raul ramirez design

Spots of Hope: The Amur Leopard Project

Mobile app user experience design

Background

Client: Student project for Google UX Design Certificate Program

Role: Entire product design from research to conception, visualization, and testing

Year: 2023

Introduction

 

This project was done as part of the Google UX Design Certificate Program where I was prompted to design a user experience to help save an endangered species of
leopard.

 

The Amur leopard holds immense ecological and cultural significance. Sadly, it also holds the title of the rarest big cat in the world, teetering on the brink of extinction with only around 84 individuals remaining in the wild. Conservation efforts are not just important, they are critical to bring this species back from the edge.

Problem

The critically endangered Amur leopard suffers from habitat loss, poaching, and limited prey, requiring innovative solutions to prevent extinction.

Many people are willing to help save this species, but it is difficult for the average person to find ways in which to make an impact.

Solution

Spots of Hope: The Amur Leopard Project

Spots of Hope is an app that empowers users to actively participate in the conservation of the Amur Leopard through engaging features that raise awareness, support anti-poaching efforts, and connect with wildlife protection initiatives.

Research

PART 1

Identifying Opportunity

Method: Interview

To determine if other animal conservationists shared similar concerns about their ability to contribute to the conservation efforts of endangered species, I created a list of questions to better understand our target audience. I narrowed it down to five questions that I thought would give me the most insight into the problem space, and conducted 10-minute interviews with 5 people I met while visiting the San Antonio Zoo (3 zoo keepers and 2 visitors). 

  1. Would you consider yourself an animal conservationist?
  2. Do you actively participate in the conservation efforts of an endangered species?
  3. In what ways do you currently support the above animals?
  4. Do you think there is any way in which the process of supporting animal conservation could be improved? How?
  5. If you were creating a mobile app or website to help people contribute to animal conservation, what features would you include?

Findings 

The current methods in which the average person can contribute to animal conservation are limited and confusing.

All interviewees emphasized that they didn’t feel like there were many options for them to contribute to conservation efforts, with 80% naming the WWF as the only option they could think of. The majority also mentioned that if people learned more about these endangered animals, they would be more inclined to help the conservation of them.

PART 2

Understanding the Problem

Method: Survey, interview, affinity mapping, user persona

I conducted a survey with a larger sample size to further my research and determine if I was addressing a valid concern.

I developed a comprehensive survey aimed at understanding people’s awareness, attitudes, and behaviors towards animal conservation, specifically focusing on the Amur leopard, followed by another round of interviews to pinpoint their troubles.

15 people participated in the survey and I interviewed 7 of them.

VIEW SURVEY QUESTIONS

Affinity Map

I sorted the notes from the survey and interviews and categorized them to find commonalities.

Findings

  • More than half the people I surveyed either hadn’t heard of the Amur leopard or were unaware of its status as the most endangered big cat.
  • Most of the people surveyed stated they would be more inclined to contribute to wildlife conservation if they knew more about endangered species.

Turning insights into concepts

I took the insights from my affinity mapping and explored potential solutions.

How might we teach more people about the Amur leopard so they are more inclined to contribute to its conservation efforts?

Create a mobile app where the main user journey is learning about the Amur leopard, while providing creative ways for people to contribute.

PERSONA

I found it helpful to build a persona to gain a more clear vision of our target user. Below is animal enthusiast Emma’s user persona.

Competitive Analysis

Nothing on the market specifically focuses on Amur leopard conservation.

There’s no shortage of apps and websites that help you contribute to animal conservation, but none of them directly focus on the Amur leopard.

How will Spots of Hope compare?

A combination of its competitors, Spots of Hope will allow users to learn about the Amur leopard in an interactive way and provide an easy method of donating to contribute to conservation efforts.

Design

I designed the new user experience by imagining the user flow, followed by a wireframe and complete prototype, each accompanied with user testing.

The user experience will consist of 4 main user journeys: learn, help, news, and wallpapers. The first main user journey is the ‘Learn’ section, because most people I interviewed stated that they would feel more inclined to contribute to causes that they directly know about. So by first learning more about the Amur leopard, users will be more likely to move onto the ‘Help’ page where they can contribute to Amur leopard conservation.

User Testing (Wireframe)

At this stage I was focused mainly on the navigation of the app. I asked 3 people to navigate the app without guidance and observed …

  • If the navigation was intuitive
  • If there were features missing they would have found useful
  • How they felt during the process

Takeaways 

Users found the navigation to be intuitive, but noticed some screens lacked useful features such as back buttons and confirmation messages.

Refining the Design

After the first round of user testing, back buttons were added to every page and confirmation screens were added where necessary to make the navigation more intuitive.

Final User Testing

I took a step back from my design and invited three new testers to evaluate the high-fidelity prototype.

  1. I had them describe their understanding of Spots of Hope to assess if the app’s purpose and navigation were clear.
  2. I asked if they encountered anything confusing.
Link to usability study

Takeaways 

Users had a good grasp on Spots Of Hope’s purpose and found the app easy & fun to use.

Final Screens

Final Prototype

What I Learned

User-Centered Design is Key:

Conducting interviews, surveys, and user testing revealed that intuitive navigation and useful features are vital. Research also showed that the main focus of the app should be teaching about the Amur leopard instead of focusing on raising money for contribution efforts through donations.

Moving Forward

If I had more time I would have liked to expand and enhance user engagement through:

  • Gamification: introduce gaming elements and interactive features to make learning and contributing more rewarding.
  • Broaden Conservation Impact: partner with more wildlife organizations to provide users with diverse and impactful ways to contribute to conservation efforts.
  • Continuous Improvement: regularly update the app based on user feedback and emerging conservation needs to ensure it remains relevant and effective.