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Communities are filled with people who have time and talents to share, but often lack the tools to connect. This insight inspired me to create The Neighborhood Time Bank, a digital platform designed to facilitate time-based service exchanges within local communities. Rather than relying on money, this app allows neighbors to exchange services—like gardening, tutoring, or carpentry—by banking hours they've worked and spending them on services they need.
The main challenge was designing a platform that stood out from existing tools like Craigslist, addressing community-specific needs while fostering trust through features like verification. The app also needed to be intuitive for users of varying tech literacy, all within a tight three-week timeline.
I successfully conducted in-depth research, analyzing qualitative and quantitative data to understand community needs and design a user-centered platform.
I also engaged directly with local residents allowing me to connect with the community and create a prototype that reflects their values and priorities.
Type
Mobile App Design
Role
Research, Development, UX/UI
Timeline
May-June 2024
Understand Community Needs: Identify the primary services people need and offer within the community to ensure the platform facilitates meaningful exchanges.
Measure Engagement Potential: Gauge how frequently users would utilize a time-based service exchange platform and their willingness to participate
Evaluate Existing Alternatives: Analyze the strengths and weaknesses of current service platforms like Craigslist and Discord to uncover gaps the Neighborhood Time Bank can address.
Assess Emotional Drivers and Barriers: Explore how community members feel about trust, safety, and reliance on neighbors to build features that foster confidence and connection.
Identify Accessibility Challenges: Uncover potential tech literacy barriers and ensure the platform is user-friendly for people of varying ages and tech expertise.
Strengthen Community Bonds: Investigate how the platform can encourage long-term engagement and strengthen relationships between neighbors.
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Design for Scalability and Inclusivity: Ensure the platform’s design supports diverse users, including retirees, working parents, and students, with accessible features and a seamless user experience.
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01 Untapped SkillsCommunities are filled with individuals who have valuable skills and time to offer, but they lack the means to effectively connect and share resources.
02 Disorganized PlatformsExisting platforms like Craigslist or Discord are not specifically designed for service exchanges, leading to scattered and inefficient communication.
03 Fixing ItThe solution lies in creating a dedicated, user-friendly platform that allows community members to exchange time and skills, fostering trust and strengthening local connections.
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01 They Want ConnectionCommunity members expressed a strong desire for meaningful local connections and accessible ways to offer and receive help.
02 They Value TrustUsers emphasized the importance of trust and safety in facilitating service exchanges, highlighting the need for profile verification and transparent communication.
03 Accessibility MattersA significant portion of the community values easy-to-use platforms that cater to varying levels of tech literacy, ensuring inclusivity for all members
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01 Existing BarriersDespite interest, current platforms often lack organization, making it difficult for users to find and connect with relevant services.
02 Low MotivationMany people are reluctant to try new platforms due to concerns about usability and trustworthiness, which inhibits engagement.
03 Lack of Community FocusGeneric service platforms fail to foster a sense of community, leaving users feeling disconnected from their local networks.
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The solution lies in creating platforms that prioritize trust, simplicity, and inclusivity. Community members are eager to help and connect but need tools that address their specific needs while fostering confidence and ease of use.
Researching the challenges of local communities revealed surprising insights into the barriers to effective service exchange and trust-building. Despite the inherent willingness of people to help their neighbors, disorganized platforms and accessibility gaps prevent these connections from flourishing. I wanted to dive deeper into understanding the specific needs, motivations, and frustrations of community members, focusing on how they navigate resource sharing and build trust within their neighborhoods.
Interview Goal 01
Who are the users?
Understanding their demographics, tech literacy, and community roles.
Interview Goal 02
What motivates them?
Identifying emotional drivers for participating in service exchanges.
Interview Goal 03
What holds them back?
Exploring barriers such as trust, platform usability, and safety concerns.
Interview Goal 04
How do they interact with technology?
Analyzing preferences and challenges in using digital tools.
I interviewed fifteen participants from diverse backgrounds within the Highland Park community, ranging from retirees to working parents and students. Here are the recurring themes:
"I’d love to contribute more to my community, but I don’t know where to start."
"I worry about the reliability of these platforms. It’s hard to trust someone I don’t know."
"A simpler system that shows services nearby would make it so much easier for me to help out."
"I want something intuitive and easy to use—I’m not super tech-savvy."
"Verifying users and building a sense of safety would make me feel more comfortable."
Overall, participants agreed that a stronger sense of community and a platform designed just for their needs could really help bring neighbors together and make service exchanges more approachable.
After diving into my research, I wanted to clearly outline the challenges users were facing. To do this, I created problem statements linked to specific user needs. From there, I developed ‘How Might We?’ questions to brainstorm meaningful ways my app could address those needs. To keep everything focused and measurable, I also set KPIs to track the success of these solutions.
Research and problem statements allowed me to create a persona: Sarah—a working mom with a desire to support her community but little time to figure out how. Between work and her kids’ schedules, Sarah struggles to find clear ways to offer help or ask for it when she needs it. She cares about building connections but often feels unsure where to start. Sarah knows her community has untapped potential and hopes for a tool that makes giving and receiving support easy and trustworthy.
At this stage, I was ready to determine the core features my platform would include. I started by identifying the primary needs of my target users and the key problems they faced in engaging with local service exchanges. With this understanding, I focused on creating a Minimum Viable Product (MVP) that directly addressed these challenges.
To start
For Businesses
For Enterprises
01 Identify & Understand Need
Why Am I Creating This Platform?
The Neighborhood Time Bank aims to solve a critical problem: many community members have valuable skills to offer but lack the tools to connect in safe and meaningful ways. Existing platforms feel unreliable, overwhelming, or impersonal. My goal is to design an intuitive and trustworthy platform that fosters local connections and facilitates efficient service exchanges.
How Will I Measure Success?
• Increased number of service exchanges.
• Growth in active weekly users.
• Higher user satisfaction rates.
• Positive feedback on trust and ease of use.
02 Finding Opportunities
Using 'Pains' to Develop 'Gains'
I analyzed user pain points and translated them into actionable opportunities, ensuring my platform would deliver tangible benefits. For example:
• Pain: Difficulty trusting strangers for service exchanges.
• Action: Implement profile verification and user reviews.
• Gain: Safer, more confident participation in community exchanges.
• Pain: Disorganized service listings on existing platforms.
• Action: Categorized service offerings with clear filters.
• Gain: Streamlined service discovery and quicker matches.
03 Choosing Features
Using 'Gains' To Develop Features
After defining the 'gains' for users, I outlined the key features needed to achieve them:
• Gain 01: Build trust among community members.
Features Needed: Profile Verification, User Reviews, Reputation System.
• Gain 02: Simplify the process of finding and offering services.
Features Needed: Categorized Listings, Search Filters, Service Match Recommendations.
• Gain 03: Foster meaningful community connections.
Features Needed: In-app Messaging, Local Events Board, Community Highlights.
04 Prioritizing To focus on the most impactful features, I created a priority matrix:
The app was starting to come together. I had a clear idea of the key features to include and began visualizing how everything would look and work. To make sure everything flowed smoothly, I created an app map and user flow to outline how users would navigate the platform and how the system would support their journey.
Architecture Diagram
User Flow Diagram
After mapping out the app and its features, I moved on to creating the wireframes. I started with low-fidelity wireframes, focusing on structure and layout. My goal was to design an easy interface that would engage users with varying levels of tech literacy. These low-fidelity wireframes were also intended for user testing, ensuring that feedback centered on the app’s functionality and feature placement rather than its branding or visual design.
Goals for Testing
01: Test overall app functionality & ease of use
02: Measure ability of users to find and request services
03: Evaluate user experience with in-app messaging
04: Assess user confidence with trust and safety features
05: Gauge overall motivation to use the app
Users appreciated the clean layout and quick access to key features, but suggested a guided tutorial for new users.
Users requested clearer indicators for verified users and a badge system for service providers with positive reviews.
Users like the categorized service listings, but some wanted the ability to save services for later reference.
Users felt the platform's design was trustworthy and approachable, with one suggesting gamified elements to encourage engagement.
01 Designing for Real Needs, Not Assumptions
Engaging directly with community members taught me the value of user-centered design. Interviews revealed key concerns like varying tech literacy and accessibility, which shaped features to meet diverse needs. This reinforced the importance of integrating user feedback early and often.
02 The Impact of Iterative Testing
Rapid prototyping and testing allowed me to validate design choices quickly and adjust based on real-world feedback. This approach streamlined the process, saving time and ensuring the app effectively addressed user pain points.
03 Collaboration Drives Better Design
Insights from the community on trust, safety, and engagement had a direct impact on design decisions like profile verification and simplifying service exchanges. This project deepened my understanding of human-centered design and its power to create meaningful, impactful solutions.
The Neighborhood Time Bank project has been an enlightening journey into the power of community-driven design. By collaborating with local residents and embracing an iterative process, I developed a platform tailored to the unique challenges and aspirations of the Highland Park community. This experience reinforced my commitment to creating intuitive, human-centered solutions that foster trust, inclusivity, and meaningful connections. Moving forward, I’m excited to apply these insights to future projects, continuing to design with empathy and purpose at the forefront.