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Nounce
Challenge
In September 2022, our team decided to participate in a project showcase at Google Devfest 2022. The challenge was to deploy a platform using Google technology within a tight two-week timeframe. Given the constraints, we chose to focus on a problem closely related to our own experiences as students who were just beginning to engage with tech communities.
One issue we identified was the lack of effective channels for connecting with fellow attendees and speakers at events. Quick and efficient communication is crucial, but traditional methods often fall short due to device limitations and the need for contact information. This creates a gap in enabling instant, unrestricted, and privacy-respecting communication within event settings.
Solution
To address this communication gap, our team developed Nounce, a social chat platform powered by Firebase. Nounce enables local businesses, communities, and social event attendees to engage in real-time, geo-location-based communication. This platform facilitates urgent messaging for disaster management, announcements, and socializing within a one-mile radius, ensuring privacy and community engagement without the limitations of conventional communication tools.
Features
Nounce uniquely combines messaging with geo-proximity, enabling users to send and receive messages to anyone within a one-mile radius. This feature ensures immediate and relevant local communication, ideal for both social interactions and emergencies. Once users move out of this range, the chat functionality is automatically restricted, encouraging timely exchanges while in proximity.
Nounce's real-time announcement feature keeps the community informed and connected. Users receive instant updates and alerts specific to their current location, ranging from urgent community notices to updates on local events. This feature ensures that everyone within the vicinity stays up-to-date with the most relevant and pressing local information.
Nounce offers a unique single chat functionality, allowing users to engage in private conversations with nearby individuals. This feature fosters personal connections and networking within the local community, all while maintaining the user's privacy and discretion. It's especially useful for initiating one-on-one interactions in social events or community gatherings.
The Design Process
Our team, consisting of tech and first-aid community members understood that there is a gap in information dissemination. However, to fully understand the extent of this pressing issue, we consulted members of our university community, revealing challenges such as one-way communication at social events and community gatherings. The non-tech community, on the other hand, highlighted the reliance on social media platforms, its limited reach tied to engagement metrics, and the absence of a centralized platform for emergencies.
From the findings, our team concluded that the problem stems from the absence of real-time and relevant communication channels. We identified several opportunity areas such as proximity-based emergency communication, real-time chat functionality, private networking options, anonymous information sharing, and a centralized community hub. Faced with time constraints, we defined the minimum viable product as a chat platform with real-time go-location-based messaging services within a one-mile radius.
Moving into the ideation phase, our team focused on practical solutions that sprang from the identified problem and opportunities we unearthed.
To understand our users better, we created detailed but straightforward user personas. These representations helped us grasp the needs and preferences of both tech and non-tech community members, providing a solid foundation for our ideation process. I asked the team to brainstorm features that could potentially help each personas, aiming for a balance between innovation and feasibility.
Transitioning from personas, we translated conceptual ideas into tangible structures using wireframes. These low-fidelity outlines mapped out key features and user journeys, facilitating quick iterations and ensuring our concepts aligned with the identified problem.
The time constraint posed challenges, but the silver lining was having only a small number of screens to design during the development. Instead of creating a robust design system, I opted for efficiency by creating a design system focusing on foundational elements such as color, typography, columns, and neceassary components. I moved directly from a low-fidelity prototype to developing the UI, designing for both mobile and desktop views as well as light and dark modes. Following the design phase, we conducted thorough checks to ensure alignment with accessibility standards.
Despite the time constraints and the steep learning curve of my first-ever UI design experience, developing Nounce has been a transformative journey. My initial lack of knowledge in UI design and the Figma platform added pressure, forcing me to become resourceful in managing my time and prioritizing the most essential aspects to learn. This challenge, though daunting, taught me to embrace efficiency and agility.
During the Devfest Project Showcase, seeing people connect through Nounce and express satisfaction in its ability to improve communication was a deeply gratifying moment.
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