea-generation activities become more fun when you have a team, allowing for more creative solutions and deeper insights. 

Thorough research and a clear design direction lead to the best outcomes - We were able to come up with some unique concepts for the pottery app that set it apart from competitors, leveraging innovative features and a distinctive design approach.

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