Tap Cards
Role
Timeline
Teammates
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Background
In this class project, we were tasked to simulate the start-up process as closely as possible. We were teamed up based on the type of start-up business we were interested in creating. My group agreed to create a networking app.
Problem Statement
How might we help college students, job seekers, recruiters, and marketers efficiently and flawlessly exchange information to form and sustain desired connections?
Secondary Research
Industry Research
The New Field Communication (NPC) market is expected to grow drastically over the next few years. According to Markets And Markets, in 2020, the NPC market was projected to grow from 18 billion USD to 3 by 2025. North America and Asian Countries such as China and India are expected to be the major contributors to this trend. These projections are based on an increase in demand for consumer electronics in Asia, increased use of contactless payment since the beginning of the pandemic, and an increase in demand for wireless technologies in the medical, banking, and retail industry.
Not only is NPC technology in a period of rapid growth but also the demand for digital business cards is replacing that of physical ones. Business cards have been expected to be updated regularly to meet the changing expectations of customers. Printing new sets of business cards so often would be much more expensive than changing and distributing them digitally.
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Forbes asked a few experts to express their opinion on whether business cards are "dead." The experts said that business cards are thrown out most of the time because they can cause clutter, so they are more of a nuisance rather than a convenience. Instead of keeping the business cards, they advise you to scan them to keep them digitally and then also connect on LinkedIn and other social media. It would be so much easier though to exchange the business cards digitally, in the first place. Another expert said that business cards aren't enough to stay connected because you still need links to the other's website/portfolio as well as their online accounts.
Product Research
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27 million business cards printed daily → almost 10 billion cards yearly
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We will be supplying to this demand, digitally
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We are also expanding to social contexts as well
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88% of business cards are thrown out within a week
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Our solution is sustainable (production and waste from cards is out of the picture)
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Digitally, business cards can be categorized and saved for later so you won’t need to lose connections just because you don’t need them at the moment
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Business cards can be an indicator of wealth and status with Black Astrum Signature Cards sold at $1,500 while the average card costs $194
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With our digital cards it only matters who you are and not so much how big your business is
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Competitor Research
A common thread among our competitors is that they need physical accessories to function and that drastically increases the cost for the user. Using NPC technology, we can be the cheapest and most convenient product on the market. This way, as long as you have a phone, no matter your income and status, you can readily access our services.
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Primary Research
We conducted a survey to see how others usually exchange contact information in different settings.
Participants
Based on the percentage of people from each occupation and their relevancy to our product idea, we started to assign personas.
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Our Findings
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Some Comments...
We asked our participants to describe any difficulties they have faced when sharing contact information.
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User Analysis
Personas
We made 3 personas based on the people who responded to our survey. We wanted to see how our product would fit into each of their narratives and how we could provide services for their specific needs.
As a freshman, Johnny Win's priority is making long-lasting connections on campus. As an introvert, he might not be able to start deep conversations with people he doesn't know but he can definitely tap phones with a new people to message later.
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Ronald McRonald wants to put himself on the map with his new business idea. He is ambitious, hardworking, and bright, but he doesn't have big connections yet and wouldn't be considered a high status businessman. He doesn't have access to fancy business cards, but he can, very affordably, create digital cards on our app to distribute his contact information along with links to his website and social media.
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Will Makarov is looking for a bright innovative man like our second persona (Ronald). His company will benefit a lot from finding and hiring the right person and so will Makarov by getting a great commission. He meets a lot of people who want to be hired by his company, so he needs an app like ours to store everyone's business cards in a digital wallet (business cards take a lot of space and are easily lost).
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Value Proposition Canvases
While personas helped us generally understand the position of each stakeholder relative to the product we are marketing, value proposition canvases helped us understand them in a more personal manner.
I created a value proposition canvas for each of the characters to showcase the value that are product creates in each of their lives. When I thought of what the persona would hear, see, say and do, and think and feel, I could put myself in their shoes and genuinely consider the impact of the idea we are proposing.
The reality of all 3 personas is that they are experiencing external pressures from either people around them or from LinkedIn/social media. Additionally, they all are focused on creating connections that will benefit them for at least the next few years. Between the pressures and the benefits of networking, these personas will find our app the perfect solution to their problems.
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Sketches
Based on what we thought each of our personas needed and expected from our app, we created initial sketches of what each tab on the app should contain. We decided to give our users the option to create multiple digital cards, each appropriate for different crowds.
Look/search through your cards (a card for each social situation) and find nearby users
Choose what accounts you're comfortable sharing with each person
Customize each of your digital cards, made easy with a ready selection of options
Tap to exchange cards
Look at cards you have collected and check the most recent exchanges you've made
Ensure your privacy, update to premium, etc.
Low Fidelity Prototype
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Grand Opening Day
Shortly after we had our lo-fi prototype done, we had to create a hi-fi prototype to present at UCSD's Design & Innovation Grand Opening. We had other groups in our class give us feedback on our lo-fi, but we had to rush to create a presentable design in a couple of days.
Presenting & Testing
On the Design and Innovation Building's grand opening day, everyone was invited to drop in and check out what UCSD designers had been working on. So, it was the perfect time to try to test our product with our 3 personas!
We asked people different questions based on which persona they matched and then we asked them to fill out a quick survey after interacting with our hi-fi prototype. We asked them to think out loud while going through the prototypes so we could know how they went about navigating our app.
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Most of our participants again turned out to be students. We asked them to try exchanging cards on the prototype and see if it felt intuitive. They couldn’t figure out which of their cards was being exchanged and were worried the phone would tap and exchange by accident. They did find it helpful, however, that you could see the occupation (i.e. recruiter) and short bio of the person you’re exchanging cards with.
Here is a summary of the proactivity level the student persona expects from our app:
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When coming across the businessman category of people, we asked them to look through the wallet feature of our app and tell us whether they find it convenient for their regular interactions. We wanted to know how this experience compares to that of the traditional exchange of physical cards.
Results:
Since the businessman category of people interacts with a lot of people at networking events, they were looking for ways they could remember each person they met. So they suggested:
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Favorite feature for cards
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Feature to take notes on each exchange made
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To show the location and time of each exchange
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summary of the proactivity level the businessman persona expects from our app:
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Unfortunately, we didn’t have real recruiters presented at the DIB but we asked professors and business men to approach our app as if they were recruiters and provide feedback. They wanted a notifications section to more conveniently keep up with the people they connected with. They also wanted to have a system they could use to remember everyone.
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Survey Results
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Final Prototype
Improvements from Testing
Final Look
To improve “dull” visuals:
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A more simplified, memorable, and modern-looking logo
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A polished tap icon
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Buttons that pop more on settings page with polished icons
Improved user feedback:
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Says “Successfully Connected!” after an exchange
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“Exchange” Button turns into “Requested” after selected
More clarity:
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Notifications page
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Cards are now in categories (i.e. work, social)
Save Information:
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Can create an account - with email or using Google or Facebook
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Mock Launch
To simulate the start-up experience as closely as possible, we also prepared everything that would be required in a product launch.
Email Marketing
I created 3 email templates targeted at each of the personas. The purpose of the email is to encourage the viewer to visit our landing page to read more, so we have buttons spread out throughout the email.
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Landing Page
If our email convinces you that you need our app, you click on one of the buttons and land on this page where you can read more about Tap Cards and see testimonials. The purpose of this page is to encour you to download the Tap Cards app.
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Social Media
It's imperative for modern brands to have a social media presence. It's how they connect with users for continued feedback, and it gives you the opportunity to bring some personality to the brand and establish some initial trust. So we created an Instagram, Facebook, and Youtube account to already create a presence.
Online Ads
We created ads that would appear on a Google search, while you're watching a YouTube video, browsing a webpage, etc. and templates for different mediums. Ads will help get the word out about our new app. Upon clicking an add, you will arrive at our landing page.
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