As part of my user research, I have interviewed some friends and friends of friends about their nail art for the past 2 weeks. The most valuable information I gathered out of these interviews is the fact that the lack of nail-related information was NOT my users’ problem. It was a critical finding. I was about to create something that was completely off track. User interviews are scary… users tell you things, whether you want to hear it or not.
Here are some of the interview results:
<User Interview Data>
Interview notes from a previous week are here.
This week:
Interview 1
Date: February 19, 2010
Interviewee: Japanese female in her mid 20s
Occupation: JICA member
Background/Skills: She has been doing nails by herself for a couple of years.
Minutes:
- Resources: She reads nail-related features on weekly/monthly fashion magazines as reference for her new nail designs.
- Challenge: Cost. Glittery stones and decorative materials are often too expensive for her.
- Budget: She usually spends around JPY 2,000 (USD 21.00) per month for nails.
- Use of social networking tools: She checks mixi, Twitter and Facebook everyday.
- Frequency of service: Once every 1-2 weeks.
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After several rounds of user interviews, I decided to look at different direction for my thesis project. The new concept is tentatively called “Nail Party Planner”, a mobile-based application for connecting teenagers and students in NYC through nail art. I want to target a group of people (likely teenagers and students who like to hang out!) to organize “nail parties”, socializing occasions at nail salons in NYC. Girls can find deals around the neighborhood by date, price, #of people in the group, etc., make reservations at selected nail salons, and just meet up with friends on the date of the parties and have fun! I haven’t figured out any details yet, but I am very excited about where I am going.
The inspiration for Nail Art Party obviously comes from a number of user interviews I did last week, from which I figured my problem was not everyone’s problem. My former professor Nancy Hechinger also gave me a guidance when building this idea. Ultimately I realized that the fundamental aspects of nail art are (1) having fun, (2) improving self-esteem, and (3) socializing and interacting with other people while doing nails (i.e. gossiping, chit-chatting, you know girls talk).
Research reference:
People love rewards and discounts. Loyalty programs are the inspiration for my team (Cameron, Ruxy, Liesje and I) when we came up with BeeMe last year. We wanted to help small businesses get customers and buzz. It seems that after one year I am still enthusiastic about the idea of helping small business with the technology.
My task for this weekend was to think about possible directions for my thesis project at NYU ITP. I went to the Mt. Snow with fellow ITPers, and spent some time in a ridiculously quiet environment, thinking about my curiosity and passion. The more I thought about my interests, the closer I got to the heart of BeeMe. Shop, rewards, small stores, customers… I just could not get away from BeeMe. That told me something. Read more
- Entrance of the ARTS Building. Can you tell if this is a gallery building or not?
For Cabinets of Wonder this week, I walked around Chelsea Art District and went to a building called “ARTS Building” where 19 galleries are located. At a glance, this building looks like one of the typical manufacturing houses or office buildings in Chelsea, because there is no obvious sign or indication of art galleries except the name “ARTS.” Without the help of a friend with his map enabled iPhone, I would have never known that those galleries existed.
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The Cooper-Hewitt Museum, National Design Museum is my favorite museum in New York City. As a design nerd, I love checking exhibitions about current design at a gorgeous townhouse on Sunday morning, and walking along the Central Park afterwards. I like the fact that exhibitions feel “manageable” and “digestible” in this two-story townhouse. I can finish two exhibitions in an hour or less.
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For Cabinets of Wonder, I went to the Tenement Museum in Lower East Side with Liesje, Mustafa, and Eyal. The museum promotes tolerance and historical perspective through interpretation of some of estimated 7,000 working class immigrants who resided in the building between 1863 and 1935. Read more
My initial sketch for the Webcam Zoo
Out of several ideas for the midterm for Live Web, I decided to run along a fun path: creating a webcam zoo. I’m envisioning this being a webpage aggregating different live videos and constantly-updated images of a various species from zoos, aquariums, national parks, farms and personal residences.
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