Indtroduction
Pininfarina is a design house for a variety of industries including architecture, transportation, interiors and furniture, industrial design, lifestyle products, and design strategy, and worldwide known for its automotive industry. They have collaborated with well-known brands such as Coca-Cola, Samsung, Alfa Romeo/Ferrari Miami Beach, and Jacuzzi
I began this project by doing research on the brand. After speaking to stakeholders, I determined what my challenge would be based on the company’s needs and goals. The brief entailed creating a mobile app for Pininfarina that provides a “wow factor” to entice people to download the app.
The Design Challenge
Always keep Pininfarina's values: Purity, Elegance, Innovation, and Passion at the heart what whatever I design. Pininfarina doesn't design automobiles which is what the company is arguably the most well-known for. They want to showcase how they design beyond automobiles by being a 360 Design House. Additionally, they want to have more visibility and become more fresh and fun so they can attract more people that could ultimately be clients.
MVP
Hypothesis Statement
Create an app where users can gain inspiration and share their designs in an interactive manner.
Jobs to Be Done
When I go on the Pininfarina app I want to learn about the process behind innovative designs so I can feel inspired to create, digitally interact and view product designs.
Problem Statement
Design lovers need a way to interactively learn about the processes behind a design so that they can be inspired to innovate their own because they struggle to find resources that will allow them to engage creativity.
We believe providing an interactive learning experience for design lovers achieves continued engagement. We will know we are right when users incorporate what they learn from our app into their own designs, and they challenge their circle to do the same.
The goal was to understand how users engage with design on a digital platform. The research included creating an app that would be exclusive and entice people to return, include the story behind the design/the process, and offer inspiration as well as the ability to share with others. Users want designs that tell a story, and give and share inspiration.
Wireframing
With my low-fi wireframes, I conducted my first usability tests. These multi-task tests directed the first round of iterations which mostly centered around the wording on our content, and keeping language consistent throughout the app. Then, once I completed the mid-fi wireframes, I conducted another round of testing. Compared to the low-fi testing, I saw smoother interactions and received a lot of feedback on desired features.
User Flows
My prototype consists of three user flows. In the first flow, the user will identify a Pininfarina design challenge of their choice and accept the challenge.
In the second flow, the user will view and save a design project that inspires them and navigate to where their saved designs are located.
In the third flow, the user will go through the process of uploading and publishing a new design.
Expanding Brand Influence Through a Digital Solution Focused on Engagement and Growth
Final Design
Once I was satisfied with my ideas, I created a site map to understand how these ideas would be implemented and the relationship between each idea and how we could present the information to the user. The stakeholder already had certain branding assets on their website which I was able to use as inspiration. When building out the design system for mobile, I tried to stay true and consistent with the company's design values. Once I completed our hi-fi prototype, I did another round of testing.
For the hi-fi prototype, I conducted five concept testings where I would walk the user through the prototype while they explain their perceived concept and functionality of a screen. This guided me through the final round of iterations which included minor but important details that would enhance the user experience.
Next Steps
Include an introduction screen to allow users to understand exactly how the app works, build out the pages that weren’t included in the 3 flows within this project. Thank you for taking the time to read my case study. I hope it gave you a clear look into my design process, problem solving approach, and how I bring thoughtful user centered experiences to life.