Globeshift:
responsive website

This is

A service designed to revolutionize the international moving process by offering a wide range of customized support

Check out the prototype!

Project length:

12 weeks

Role:

UX/UI, Researcher, Creative Lead, Prototyper

Project type:

End to end, mobile-first website

Background

International movers lack moving support

Let's talk moving. Have you ever moved house?

According to previous data, it's likely you have.

As per the United States Census Bureau, nearly 28 million people — or 8.4% of all Americans — moved in the United States in 2021 alone.

Individuals moving to a new place face an endless list of tasks to complete before arrival. There's too many things to do, and not enough time or energy to do them. For international movers, these struggles multiply significantly.

There needs to be a better way for international movers to overcome these issues (ie. language barriers, cost, lack of cultural knowledge) and move stress-free.

Service proposal

research

Users want to take the guess work out of symptom management

RESEARCH OBJECTIVES

Explore what leading moving services are currently providing for users
Understand how people experience moving house
Discover what people look for in a moving service and whether they'd find use in a moving service

COMPETITIVE ANALYSIS

Angi

TaskRabbit

Handy

In order to understand what moving support was currently being offered to movers, I took a look at three leading task-booking services.

COLLECTIVE APP STRENGTHS

Brand recognition
Word of mouth advertising
User/site verified professionals
Wide variety of service types, organized by relevant categories
Service in all major US metropolitan areas

COLLECTIVE APP WEAKNESSES

Limited service locations (ie. North America)
Lack of furniture assembly/disassembly services
Lack of options for contactless services
No access to public handymen ratings + reviews

USER INTERVIEWS

people packing up a moving truck, with light pastel colors, pink, and nature around.jpg

Participant recruitment

First and foremost, I wanted to speak with users who had experience moving house.

I was able to gather 5 participants, all with varying moving experience (ie. domestic and international moves.)

people packing up a house's furniture, with light pastel colors, pink, and plants around.j

Interviews: Primary takeaways

All participants agreed unanimously that moving is an inherently stressful experience, with price serving as a leading barrier to hiring help. Domestic movers struggle most with the actual moving process while international movers struggle most with country-specific problems. Most are not inclined to pay for an app on their phone, but recognize that moving is an effort best completed with assistance.

SURVEY

Google Forms

Asynchronous

19 participants

I was able to widen my participant pool by conducting a survey, which allowed me to gather quantitative data concerning experiences with moving services and monetary interest in an alternative solution.

42.1

PARTICIPANTS WHO HAVE MOVED MORE THAN 5 TIMES

42.1

USERS DESCRIBING MOVING SERVICE EXP. AS SUB-PAR

52.6

PARTICIPANTS WILLING TO PAY FOR A NEW SOLUTION

USER PERSONAS

User interviews revealed that most international movers can be categorized into roughly 2 groups based on aspects such as financial status, purpose of move, and cultural/linguistic knowledge

Seasoned nomad

Budget traveler

PROJECT SCOPE

"International movers need help finding and hiring local moving services because they are at a linguistic disadvantage and often suffer from scammers and discrimination at the hands of local service workers."

PROBLEM STATEMENT

How might we help international movers find and hire affordable, local moving services?

How might we help international movers protect themselves against scammers?

How might we help international movers overcome the language barrier?

HMWs

user + task flows

Helping users accomplish tasks with ease

User flows

The two core flows of this service pertain to the primary actions users will be taking when carrying out their move: booking a service, and leaving a review. Users will be free to browse among offered services, searching by category or keyword, and, if interested, continue to fill out the booking request accordingly.

View in full

brand starting point

Bringing delight to a stressful process

LOGO VARIATIONS

TYPOGRAPHY

COLOR PALETTE SAMPLE

PHOTOGRAPHY SAMPLE

BRAND VALUES

introducing globeshift

An international moving service

LOCATION-BASED SERVICES

Globeshift offers tailored moving support to users of all needs, built with flexible resources including:

Access to relevant, affordable, and location-specific moving services in every category

Streamlined service booking flow in the user’s desired language

Secure in-service messaging to communicate with service workers instantly

International resources:
- Comprehensive guides, how-to guides, and FAQs for navigating life abroad

Organizational tools:
- Time-sensitive booking reminders, checklist resources, and interactive calendar to keep users on track

Community feed:
- Access to Globeshift's vibrant community of local and international movers to find support

OTHER FEATURES

wireframing + testing

An international moving service

Mid-fidelity screens

My main goals during mid-fidelity wireframing included validating my design decisions, ensuring the content aligned with user goals, and assessing for any gaps in the task flow whilst asessing for overall clarity.

Iterations from low-fidelity wireframing included adding a filter button for open searches, adding hours of operation to the service view, and moving the booking CTA of service view higher up on the screen.

View in full

Low-fidelity screens

I explored low-fidelity layout options via paper and pencil, focusing my efforts on experimenting with layout options, leveraging design patterns, and avoiding information overload.

I knew I wanted to based Globeshift's structure on that of industry leaders, organizing tasks/services by general categories while still offering freedom to perform specified searches or browse by trending categories.

High-fidelity screens

Moving into high-fidelity wireframing, my main focuses were to 1) establish a balance of color palette & visual elements, 2) ensure the core values were being translated visually (ie. “is it delightful?”) and 3) continuously validate my design decisions through mentor feedback and group critique sessions with my fellow DesignLab students. Through a couple rounds of iterations, I was left with a working array of fun, colorful, and welcoming screens ready for testing and final feedback.

View in full

TESTING

7 participants

INPUT FIELDS

Before

Input field titles should be given additional clarity and explanation through interactive 'i' bubbles that users can toggle on and off

After

SERVICE CARDS

Before

After

The visibility of price labels on service cards should be increased by adding a colored overlay beneath the text

RESULTS

WORKED: Color palette, visual consistency, IA

CHANGE: Improve legibility of pricing on home feed service cards, improve clarity of service booking screens through 'i' bubbles, adjust explanation of service booking confirmation modal to add clarity, minor tweaks to 'moving services' page card descriptions

QUESTIONS: What various informational categories mean during the checkout flow (ie. "Who" and "Where"), what specific resources would be located within general resources vs. international resources

IDEAS: Addition of 'i' informational bubbles during booking flow, addition of an FAQ on the bottom nav, ability to go back to service booking after submission of the request

final result

impact

This project allowed me to explore the pain points of movers worldwide, pushing users' expectations of current moving services to provide a unique and flexible experience. Widening my scope from a local to a global scale, I successfully implemented a digital solution that both met and exceeded the needs of users moving house.

PROJECT OUTCOMES

Intentionally explored issues facing an underserved demographic of movers

Successfully replicated and expanded upon the pre-existing model of moving services

Uncovered the effects of stress in the experience of moving house

NEXT STEPS

Collaborate with local governments and centers for tourism worldwide to build relevant, location-based guides

Jumpstart initiatives for flexible, multi-lingual support

Begin expansion into service provider-facing workflows

Globeshift:
responsive website

Check out the prototype!

Project length:

Role:

Project type:

Background

International movers lack moving support

Service proposal

research

Users want to take the guess work out of symptom management

Participant recruitment

First and foremost, I wanted to speak with users who had experience moving house.

I was able to gather 5 participants, all with varying moving experience (ie. domestic and international moves.)

Interview guide (preview)

Affinity mapping to organize key insights

Moving house proved to be an easy topic for participants to speak about, regardless of the extent or category of their experiences.

View in full

Interviews: Primary takeaways

user + task flows

Helping users accomplish tasks with ease

User flows

Task flows

brand starting point

Bringing delight to a stressful process

introducing globeshift

An international moving service

wireframing + testing

An international moving service

Mid-fidelity screens

Low-fidelity screens

High-fidelity screens

View in full

final result

impact

Globeshift: responsive website

Check out the prototype!

Project length:

Role:

Project type:

Background

International movers lack moving support

Service proposal

research

Users want to take the guess work out of symptom management

Participant recruitment

First and foremost, I wanted to speak with users who had experience moving house. I was able to gather 5 participants, all with varying moving experience (ie. domestic and international moves.)

user + task flows

Helping users accomplish tasks with ease

User flows

brand starting point

Bringing delight to a stressful process

introducing globeshift

An international moving service

wireframing + testing

An international moving service

Mid-fidelity screens

High-fidelity screens

View in full

final result

impact

Globeshift:
responsive website

First and foremost, I wanted to speak with users who had experience moving house.

I was able to gather 5 participants, all with varying moving experience (ie. domestic and international moves.)