You're invited

My role

Product designer

Timeline

8 Weeks

Company

Plus0ne is a web app that allows users to create, invite and RSVP to events quickly and easily, without having to create an account. It allows guests to communicate with each other without being tied to any specific platform or social media

The PROBLEM

Right now, there’s no simple way to create an event and invite your friends with just one platform. Some friends don’t have Facebook. You don’t know your neighbor's email. You don’t have the phone number of Joe from that networking event from 2 weeks ago. You end up creating an event on several platforms and/or inviting some people via a text, and lose track of who’s coming. You need to make an announcement and now you have to post it everywhere again. Sounds familiar?

The GOAL

Create a simple and valuable experience for the users to create events and invite guests without having to know every piece of their contact information and without needing to create any accounts. Allow guests to communicate with each other and the host, all in one spot

final deliverables & results

Create events on-the-go

I worked closely with the client to create an onboarding flow for the event app. The goal was to streamline the process of creating an event and not making the user feel like there’s a form to be filled. Instead, the flow was broken into steps, asking the user one question at a time. 

No pesky sign-ups

Often times users get discouraged from trying new products because it requires them to create an account before they see anything. With PlusOne, no signs up are needed, and they can start creating events right away

See it come together

As the details for the event are being provided, they get filled into the preview in real time, allowing the user see as their event comes together with every step

Link other accounts to sync contacts

By linking other social media accounts, such as Facebook, or Google, all contacts will be automatically synchronized, making invites easier than ever.

All in one place

Regardless of whether a guest was invited via email, text or a facebook message, all guests will be able to see the same event page, while the creator can also manage the event. Since there's no accounts, the creator is given a special link that allows them to manage it, similar to Craigslist.

comparative and competitive research

Forms, structure, flows

In order to understand how other apps create a flow of creating an event, or similar, I looked at how Google Calendar, Facebook events, Eventbrite and Hobnob to see what works best and what could be improved about their onboarding flow. I noticed that most apps give the user a form to fill, which is something PlusOne wanted to specifically avoid, in order to make it feel more fresh.

Takeaways:

• Successful apps allowed the user to skip some fields, since a lot of times users don't know all specifics of the event at the time they're creating it.
• Having a long form can overwhelm the user, as they feel like there's a lot of work to do. Wordpress split its onboarding process into multiple steps, making it easier for the user to focus on smaller tasks
  

ITERATION 1

Clean, simple, Wordpress-like

My initial iteration was inspired by Wordpress. I attempted to create a similar flow by splitting the form into steps, and showing a preview underneath. However, this design seemed a little too blocky and corporate. It also would have required the user to scroll down to see their preview.

Iteration 2

Sleek and bold

For the second iteration, I took a 180 degree turn. I wanted to make it different, bolder. I thought about allowing the user type in the details right onto the event page preview instead of a form field box, with bold and large fonts. The flaw of this design was that it wasn't very intuitive. The user wouldn't know where they're supposed to be clicking or typing into. Another issue was that there was simply not enough space on the screen to do all steps without having to scroll

Iteration 3

Something in between

From initial two iterations, I realized that providing a clear form field might be necessary, but it doesn't have to look so standard. I played around with a sticky form field, with prompts as placeholders. This however seemed not very user friendly, and text was hard to read over a busy background

deliverables

Final Result

Instead of giving the user a form to fill, PlusOne makes creating an event interactive and quick, in just a few steps, one question at a time. Once the essential details of the event are entered, the user is prompted to provide their email address, in order to receive a unique link that allows them to edit the event later, similar to how Craigslist does it. This way, one wouldn't have to create an account while still being able to manage their event. This doesn't interrupt the flow - the user can continue adding the details and invite guests. 

Event page (creator view)

The editable page allows the user to modify and update the event details, invite friends or get a link to the event. Carousel allows to switch between the event summary and future pages, such as chat room, announcement or photos

Invites

By linking other social media accounts, users can invite their friends easier than ever. PlusOne will synchronize contacts and allows the users to send a text, email, or a message on social media - all from one page

Next steps

What's next?

An event page is more than just the details. With the added carousel feature, it's possible to add a variety of features to make it better. Some suggestions and potential ideas that could be added later

CHAT ROOM/DISCUSSIONS
An easy way for the guests and the host to communicate, make announcements, ask questions - all on the same page.

PHOTOS/GUEST PHOTOS
Addings photos and allowing guests to upload their own after the event can be a great way to share memories together without having to create any extra chat groups.

VISUAL CUSTOMIZATION
Making each event unique and your own adds a great value to the users. These could be a selection of images, fonts, and colors.

Let's chat!

I'd love to connect with you! Let's talk about anything, and grab some coffee

© Anastasiya Pak 2020