International Film Festival Bangalore
- A responsive website design
I created a website that easily allowed people to nominate movies for an International film Festival.
The goal of this project was to make it easier for the members of Film Academy Bangalore to participate in the online Award Nomination process.
I came up with an idea for a design that lets people watch film festival entries from their own homes at convenient times and easily submit reviews. All the steps must be completed by a specific deadline set by the academy.
To move further in this project, I followed the design process steps -
Emphasize,
Define
Ideate
Prototype
Test
EMPHASIZE - To start, I interviewed users and used their feedback to create empathy maps. This helped me understand the target users better. I also developed user personas that clearly outlined the users' challenges.
THE PROBLEM
After interviewing various members of the film academy, most said they were interested in being involved in the award nominations. They found it fulfilling and educational. However, they hesitated to participate because it required offline activities, took up a lot of time, and the movie screenings were not at their convenient timings and locations.
THE GOAL -To create an uncomplicated and engaging process for easily carrying out the following tasks: register, write reviews and nominate movies for the awards. All of these activities are done online and include additional features like watching movies at your own pace, taking notes, and easily nominating and submitting.
IDEATE
I used the Crazy Eight technique to ideate, a highly effective brainstorming method where participants are given eight minutes to generate as many ideas as possible. By setting a time limit, it encourages quick thinking and prevents over-analyzing ideas.
This technique helps to unlock creativity and allows for a diverse range of ideas to be explored. The Crazy Eight technique is particularly useful in situations where innovation and out-of-the-box thinking are required.
The Crazy Eight technique deployed in gathering ideas for the IFFB website design
PAPER WIREFRAMES - While designing the pages, I experimented with different layouts, carefully considering their strengths and weaknesses. With a keen eye, I selected the most captivating and visually striking elements that would engage the viewers. These important components were then integrated into the final layout designs, creating a harmonious balance between looks and practicality.
DIGITAL WIREFRAMES - Creating hand-drawn wireframes laid the foundation for digital wireframes with certainty.
LOW FIDELITY PROTOTYPE - I created detailed digital wireframes that have been incredibly helpful in visualizing the entire process from sign-up to nomination. These wireframes gave me a great starting point to create a simplified version of the website design for desktop.
View Low Fidelity Prototype on Adobe XD here
View of Low Fidelity Prototype on Adobe-XD
USABILITY STUDY FINDINGS
I conducted an unmoderated usability study and came up with these insights to work on mockups:
Make the movie watch screen bigger / Fullscreen
Provide info about the casting of the movie
MOCKUPS - After conducting usability study-1, I used the insights identified in the usability study for designing the mockups.
Mockup of International Film Festival Bangalore website design
View High-Fidelity Prototype on Adobe-XD here
View the Case Study Presentation of this Project here
IMPACT
The target users of the IFFB website said they liked the design for its engaging feature. And some users were specifically happy with the visual balance and appreciated the simplified steps to participate in the nomination process.
LEARNINGS
I discovered how usability studies can greatly enhance design and user experience, providing invaluable insights that help designers create more intuitive and user-friendly products.
Through these studies, I learned the importance of conducting thorough research, gathering feedback from actual users, and identifying pain points and areas of improvement. By integrating usability testing into the design process, designers have the opportunity to refine their creations and ensure they meet the needs and expectations of the end-users.