Valuable items frequently go missing on campuses, and in Nigeria, the process of reclaiming lost possessions or returning them to their rightful owners is frequently marred by frustration and inefficiency. This is primarily attributable to the absence of dedicated technologies or systems specifically designed to streamline and enhance these retrieval processes.
To create a novel system designed for simplicity, security, and ease of use. This system will harness existing technologies and seamlessly integrate with current practices to enhance the recovery process.
A mobile web application serving as a dedicated lost and found platform for Nigerian universities. With its intuitive interface and powerful search functionality, this web app serves as a centralized hub where students, faculty, and staff can report lost items, browse found items, and initiate the retrieval process.
This design process was both sequential and iterative, allowing me to backtrack when I uncovered valuable insights, whether from new ideas, best practices in similar products, or user research and usability studies.
During this phase, I conducted formative research to gain a deeper understanding of the project's problem, empathize with the target audience, analyze competitors' products, and identify both lessons and opportunity gaps for informed design decisions.
In my research, I identified a significant number of one-time users. Shifting strategy, I skipped personas and used empathy maps to understand Owners and Finders. I also outlined crucial features for the product: an intuitive interface, robust security, a notification system, a searchable database, campus service integration, feedback mechanism, and a communication channel for efficient item recovery and issue resolution.
During this phase, I engaged in collaborative brainstorming sessions with potential users to generate ideas aimed at solving the design problem. I translated these ideas into user flows, visualizing and anticipating the user experience and navigation. Additionally, I employed storyboards to provide a visual preview and exploration of users' interactions with the product.
During this stage, I translated ideas from the ideation phase into tangible designs of different fidelity levels. Simultaneously, I conducted testing and iterated based on valuable insights derived from participant feedback.
Employing the lo-fi prototype, I conducted usability tests with briefed participants, assigning tasks. Through a think-aloud protocol, I gauged their sentiments on the product's design and gathered insights on potential improvements.
While applying insights from the initial usability test, I enhanced the product's aesthetics. Opting for a modern, friendly interface, I combined colorful illustrations with sans-serif fonts and a palette featuring greens and white, mirroring the colors of the Nigerian flag.
Following the establishment of the product's UI visual style, I transitioned from low-fidelity to medium-fidelity prototypes while incorporating insights gleaned from the initial usability test.
Following the implementation of iterative changes, I conducted a subsequent usability test with a fresh set of participants, adhering to the same recruitment criteria established in the initial study. The results revealed that the iterations effectively addressed design concerns identified in the first test. With this validation, I progressed to the development of high-fidelity mock-ups and prototypes, ultimately concluding the project.
A socially-driven solution designed to tackle the persistent issue of lost items within Nigerian tertiary institutions. Through extensive interviews and usability testing with over thirty prospective users, the product was meticulously crafted to offer an intuitive, visually captivating interface, coupled with exceptional system usability.
