UX/UI Design
AnteUp!
A week before Thanksgiving, I was talking with my brothers-in-law about how we could pump a little more excitement into our family gathering. What started small grew into something much bigger, and before we knew it, we had built a massive spreadsheet with different bets and their monetary wagers. It became very clear early on that what we were missing was a centralized system for organizing these friendly wagers and, ultimately, their payouts.
The Problem
Wagers between friends and acquaintances date back to the dawn of human history, with such evidence as early as 3000BC. While traditional hand-to-hand betting may be commonplace in society, how could this exchange be digitized in an effort to ensure accountability between all parties, foster a space for back-and-forth banter, and secure instant payouts in full?
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UX Researcher, UI Designer
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Sketch pad, SurveyMonkey, Adobe XD
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5 weeks
Design Hypothesis
I wanted to address these issues through creating my own interface. In the end, the idea for a solution to these problems boiled down to this:
“I’m creating a mobile app for people who want a centralized space to place a simple wager amongst their community. This will allow for a more streamlined and organized way to turn verbal disagreements on future outcomes into sealed bets with real stakes.”
A rough brain-dump of user flows for the friendly wager mobile app AnteUp!
The Solution
User Research
The next step in the process was to conduct a survey amongst a pool of potential users, and this was done through SurveyMonkey. I presented a number of questions to this group, and they are as follows:
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Accountability
Competition
Enjoyment
Instant payout
Payout goes to a charity
“The most important thing would probably be the speed in which I receive my reward. If I win 10 dollars, I want the 10 dollars, I don't want to wait a week. I also like the back and forth banter. I enjoy the trash-talking and anticipation of the outcome.” -
$5
$10
$20
$50
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5%
2.5%
1%
10%
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Competition
Relationships
Supporting a charity
Makes things more interesting
“Gambling between friends and family reduces resentment toward the winner.” -
Losing
Disagreement
Not being able to keep track
Someone not paying up
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Infographics
Chat function
Double-down option
Real-time updates
Upfront payment
Watching outcome as it unfolds
“I think it would be cool to partner with businesses so people could look through a list and could see like a large Domino's pizza or a 6-pack of Sam Adams, and then you can go through the options and be like, ‘Ok, this time let's play for a pizza or a 6-pack.’” -
Data privacy concerns
Too small of a community
Too expensive
“Knowing that my information is secure is very important for me. If I’m connecting to my bank app, debit, or credit card, I want to know that my banking information won’t be used anywhere else. Also, if there’s a way to ensure that there is compliance with data privacy acts, I think it would make me more comfortable in using the app.” -
Ability to see other friends’ bets
Use for competitive action or simple fact checks
I’d use it to keep track of all of the times I am right
“I think that an edge Venmo may have is the “friends” feature. Maybe keep the amount hidden, but being able to see other “friends” bets displayed could be an entertaining social media-ish platform.”
User Personas
Through all of this research, I was able to craft two UX personas. The primary user seemed to be a younger adult, because I learned that they have a higher level of interest in the product, their main interest is the social component and competition, their main goal is accountability and record-keeping, their current behavior is verbal with payouts through Venmo, and they input information into this app to achieve their tasks. The secondary user seemed to be older adults, because I learned that they have a lower level of interest in the product, their main interest is the relationship-building component, their main goal is enjoyment and charitable-giving, their current behavior is verbal with payouts through paper money, and they input information into this app to achieve their tasks.
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Higher level of interest in the product
Main interest is the social component and competition
Main goal is accountability and record-keeping
Current behavior is verbal with payout through Venmo
Inputs information in this app to achieve tasks
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Lower level of interest in the product
Main interest is the relationship-building component
Main goal is enjoyment and charitable-giving
Current behavior is verbal with payout through paper money
Inputs information in this app to achieve tasks
User Stories
From there, I established my high-priority user stories. In order of importance, they are:
As a user, I can engage in friendly bets on a digital platform.
As a user, I can talk trash with those I’m betting against.
As a user, I can keep those I’m betting against accountable.
As a user, I can keep track of how often I win or lose.
As a user, I can get an instant payout when I win.
Wireframes for AnteUp!
Wireframes
The next phase of development came with the production of wireframes, and it was incredibly valuable to have a member of my cohort, Ms. McDonald, provide a preliminary review of this work. The main thing that I took away from her analysis was that some actions needed to be more clearly defined. For example, I could’ve had more prominence put on the “judge” component of selecting another user to serve as the person who has the final say on any disputes, gray area, and signs off on the final result. It also seems that more emphasis should be put on the benefit of using this app, in which everything is consolidated into this interface’s system — record-keeping, terms and conditions, the user having to put their wager into the app’s holding system before a bet can be accepted, etc.
First iteration of a high-fidelity prototype for AnteUp!
Second iteration of a high-fidelity prototype for AnteUp!
High Fidelity
Between my first round of prototypes and my second, I was once again fortunate enough to get some feedback from two different designers, Mr. Slife and Mr. Salisbury. The biggest takeaway was that I needed to showcase more states. I needed to demonstrate the form different interactions took depending on the point of the process the user was in. I also needed to give my interface more breathing room by spacing things out a bit. To be honest, without this feedback, I hadn’t previously thought about the varying finger sizes of potential users. I also liked the ideas that were presented to make the “Bets” icon more engaging, as well as injecting more gambling terminology throughout.
I took all of that and ran with it, and it all led to the final submission of my prototype. I learned a lot throughout this process, mainly, to remember that there are always real people behind each screen — the psychology of it all is truly fascinating.