Duration
10 Weeks
1 Project Cycle
Team
Creative Director Mentor
UX Designer
Role
Creative Director
UX Researcher
UI Designer
Project Overview
Students at Pratt were required to design a product for a crowdfunding campaign in 2022. After researching what performs best in crowdfunding campaigns, the product could be anything that would perform well. It has to be innovative
My Role
A strong narrative is necessary for crowdfunding campaigns to be successful. One of the many hats that have been worn in this project is the transition from guiding the product's overall aesthetic to its function through UX research and, finally, UI design.
Gathering Information
I had a clearer idea of what product to make once I learned that the crowdfunding platform we would use was called Kickstart. There are more than five significant crowdfunding platforms, but their users are all diverse. Users who are more interested in design and art are the target audience for Kickstarter.
Games are the most successful project category on Kickstarter, according to the stats page for that platform. With sales exceeding $2 billion.
According to an article with tabletop director Charlie Hall, tabletop games continue to make up a size-able portion—up to one-third of Kickstarter's overall annual revenue.
The games category as a whole earned more than $219 million, up nearly 9%. Games now account for 34% of the backer revenue for Kickstarter.
Overall Idea of the GAME
Due to language barriers, I found it extremely challenging to socialize when I first arrived in the U.S. All of the students at the language school I attended were encouraged to play board games because they made it simpler to socialize with others. However, a lot of these games required players to understand complex rules, so they would only participate in the simpler games. As a result, rather than a game with a ton of rules like monopoly, the board game I wanted to create had to be more of a physical game that relied on eye and hand coordination.
Usability Testing
Adding UI
Design Inspiration
Personas
Carlos
Age: 25
USA
Marketing
A day in life
He recently relocated to New York City and is currently enrolled in a school there to study English.
Goals
He hopes to be able to interact and make friends with his classmates who are studying English.
Pain points
He is extremely shy and feels as though speaking in English makes him even more so.
Lara
Age: 34
USA
Consultant
A day in life
She enjoys hosting Thursday game night at her apartment and sending hilarious memes to her friends.
Goals
She is looking for a board game with simple rules so that more people will feel at ease learning how to play.
Pain points
does not like to clean up board games that have too many little pieces.
Joe
Age: 29
USA
Business
A day in life
supports crowd-funding websites and small businesses with great pleasure. His favorite program to watch in the evenings is Stranger Things.
Goals
discovering dynamic and inventive board games.
Pain points
Paper-based instructions and a lack of diverse game modes for board games.
Final Iterations
Findings
After the first round of usability testing, many players expressed that the game would transition more smoothly if there was a base as a starter rather than having to use the same cards.
Final Pitch
The board game was designed and produced by a college student. The judges for the previous class were a variety of mentors who have achieved success in the world of crowdsourcing. Out of 15 students, scaffolding came in second.
Final Pitch Video For Mentors
Conclusion
Making a board game profitable is a difficult task. Due to the high cost of acrylic materials—each box would have cost $75—my design was not chosen first.
Future Ideas
Making the cards from wooden and fluorescent vinyl might lower the cost.
Strengthening the connection between the UI and the physical object.
Playing videos of people while providing instructions