Urban Alert is a digital platform aimed at improving public awareness and responsiveness to urban issues, such as infrastructure disruptions and safety concerns. I led the UX/UI design from research through mid-fidelity focusing on accessibility, user engagement, and scalable design.
Challenge

Design an app that helps residents stay informed about crime and safety issues in their community. The goal was to deliver real-time alerts, enable user-reported incidents, and foster a sense of safety through accessible, localized information. UX research, including interviews and testing, guided the app’s development to meet user needs, build trust, and improve community awareness.

Process

User Interviews – Interviews were conducted to understand users' concerns about safety, how they currently stay informed about crime, and what features they would find useful in an app. This provided valuable insights into user pain points and preferences.

Personas & Proto-Personas – Creating personas helped guide the design process by representing key user groups, such as residents in high-crime areas or individuals new to a city. These personas informed decisions about features, tone, and design, ensuring the app catered to the most relevant user needs.

User Journey Mapping – Mapping out the users' journey from receiving alerts to reporting an incident helped visualize potential pain points and areas for improvement in the app’s flow. This method was essential for ensuring a seamless user experience.

Wireframing & Prototyping – Using wireframes and prototypes allowed for quick, iterative testing of design ideas and functionality. This helped refine the app’s layout, navigation, and user interface before moving to more detailed design stages.

Usability Testing – Conducting usability tests with real users helped validate the design decisions, identify usability issues, and fine-tune the user interface to ensure it was intuitive and easy to navigate, especially under stressful situations when safety information is needed.

Surveys & Feedback – Surveys were used after prototype testing to gather quantitative data on user satisfaction and specific features. User feedback was crucial in prioritizing which elements needed refinement.

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Mid-fidelity prototype of Urban Alert (used for testing)
Results of the user flow tasks
Result

Clear Communication is Essential – Users need clear, concise, and immediate information in emergency situations. The app's ability to deliver timely alerts in an easily digestible format was critical to its success.

Building Trust is Crucial – To encourage users to engage with the app and report incidents, trust needed to be established. Users needed to feel that the app was reliable, secure, and would handle their data responsibly.

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Link to Slide Deck