POC: Near
The Problem
Many community spaces and neighborhoods rely on physical bulletin boards to spread information amongst residents, leaving residents in the dark.
In an increasingly remote world, young adults report difficulty making friends outside of work or school, and find themselves feeling disconnected.
The Solution
Near is a social networking app that allows apartment residents to connect with each other and post events in a low-pressure environment.
The Impact
88% of interviewees living in Austin admitted checking the bulletin board less regularly during colder/hotter seasons.
We believe creating a digital community board will facilitate a stronger connection between residents and their communities.
Proto-Persona
Abby (24) relocated to Austin following the pandemic for a new job. While she is grateful for a hybrid schedule to connect with her coworkers, she finds herself lonely when she is at home.
Abby wants to integrate herself into her community but finds that she has a hard time putting herself out there.
Meet Abby!
User
Research
Interviews
5 Interviewees
50 Survey Participants
Many reported experiencing a hard time facilitating new connections with their neighbors and staying in the know of localized events.
Sam A. (24)
“I definitely want to meet some more neighbors and I miss when I was a kid growing up, having neighborhood barbecues and pool parties.”
Claire M. (28)
“I was talking to my upstairs neighbor yesterday and she told me…[last weekend, she went to a beach clean up] … I didn’t go, but I would like to have known about it.”
Many individuals reported difficulty meeting their neighbors despite wanting to.
Many individuals reported finding it difficult to stay in the know of local events.
There are no resident focused interactive platforms .
User Insights
Ideation & Definition
User Persona
Meet Amy!
I love meeting new people and attending events in my community. It makes me feel more connected.
After moving to a new city and starting a new job, Amy is looking to find out what events are occurring around her. She hopes to build a community of friends nearby to hang out with.
Amy Schmidt (27)
Never remembers to write events down in her calendar.
Hard time initiating conversations with new people
Creature of habit - enjoys going out to places relative to her neighborhood.
Behaviors
Learn more about community events.
Remain in the loop for important community announcements.
Goals
Immediate location must not be shared for safety.
Disorganized and/or chaotic feeds.
Pain Points
Storyboard
1.New Beginnings
Amy, her boyfriend, and dog move into a new apartment in Austin and are excited to get integrated into their new community.
2. Community Board
When Amy goes to check the community board, she notices it hasn’t been updated in a while and is very disorganized.
3. Questioning Move
Amy worries they made a mistake moving to the new complex, as it doesn’t seem to be community oriented.
4. Discovery
Amy finds out through Resident Services,the complex now posts all community events on the Near App and installs the app.
5. Receives Message
A neighbor named Sarah, noticed Amy and her dog playing in the dog park and reached out to her on Near.
6. New Friendships
Amy and Sarah take their dogs to the dog park - and to their surprise they share a lot in common besides their Samoyed Pups!
Empathy Map
User Flow
Prototyping & User Testing
Sketches
Low-Fidelity
Feature Prioritization Matrix
High Fidelity
Next Steps
Build out the functionality of current features:
Direct messaging
User Profiles
Add in community space functions (rent/maintenance requests)
Ample testing for final stage prototypes.