Introduction
Consulo is a 2-way legal advice marketplace for people who need quick and reliable expert information in everyday fields of law.
The idea to design a legal advice platform was born when I was tasked to build a responsive web app where young adults can get help from experts in any field. I chose to narrow this project's scope to a legal advice marketplace because it seemed challenging and highly relevant to me. Many young adults have trouble finding easily accessible and reliable sources of legal information and, therefore, often fail to seek legal advice to get justice.
Initial Hypothesis
“Young adults need a way to get easy and reliable legal advice because most Millenials and Gen Z adults have never sought legal advice, and resorting to internet research does not provide vetted legal advisers or trustworthy advice.”
Research
User Research
In addition to competitor research, I conducted surveys and interviews to develop my understanding of where the specific opportunities for a better way to find legal help lie. To obtain relevant research results, I curated my list of interviewees to include both target audiences, potential clients, and legal experts offering their services.
Surveys
84%
of participants faced a legal issue
78%
do not have a trusted lawyer yet
50%
have significant problems finding reliable legal information in the internet
84%
hava at least some interest in using a legal expert app
Key Insights
Building trust online with a legal expert is a big issue for most participants.
Trust and transparency are important values to uphold for an app that provides legal advice.
User Interviews
Based on my survey findings, I conducted user interviews with both target groups.
Personas
Based on my survey findings, I conducted user interviews with both target groups.
Client
Expert
Ideation
I then designed user journeys and user flows to sketch out some of the main functions of Consulo.
After piecing flows, journeys, and other elements together, a workable concept began to emerge:
Designing & Prototyping
While developing my wireframes and moving through fidelity levels of prototyping, I wanted to focus on making the design simple, having content placement and navigation be intuitive, and adding value and ease of use through visuals.
Testing & Refining
When my prototype was ready for testing, I planned and conducted moderated remote usability tests.
I tested with six users, first providing them with an overview of the project, then giving them several core tasks to complete, and finally asking them about their thoughts about the app itself.
I wanted to find out:
if there were any usability issues in my tasks and
if the service itself is what users need.
I analyzed the test results using a rainbow chart and summarized my findings in a test report.
Click here to get the full test report and synthesis
Issue 1
Most participants needed several attempts to insert the correct timeslot on the meeting scheduling feature (High Severity).
Issue 2
Majority of participants had problems finding the CTA button on the search bar in the dashboard and search feature (High Severity).
Issue 3
One user accidentally skipped the guide creation review by double clicking the forward arrow (Moderate Severity).
Issue 4
Half of the users tried to book a call by clicking on the "Services" button in the middle of the screen instead of the "Book" button on the bottom of the screen (Moderate Severity)
Final Design
Design Documentation
I developed a design style guide and a design language to ensure a pain-free handoff to developers and other stakeholders.
Reflection & Next Steps
User Research came natural due to my teaching skills
The explorative user research provided me with more beneficial information and insights than I had hoped. Especially the participants received my survey very well. My experiences as an educator came in handy when I strategized to get to the roots of issues and come up with the right conclusions and solutions.
Skills: Creating and analyzing surveys, conducting user interviews
Process: Research
Room for improvement: Keep working on asking the right questions to dive deep into underlying issues.
Eye for detail was beneficial
Due to my attention to detail, it was easy for me to draft a design language that included all relevant aspects and assets. Despite the amount of time it took to create the document, it is an essential skill to ensure a smooth handoff.
Skills: Documenting the design, Creating a design system/design language
Process: Design Documentation
Room for improvement: Start building a design system earlier to make the design process more efficient.
Not all methods were well suited
The selection of methods was not very satisfying at times. In particular, the card sort did not provide me with the insights that other methods could have. While I made errors not giving enough information about the task, it was not well suited for my purposes.
Skills: Method selection (Card Sorting)
Process: Ideation
Skill Gap: Not providing enough information, selecting the wrong method
Solution: Choosing a more collaborative method, such as a "How Might We" design sprint, would have provided more value to the process.
I missed working in a team
Since I handled this project by myself, I did not have the chance to learn to work in a team. My goal will be to share the design work and learn how to collaborate with stakeholders and other designers in future projects.