Rent the tech you need.

While enrolled in Lambda school, I designed and shipped a responsive web application and an Android application that allows peers to rent and share high-end technology. The website and Android application give people a simple, easy, secure, and intuitive way to rent out technology to other users. Our Android app did not make it live but the designs and user flows are available for a future product team to continue the process if wanted.

I was responsible for User Research, Brand Development, Design Strategy, and High-Fidelity Designs.

This project duration was 8 weeks.

Product Team

3 FE Developers | 1 BE Developer | 2 Android Developers | 1 UX Designer

The Proposal

“Imagine buying a new camera for one photoshoot. It sounds pretty expensive, right? On Tech2Rent’s web platform, you can safely and securely rent hi-tech equipment instead of buying it.”

After reading the product proposal I realized the problems I was truly trying to tackle were:

• Make it easier to find affordable equipment to rent.
• Help individuals make money back on their expensive investments.
• Eliminate caution or worry when renting equipment
• Make it easy for renters and loaners to communicate

The Process of User Research.

Target User

Our target user ages range from 20 to 45 years old. They are tech-inclined and have familiarity with using computers for work, personal organization, and social networking. It’s likely they would live in very populated cities within North America.

When trying to find out what issues our target users dealt with, we decided to have an open-ended guided interview with participants. This allowed users to speak their minds and focus on solely their pain points

Pain Points

• Apps that don’t really work as expected.

“Some apps look amazing but it takes some time to figure them out. I’m certain if I or anyone else was trying to rent out our equipment and or rent equipment we wouldn’t want a learning curve.”

When apps aren’t Intuitive as soon as the screen is touched causes confusion. Users can become aggravated when apps and websites don’t work the way users are used.

• Not being able to find immediate consult or information.

“Sometimes when renting equipment, I have questions and I would love if I could get someone to respond before I have to use it. Most of the time the email response comes a few days too late.”

Users wanted to be able to contact real-life users of the equipment to get information. Sometimes they faced issues using the tech they have no experience using. Users need tips and ways to maximize production when renting equipment.

• Pricing! Pricing! Pricing!

“Sometimes the price to rent equipment turns out to be the whole gig I’m using the tech for in the first place. If I’m only renting for two days it shouldnt be so expensive.”

Target users expressed they were overtaxed and felt the pricing of most renting houses didn’t truly follow a scale. Users didn’t have different options to choose from and because users didn’t have the ability to buy straight out, they were at the will of the renting companies.

Problem Statement

The target audience needs a simple and quick way to find high-end equipment and be able to rent and loan that equipment. Our users want to be able to search for all sorts of new equipment and connect with the owners in a timely manner. Our target audience would also like an app extension that is user-friendly, pleasing to use, and still promotes that high-class and exclusive feeling the brand stands for.

What other companies offer some of the same services?

I researched and carried out a competitive analysis of Tech 2 Rents’ competitors KitSplit and Borrow Lens. Though the focus of both brands and other brands similar to Tech 2 Rent focuses primarily on cameras the concept is relativity the same. Through analysis, I gained a deeper understanding of how these platforms connected the tech with the user. I was also able to gain a better understanding of the possible needs of Tech 2 Rents’ target audience.

Pros: Marketed to be easy to use.

Cons: Older users could feel like this “ease of use” presentation makes it accessible to everyone of all ages and doesn’t provide over the top authenticity they might be looking for.

Pros: Has a strong inventory of camera equipment.

Cons: Although the equipment accessible on Borrowlenses isn’t limited to just cameras the inventory for everything else isn’t as strong.

What does your application do that is different from competitors?

• Focus on security
• High-end equipment
• Direct communication with the actual customer

Why is your product considered an improvement over your competitors?

• Easier to use
• Mobile application
• Better communication with the actual renter and owner

I also evaluated Airbnb’s and Instagram’s mobile apps on Android to understand the strengths and weaknesses of their User Experience. I obtained inspiration, figured out what design layouts would be most familiar to users, and lastly got insight on how to display a live feed of users’ updates.

Strengths

• Bold and visual information
• Clear affordances
• Neat layout and navigation

Weaknesses

• Unfamiliar iconography (Instagram)
• Air BnB mobile “Explore Airbnb” doesn’t offer affordance

I conducted a stakeholder interview asking questions to create a dialogue on what the brand should be and ideally who would be using the product. Potential users were also interviewed, based on user persona information given by the stakeholder’s testimony. The target users age in this particular project range from 20 to 45 years of age. The user interviews were conducted to better understand users’ experiences of:

• Renting technology/Equipment
• Using mobile applications
• How they searched for equipment information within the competitor’s website.

Through user interviews, I was able to uncover a user’s needs, pain points, and challenges. I synthesized them into high-level themes:

• Users like features that make apps easy to use. Responsive and not delayed.
• Users want to feel like the app is just an extension of the web application. All features on the web app should be easily accessible through an Android app.
• Apps with poor functionality are frustrating or difficult to use.
• Users wish before renting there was a pathway to contact the owner of the equipment.
• Using contact forms and getting help from renting houses have become frustrating due to delayed responses, irrelevant information and the time-consuming task of finding helpful information.

The research found the assumptions made earlier during the discovery phase to be true. Targeted users just want to rent equipment, without complications, and if a mobile app was possible it would be a seamless extension to the web application.

Mid Fidelity Wireframes

Android Mobile Application Wireframe

Web Application Wireframe

Iterations and Preference testing.

I conducted A and B testing on the landing page to understand which version users preferred and why they preferred one design over the other. Users chose the 2nd iteration over the first and claimed the second option seemed more modern and fitting to the brands’ identity. Preference testing was accomplished by using Usability Hub.

What We Ended Up With.

If there was more time.

If the team had more time, I would have loved to incorporate interaction design to keep the feel of the application innovative. Also would like the Android application to go live into the play store released as a BETA. Our second release of the android application was supposed to also add a chat system that allows members to communicate making it easier to arrange local meet-ups for transactions.

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