Bai
Help support Taiwanese people to maintain their cultural heritage and reconnecting with family and friends
My Role
End-to-end product design
Project Timeline
Oct – Nov 2023
(10 weeks)
Tools
Figma, Photoshop, Illustrator, Procreate
Project Overview
Summary
Bai looks to encourage Taiwanese people, especially second/third culture adults, to retrace their cultural roots by interacting with their friends and family through a series of traditional Taiwanese activities. These traditions are very much physically based in Taiwan, that Bai makes more accessible to users by translating them to a digital form.
With each passing generation, there is an increase in Taiwanese population living abroad, many of whom may have disconnected from their Taiwanese culture due to cultural assimilation or the lack of visits back to Taiwan. The app tries to reengage them with their Taiwanese sides through interactive educational features and the ability to reconnect with their loved ones.
The Problem
The problem space stems from various layers of sociocultural factors. When broken down, it involves different generational beliefs, the physical nature of Taiwanese traditions, the shift in digital convenience, and geographical obstacles. They intertwine together to create a problem that needs readily available, valuable knowledge surrounding cultural heritage and tradition for users, which is accessible for their convenience.
The Solutions
The app aims to help the users achieve their goals of developing their knowledge for Taiwanese culture, which may help reaffirm their relationships with themselves and those around them. This will also help them familiarise themselves when they perform these customs back home.
Solutions
Stay educated
Bai provides information on various Taiwanese cultural customs and traditions. Users are able to stay informed on the meanings behind them and the value they carry, making their experiences more meaningful.
Worship together
Bai offers the option to invite friends and family to participate together. This shared experience can help connect users on a more intimate level to form memories.
Share with your community
Users are able to share their posts of their experiences onto a community feed for friends and family to see and interact with. By sharing each other’s experiences, users can foster a community with value.
Set a date
There is the ability to schedule sessions and set reminders ahead of time to accommodate people with busy lifestyles. A calendar is also visible on the home screen to keep users informed on upcoming events and dates.
Research Approach
For analysing the problem space, I resorted to primary, secondary and ethnographic research to collect my findings. A varied range of research methods is important to have an informed understanding of the existing context and avoid biases.
Journals & Articles
Reading journals and articles provided a good foundation before conducting other research methods.
Online Interviews
I interviewed Taiwanese and East Asian individuals to better understand the culture and traditions.
Surveys
Asking Taiwanese people for their experiences helped me understand the problem space more clearly.
User Research & Background Context
Before diving into the problem space, some context is needed to fully understand the different sociocultural factors that come into consideration. I explored two demographics that posed different situations and lifestyles, whilst highlighting their individual pain points. I analysed the population residing in Taiwan, as well as Taiwanese living overseas since they would face different problems.
Focus Group: Taiwanese Residents
90%
of Taiwanese adults paid a visit to a temple or shrine.
30%
of them visit at least once a month.
Long work hours
With Taiwan being one of the highest for working hours clocked annually at 2008 hours, people don’t have time to follow traditions.
Generational differences
Older generations follow many traditions intently, whilst the younger population are lacking in the values and knowledge behind them.
3.01mil single households
With many living away from their families, coupled with long working hours, they find themselves going back home less frequently.
A convenient solution: Digital worshipping
For those who struggle to find time to worship at temples, many have opted for digital worshipping instead, which saw a 471% increase between 2019-2020.
Focus Group: Taiwanese Overseas
Third Culture Upbringing
With a large population of Taiwanese people living abroad, they experience different problems compared to those residing in Taiwan. As a result, a focus is needed to highlight what can be addressed to alleviate their pain points. Through researching, I have discovered that many encounter similar difficulties.
Interview Insights
Interviewing Taiwanese individuals helped me identify three key pain points most interviewees had regarding their connection with Taiwanese culture:
Following customs
Many abroad feel there isn’t a community for them to share their cultural values with.
Lack of knowledge
Large population don’t know why they worship.
Lack of time
People are busy with their lives, leading to less time with their families and friends.
Problem Space
Using these findings, I identified 3 key issues to tackle within this problem space.
Problem Statement
How might we support young Taiwanese adults to reconnect with their loved ones and stay in touch with their cultural heritage, whilst continuing their busy lifestyles?
Ideation and Brainstorming
User Flow
Using the key themes from the problem space, I created wireframes and designed a typical user flow that solves the existing pain points from the problem space.
Development
Design Inspiration
When designing for this app, I wanted to connect users with traditional Taiwanese elements that are visible in every household that can strike a nostalgic cord. This can create a more intimate relationship within the app whilst paying homage to the culture.
Traditional Chinese calendar is visible on the home screen to inform the users of the upcoming events and offers a nostalgic, interactive ripping feature.
Taiwan postboxes serve as a interpretation of an archival system for people to share and create keepsakes.
1. Chinese Calendar
2. Taiwanese Postbox
UI Development
Usability Testing
I conducted 10 usability tests over 2 rounds, in-person and online. From the results, the app was well received, with all the participants enjoying the different but unique, interpretation of worshipping.
The tests helped identify some areas for UX improvement, which I resolved before concluding my finals designs.
Initial Wireframes
Final Designs
The community feed is too generic and cluttered.
There needs to be an option to join ongoing sessions.
See what upcoming events there are.
A calendar function has been implemented to better visualise any events.
Timeline has been refined for a better user experience.
Too much information, leading to cognitive overload.
Layout looks outdated.
Users preferred a more visual layout to better understand each customs.
Not everyone understood the term 'Bai Bai'.
Images enlarged and layout simplified.
Option to multi-select customs implemented.
Large CTA button located at the foot for ease of access.
Title needs rewording – users thought this was related to users online.
Few people felt this feature is unnecessary.
Where is the button to add to this list?
Wording of the title updated.
Each section designed to mimic archival folders to express this feature more clearly.
Button to add person implemented.
Final Prototype
Closing Thoughts
What went well?
Reflecting back, I think the iteration process was quite successful considering the timeframe. Through testing and reiterating, I was able to come up with features in the app that I had not considered at the beginning. This was only possible by constantly taking a step back to look at the bigger picture of the product. Holistically looking at the solution ensured I was focused on the must-haves of the product that will directly benefit the user as opposed to ‘wants’ that were not needed at all.
What could have been better?
I would have liked to conduct more usability testing, especially with the demographic of my app. I believe it would have been insightful to gain a better understanding of whether some features were really necessary or if they were “nice to haves”.
What would I have done differently?
Due to time and geographical constraints, many of the usability testing were conducted online. I would have preferred to have more in-person tests, as I would be able to have a better understanding and gauge the interactions between the user and the app. It would have provided much more in-depth feedback and results.
