Proposal the UX design direction for Samsung smartphone camera functions targeting Gen Z to derive their preferred functions and insights through studying content enjoyed by Gen Z and case studies of trendy camera/edit apps.
Research Paper
· Theoretical research
· Trend research
· Case study
· User scenario
Design & Video
· Authoring tool
· UX / UI design
· Gen Z interview video
· GUI prototyping Video
This project was conducted over a period of 17 weeks and involved a research team including 14 university students and 1 professors. Throughout the project, the composition of the team members within small-scale teams changed according to each process.
In the inspiration process, we focused on conducting extensive research and thorough case studies to gain valuable insights into my target audience, particularly Gen Z. By delving into their preferences, behaviors, and interests, we strive to better understand their unique perspectives and needs.
In the process of theoretical research, I conducted a study on the types and structures of enjoyment. Specifically, I focused on analyzing examples of enjoyment experienced by Korean Gen Z in four areas: interest, immersion, pleasure, and aspiration. Through this analysis, I derived a framework and effectively communicated the findings.
During this process, I was responsible for studying digital content (YouTube/AR/AI/VR) and SNS cases. Alongside three team members, we conducted investigations on the cases, analyzed them, and framed the analysis. Based on our findings, we derived and organized representative keywords, feature ideas, and insights for communication purposes.
During the ideation phase, we utilized interviews to define the pain points of Samsung's basic camera editing tools. Additionally, we conducted scenario workshops to foster creative brainstorming and generate innovative ideas for potential solutions. This approach allowed me to envision user-centric concepts that address the identified issues effectively.
Prior to the interviews, a pre-survey was conducted over 8 days, targeting 177 Gen Z participants. Based on the pre-survey results, a group of 30 individuals was recruited for face-to-face interviews, which were carried out over a span of three days. The interview format involved a modified version of a Focus Group Interview (FGI), where two interviewees engaged in a conversation, exchanging responses of questions . Each group session lasted for 15~30 minutes. These interviews aimed to gather insights on the prioritization of camera app features through card sorting, understanding user's smartphone camera usage patterns in terms of photo and video editing, and exploring Gen Z's perception of Samsung cameras. I actively participated as an additional interviewee, examining Samsung phone features and engaging in discussions with other interviewees. The interview findings were grouped according to users' journey map and presented along with the final insights.
Each team member conducted ideation sketches for 10 scenarios based on user journeys, resulting in a total of 140 feature ideas. These ideas were then subjected to a first-round internal evaluation, where they were assessed and categorized as high, medium, or low priority. In a second-round meeting and discussion, similar ideas from the first round were integrated, and existing ideas were further developed and evaluated. Ideas that advanced to the final evaluation underwent an online assessment, leading to the selection of 30 final feature ideas. Based on these 30 ideas and the interview results, we derived three user personas.
During the implementation phase, we leveraged the insights from our derived personas and feature ideas to drive GUI design. Starting from wireframing to prototyping, we meticulously crafted functional pages tailored to each persona. These results were compiled into a comprehensive research report, which encompassed all our research processes, and shared with Samsung to provide a thorough account of our work.
Based on the derived personas, we created user scenarios, and using these scenarios as a basis, we developed GUIs and prototypes for the smartphone camera app for each persona. This work was carried out simultaneously with the production of other deliverables such as presentation materials and research analysis. My main role was to synthesize the final research findings in the form of visualizations and charts for final presentation. Subsequently, we shared our research materials with Samsung and also proposed future research directions.