Kollabo is an app that helps creatives who are interested in collaborating easily find other interested creatives in a given area and with any specification so that they can avoid long fruitless searching and messaging on other platforms that waste time and reduce creative energy.
This was a self-initiated project that I worked on and was inspired by my challenges as a photographer.
Domain
iOS, Android
My Roles
User research, UI & experience design, branding prototyping, and testing.
Duration Year
2 weeks 2022
Tools used
Figma
H O W I T B E G A N
Confronting a personal problem
During one of the most trying times of my life, I ventured into photography as a way to help me regain some sense of control and purpose.
I started with shooting plants, animals, and random objects then started taking pictures of friends and family.
Before long, I began to really enjoy creating portraits and realized I had a talent for it. I wanted to do more professional and fulfilling work, and this meant I’d have to work with other talented creatives.
Oh, did I mention I had used up almost all my savings to buy a camera and had no money left? At least nothing enough to pay “top” models and make-up artists.
One thing led to another, and I discovered that collaborations are quite normal in the creative industry, in fact, it’s a process you go through to prove yourself as a creative. It helps you develop and showcase your skills, build your network and attract paid jobs that reward your skill, passion, and hard work. All for free.
Awesome stuff, but there was a problem.
I started with shooting plants, animals, and random objects then started taking pictures of friends and family.
Before long, I began to really enjoy creating portraits and realized I had a talent for it. I wanted to do more professional and fulfilling work, and this meant I’d have to work with other talented creatives.
Oh, did I mention I had used up almost all my savings to buy a camera and had no money left? At least nothing enough to pay “top” models and make-up artists.
One thing led to another, and I discovered that collaborations are quite normal in the creative industry, in fact, it’s a process you go through to prove yourself as a creative. It helps you develop and showcase your skills, build your network and attract paid jobs that reward your skill, passion, and hard work. All for free.
Awesome stuff, but there was a problem.
T H E P R O B L E M
Finding collaborators is hard work
They are many social platforms for photo sharing, but Instagram has become the favorite for many in the past few years.
There are millions of creatives, businesses, and brands on the platform.
Typically, finding creatives to collaborate with is a game of luck and a lot of hard work. You have to literally forage through billions of users using limited search terms and hashtags, then run through results before finally messaging someone in hopes that they are interested in collaborating. Many times they are not, so you do this many times over to increase your chances.
Another method is to post an open call for creatives, in hopes that you are contacted. As a starter though, you won’t get enough reach unless you promote the post. But again, the problem of interest arises as you’ve not done much work to make people reach out to you.
Yes, I get it, working hard proves you’re passionate, but why should things be hard when they can be easy?
There are millions of creatives, businesses, and brands on the platform.
Typically, finding creatives to collaborate with is a game of luck and a lot of hard work. You have to literally forage through billions of users using limited search terms and hashtags, then run through results before finally messaging someone in hopes that they are interested in collaborating. Many times they are not, so you do this many times over to increase your chances.
Another method is to post an open call for creatives, in hopes that you are contacted. As a starter though, you won’t get enough reach unless you promote the post. But again, the problem of interest arises as you’ve not done much work to make people reach out to you.
Yes, I get it, working hard proves you’re passionate, but why should things be hard when they can be easy?
R E S E A R C H & I N S I G H T S
But wait, am I the only one?
Curious about the need for a solution that enables creatives easily find other creatives interested in collaboration, I decided I would delve deeper beyond my perspective as a photographer through user interviews. Was this actually a problem worth solving or was I simply the only one?
I interviewed some photographers, models, and other creatives to gain more insight into the problem.
From my interviews, I found some insights:
— On social media platforms, creatives struggle to find other creatives interested in collaborating. They have to keep trying their luck and hope to get a response.
— On social media platforms, creatives struggle to find other creatives interested in collaborating. They have to keep trying their luck and hope to get a response.
— A lot of people are willing to collaborate but it’s hard to find them amongst the many other users of the platform.
— Creatives would like to create with collaborators nearby to avoid high transportation and logistic costs.
From the interview insights, I drafted my product idea and MVA, which I used to create the following user personas
T H E C H A L L E N G E
How might we enable creatives find other creatives interested in collaboration so that they work with who they want, and where they want and save time?
T H E S O L U T I O N
I began with a simple user flow which I used to quickly ideate and iterate the solution.
Key things users can do:
1. See personalized home feed based on location and creative field
2. Search for creatives with specifics
3. See posts from creatives around you
4. Like, comment on, and share creatives posts
5. Create and schedule projects
6. Follow and message creatives
2. Search for creatives with specifics
3. See posts from creatives around you
4. Like, comment on, and share creatives posts
5. Create and schedule projects
6. Follow and message creatives
Additional things users can do:
1. Add collaborators to projects
2. See recommended creatives in search
2. See recommended creatives in search
L O W F I D E L I T Y P R O T O T Y P E
T E S T I N G & I T E R A T I O N S
After 2 test rounds, I made some changes to the designs
H I - F I D E L I T Y D E S I G N S
Splash and onboarding
Home and search
Timeline and profiles
Project creation, invitation, and discussion
C O N C L U S I O N
Learnings and takeaways
I really enjoyed working on this passion project. It feels different designing for a problem I personally experience.
I have learned that simplicity and the “why” are the strengths of design. As well as a personal connection to the problem being solved.
Through this project, I have gained a refreshed understanding of the importance of the design thinking process. Putting the user at the core of every decision made and taking a stepwise structural approach to designing solutions.
I have learned that simplicity and the “why” are the strengths of design. As well as a personal connection to the problem being solved.
Through this project, I have gained a refreshed understanding of the importance of the design thinking process. Putting the user at the core of every decision made and taking a stepwise structural approach to designing solutions.