user research 2017
I was part of a team at AIGA that conducted a user research study to see what members' pain points were with the current join process, why they lapsed, and also to determine what members valued or were hoping to get out of their membership dues.
After gathering our sample (members and non-members and diverse personas), we asked for consent to conduct interviews, played interactive games, card sorting ranking, and spoke with attendees at national conferences and events. Examples of questions asked are “What is design to you?”, “What makes design important?”, and "What has been your career trajectory?". This helped to put us in their shoes and gain empathy. We found the following themes in their desires:
The findings were synthesized and presented to the entire national staff and 75 local chapters. We found that the organization needed to be more human and less elitist, aid in creating a national community, help chapters build their local networks, incorporate more digital tools and certifications, and provide designers with resources within their financial constraints that could help them grow.
After gathering our sample (members and non-members and diverse personas), we asked for consent to conduct interviews, played interactive games, card sorting ranking, and spoke with attendees at national conferences and events. Examples of questions asked are “What is design to you?”, “What makes design important?”, and "What has been your career trajectory?". This helped to put us in their shoes and gain empathy. We found the following themes in their desires:
- DEFINING DESIGN
- IDENTITY
- INSPIRATION
- WANTS/NEEDS
- EXTERNAL INFLUENCES
- AIGA
- COMMUNITY
The findings were synthesized and presented to the entire national staff and 75 local chapters. We found that the organization needed to be more human and less elitist, aid in creating a national community, help chapters build their local networks, incorporate more digital tools and certifications, and provide designers with resources within their financial constraints that could help them grow.