Empowering Women Entrepreneurs with HerHeadquarters

Overview

HerHeadquarters is a trailblazing mobile app designed exclusively for women entrepreneurs in the US. It connects women in the fashion, beauty, entertainment, event planning, and PR industries to help them grow their businesses through brand collaborations. The main goal was to design and launch the first version of the app to facilitate these connections.

Problem Statement

The project aimed to create a mobile app that would provide a dedicated platform for women entrepreneurs to collaborate and expand their businesses. The challenge was to address the lack of a specific space for these women to connect, share resources, and support each other's entrepreneurial journeys.

Users & Audience

Our primary users were women entrepreneurs in the US, especially those with brands in fashion, beauty, entertainment, event planning, and PR. We developed personas to represent these users, guiding our design process to ensure the app met their specific needs and preferences.

Roles & Responsibilities

As the lead designer, I was in charge of UX and visual design and usability testing for the app. The project team included the app owner, a development company in Ukraine, and myself. My role involved remote collaboration with the development team, conducting user research, and ensuring the app's design aligned with user needs and business goals.

Scope & Constraints

We faced several constraints, including a tight timeline and the challenge of remote collaboration with the development team in Ukraine. The project scope evolved based on user feedback and market research, requiring us to be flexible and adaptable throughout the design process.

Process

Research & Personas: Using the in-house market research provided by the company, I developed detailed personas to guide our design process. This ensured that the app's features would cater to the specific needs of our target users.

Design & Prototyping: I designed the initial version of the app using Sketch and created interactive prototypes in Axure. These prototypes were used for remote usability testing with five women entrepreneurs across the US, conducted via Lookback.

Usability Testing: During the remote sessions, users interacted with the prototype and performed tasks outlined in the test script. I consolidated their feedback to make necessary design adjustments.

Collaboration & Handoff: I collaborated with the development team using JIRA to track tasks and Zeplin to share design specifications. I also created an app flow in Overflow to provide a clear visual guide for the development team.

Outcomes & Lessons Learned

The HerHeadquarters app successfully launched in late May 2019 after nearly a year of research, design, testing, and development. We collected valuable user feedback and analytics during the beta phase, which informed subsequent updates. The app's successful launch led to a five-year ongoing collaboration with the client, during which I continuously added features to enhance the user experience. Reflecting on the project, I learned the importance of adaptability and effective remote collaboration, and I would focus even more on iterative testing and feedback in future projects.