Laundro
Summary
Laundro is an app aimed to help people who patron laundromats achieve a pleasant and hassle-free experience through the use of technology. A simple and intuitive interface combined with a step-by-step flow, ensures compatibility and ease of use.
TEAM
Nathan Chandler
Ferzeen Ansari
Elyssa Biringer
Sidra Bokhari
Shira Sherman
MY ROLE
User Research
Ideation
UX/UI
Prototyping
TOOLS
Adobe Illustrator
Adobe XD
Problem
Going to a laundromat can be a time-consuming and frustrating experience. Whether it’s waiting in a long line, trying to use a broken machine, or spending time waiting for your load to finish, we felt that there must be a way to create a better and more efficient experience.
Solution
An app that allows users to reserve available machines, monitor the status of an ongoing session, use their preferred method of payment, or report broken machines remotely.
Research
Process Book
We first selected participants within our target audience and prepared a questionnaire for them to answer on what the pain points are for using laundromats and any key insights they may have about improving the experience. We then consolidated our research and came up with a list of features that would resolve the different pain-points.
System Requirements Chart
User Personas
System Map
User Scenarios
Branding
We wanted Laundro to have a clean and slightly futuristic look that connected with the aesthetic of washers and dryers. Since water is synonymous with the idea of laundry, we used blue as our central brand colour.
Prototyping
& User-testing
User-testing was an invaluable experience that allowed us to have a see how the user interacted with the app and their overall experience. After creating user scenarios we created a set of tasks that would walk the user through the app.
A crucial part of the user testing was making sure that we didn’t ‘lead’ the user through the app, but asked them to complete tasks and observed how they attempted to complete it. We then took detailed notes while observing and then refined the finished product based on the notes and feedback from the users.
Initial Wireframes
User-Testing Recorded Observations
UX/UI Feedback
Final Product
Finding a Laundromat
Users can search for laundromats and filter their preferences to ensure all results are applicable to their specific needs. After selecting a location, users can view the laundromat’s information and proceed to book a session.
Booking a Machine
Laundro makes booking a washer/dryer in advance easy. The user can select their preferred date, time, and machine(s). Reserving a machine in advance ensures that the user won’t have to wait to start their laundry.
Payment
No cash? No problem! Laundro lets users save their preferred payment method through the app and pay instantly after booking.
Start Laundry
Laundro alerts the user when their machine is ready. After selecting ‘get started’ the app prompts the user to open the machine via Bluetooth. Once the user starts their machine, it automatically locks and can only be opened by their phone, allowing them to leave their load without worrying about someone else taking it out.
Reflection
Working on Laundro was an amazing and truly insightful experience as it introduced me to the process of user-testing and transformed my view of product design. I really enjoyed the process of seeing users interact with the prototype live and receiving feedback. This project taught me how important user-testing is, in order to understand how we could improve the user’s experience.