Despite being the London Borough of Culture and home to over 380,000 residents, Croydon’s high streets and local businesses have been impacted by socio-economic challenges, leading to their decline.
My mission is to help residents discover new activities and businesses in their area, support small businesses, strengthen local connections, and boost the borough’s economy.
Venture is a platform that encourages residents to explore and connect with local businesses and activities they might overlook. It keeps users updated on community events and offers rewards like discounts, loyalty points, and special deals. Users can also buy tickets and make bookings directly. By promoting local spending, Venture supports small businesses and strengthens community pride.
I used my notebook to brainstorm different approaches to solving the problem, which helped me assess the potential scale and sustainability of each solution.
I liked the idea of using kiosks. Setting up interactive kiosks throughout the town and high streets could showcase local business promotions, nearby activities, and provide directions.
The app's target audience could be diverse and includes people who share a common interest in discovering and celebrating the local community.
Recruited and tested 20 screens with 8 target users to see if users could easily onboard and begin a challenge.
Feedback: 40% users felt the headers lacked context
Improvement: improved headers and introduced micro copy to provide more context for users.
Feedback
Improvement
Feedback: 60% users weren’t familiar with names of areas in the croydon borough.
Feedback: Users also weren’t aware the “select button” was the final stage in the onboarding process.
Improvement: I grouped the areas into zones for easy navigation.
Improvement: Incorporated a back button to take users back to the previous options, improved CTA button and copy to reassure users of final step.
Feedback
Improvement
Venture’s design is bold, dynamic, and engaging, featuring greens, whites, and blacks for a clean, modern look, with hints of purple to add an element of mystery and spark curiosity.
The onboarding screens are designed to quickly immerse users into the app, making it a breeze to sign in or create an account and start exploring.
Encouraging local residents to discover and interact with nearby businesses and activities, which they might otherwise miss, can boost community engagement and build a stronger sense of connection. The challenge screens are designed to be user-friendly, promoting trust and community ties through features like badges, reviews, ratings, and detailed "about" sections.
The Challenge dashboard lets you track your progress at a glance and shows what’s next in the challenge.
This project was both interesting and rewarding, from concept to design. By focusing on revitalising community engagement and supporting local businesses, I crafted an app concept that thoughtfully considers user needs, preferences, and experiences—all presented in a vibrant visual style, making it both meaningful and enjoyable.
