Research

Surveys
User Interviews

Survey Says..

We conducted surveys using Google Forms emailed to friends and family, posted on Slack, and posted on Reddit car enthusiast forums. Each survey polled 17 participants.

The first survey’s purpose was to generally understand the car buying process. We sent the survey to car owners ages 22-52 in the LA area and asked questions regarding:

• What factors influence users’ car purchase decisions

• Where users typically purchase cars (dealership, online, etc)

• How users can research potential cars to buy

• Whether users test drive before purchasing a car

We found that 100% of users do their own research before purchasing a vehicle. 100% of users research potential cars online, 47% ask friends, and 41% visit a dealer as part of the research process. 16 out of 17 participants test drove a vehicle.

Key factors of a purchase were price and color. The top 3 features that users researched were technology, appearance and engine models/specs.

User Interviews to Create the frame for our Learning Course

To transfer the information from a book to an e-learning course I wanted to better understand our users.

We sought out tech-savvy car enthusiasts from our social networks and interviewed 6 people via phone.

Our interview goals were to:

• Understand how technology influences car purchasing decisions 

• Understand car enthusiast’s emotional connections to car brands

• Evaluate users’ experiences with current car AR sites/apps/exhibits
  We need to present information clearly, create interactions with the course, and provide structure.

Synthesis

A-HA moment!
Personas

A-HA! The Life Cycle of a Car Enthusiast

Gathering insights from user interviews, it became apparent that a car enthusiast's relationship with a car brand evolves over time.

This graph shows how much $ car enthusiasts spend over time.

We want to engage consumers right when they decide to buy their first luxury car, when they’re looking to fall in love with one brand. This is our chance to capture that enthusiast and convert them from a fanboy into a lifelong fan.

Max Momentum

Utilizing these insights we found Max Momentum

Design

Feature Prioritization

Design Studio

When prioritizing features to include in our app, we had to consider multiple audiences: Car Enthusiasts and Divergent 3D

We prioritized features that were critical for BOTH users and stakeholders. These must-haves included: 

• Browse car models

• Change paint colors

• Cockpit view (interior)

• Rotate 360 degrees

• View concept cars

• Specs 

• About Divergent 3D section

• “White label” (customizable by car brand)

We did not include features that were important for EITHER the user or the stakeholder in our final design.

We started the design process with a design studio: 

1. CREATE: Each designer had 5 minutes to draw up as many design solutions as possible.

2. PITCH: We then presented and advocated for our designs for 3 minutes each.

3. CRITIQUE: Finally for 2 minutes we analyzed each others' design solutions, identifying features and designs that we thought worked best for the client.

Prototype

Usability Testing

The Evolution of Testing Our Prototypes

Car enthusiasts expressed their hatred for going to the car dealership, so I asked what might be the best way to have them engage with cars on their own terms without the haggling?

Walk-Through

Our users really found our app to be fun but also learned more about Divergent 3D parts. Through testing and research we found that car customization makes car shopping fun. We also found that price is a key aspect of the shopping process which can be the most frustrating when at the dealership.

Takeaways