How Was The Project Born?
I lost my piercing balls shortly after moving to Prague. I didn’t know the industry such as prices, studios, and where I can buy only piercing balls. Google showed only popular studios which I didn’t want to pay a lot of money. So I went to the center and searched for tattoo places if they sell only piercing balls. Neither I was responded in the Czech language or they only offer tattoos. In the end spending ages, I found a place where I can buy a piercing. I told this story to expat friends and realized that I wasn’t alone.
About Project
Project Goals
Choosing the best tattoo for not regretting is a difficult choice. You need to get along with the artist and find the same language as him/her. If you don’t speak the same language it would be difficult to describe your dream tattoo. One of my goals is to find a solution to the language barrier. Ink finder helps you to find English-friendly artists and studios. I decided to start with a map because the location is important. For example, Prague 1- 3 direction is a touristic and well-known area. Most expats get a tattoo in Prague 1-3 but had no idea about local/English-friendly artists. My aim is to help a local -small artist to become well-known as much as an artist in the tourist region.
My Role
UX/UI designer
Scope
15 December- 7 Feb
Tool Used
Figma, Adobe Illustrator, Miro, Moqups, Canva, TypeForm, pen and pencil
Ink Finder
It is a tattoo app where expats/tourists can have a tattoo or piercing in Prague. The app is location-based. Expats, especially those who don't speak Czech, can get in touch with artists, book for their new tattoo, and can see artists' new draw that hasn't used to.
About the Project
Tattoos are very common among young people. Sometimes it is a conversation starter, sometimes it is an art. There are stories attached to the body. Tattooing used to be regarded as a sub-cultural activity, now it becomes much more mainstream. According to the Dalia Research in 2018, 38% of global respondents say they have at least one tattoo. Most people aren’t satisfied with just one tattoo. When It comes to find the best tattoo or artist, it takes ages. Especially if you are expat or tourist in a country and you don’t know the language. Prague attracts most European tourists because of cheaper and qualified tattooers. On the other hand, In Prague, some tattoo studios don’t offer piercing so you need to search specifically for piercing.
Initial Research
2 research methods helped me to understand user needs, challenges, excitements.
1.) Quantitative Methods (Interviews)
2.) Qualitative Methods (Survey)
I conducted 30 interviews/surveys which 5 interviews were face-to-face interviews. 20 is a potential customer who has at least one tattoo. 10 is who wants to get tattooed in the near future. 5 is tattoo artists.
What Did I Find From Interviews?
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Both tattooists and tattoo lovers think consultation appointments always better. It’s a nice way to meet and talk.
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The most common tattoo descriptions are a hobby, passion, story, body decoration, icebreaker.
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Expats don't know where the tattoo community in Prague.
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Expats look up artists and studios on the internet.
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One of the biggest challenges in finding an artist in a foreign town is a lack of language.
Survey
I asked 8 yes or no questions to the 30 potential users. I hoped to offer a prediction on problems and determine problems clearly after the survey I made it.
Quantitative Survey Results
User Personas
I created two user personas to represent potential users of the app. One persona is a tattooer and 0ther one is a tattoo lover. Creating personas lets me analyze the issues they have been facing.
Affinity Mapping
I collected feedback from research findings. I created a theme to organize information. I separated it into 3 blocks. The first one is what tattoo artists most commonly like. The second one is for a person who has at least one tattoo and the last one is for the person who wants to get a tattoo in near future.
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User Flow
I did a task flow that I wanted to see the user reach the conclusion by completing his task as quickly and intuitively as possible.
Wireframes
I started the design with low-fidelity wireframes. This is the way I can see missing points and try many options.
Test
After I tested the app, I made some corrections according to the user’s ideas.
Confusing login options that’s why I made the Facebook option bigger and add the Gmail login button.
It wasn't clear when a message was sent. I added the time and day section.
UI Design
What Can User Do In The App?
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They will see all tattooers in Prague
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They will see all information about the studio ( location, info about artist, language, comments)
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They can have a quick appointment via the app
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Artists can have costumers from other countries
Problem Solution
INK FINDER helps foreigners and tourists to get dream tattoo. Thanks to the INK FINDER users can view artists and can get in touch easily without confusion. Users type their location and see the closest store to them by using the filter on the home page.
By filling the form, users can ask what question they have in their mind and choose the artist who replies to their message. If users don’t have what kind of tattoo they want or want to have a unique tattoo, they will see in the Design Pool section artist’s sketch which they haven't used.
Users won’t get confused due to too many tattoo designs and quickly connect to artists. Besides, they don’t need to search for piercing. If the tattoo studio provides piercing they will see an approved icon.
Takeaway
From Interviews: Artists think of their work as a business that's the reason they want to move their work online. They complain that there are only a few platforms where they can collaborate with artists.
Tattoed people: They want to make sure if she/he can get along with artists before getting a tattoo. Visually of artist page is important for them at first sight.
It’s not easy to find local artists as newcomers. As I see, tattooed users know only famous artists in Prague. They would like to contact locals and meet, follow tattoo trends so on.
In my opinion, the tattoo is a culture that accepted by the world since Ancient Egypt. People don’t interested in only getting tattoos from the number one tattooist in the town. More than this, they would like to meet local artists and follow their work. Of course, they want to have a tattoo which won't regret. (The main reason for the project was not that.)