what's ansimi?
Given the multiple crime incidents and online murder threats that occurred in Korea in 2023, Ansimi was created with features geared towards safety.
View a neighborhood’s recent crime activity
Report crime incidents witnessed within the vicinity
the challenge
Because the app was initially created without a designer, I was given the freedom to evaluate and make changes to the app’s current design to attract users and establish retention.
the solution
before
after
The screen has been reorganized with a collapsible component to let users take all possible actions with a minimal number of taps.
Readability of crime activities is improved through a two-step action. Users can draw more conclusions with sort filters.
before
after
before
after
With bookmarks, and search and view history, redundant actions are reduced significantly.
Users are provided their report history and safeguards against possible report errors with the confirm and delete actions.
before
after
impact
Participants from a quick usability test found the app easy to use.
After Sephora adopted a bottom navigation that maximized the thumb zone, conversions increased. Google and Ipsos' research also revealed that 58% of users prefer companies with apps that kept track of their past actions.
why the redesign?
I assessed the app's usability using Jakob’s Ten Usability Heuristics across its core functions, and findings suggested that the app needed a major overhaul.
going back to basics
I made sure to address the lack of opportunity for purposeful action in the app's new information architecture by including app actions (i.e. sort, bookmarks) that made for a more contextualized experience.
Throughout Ansimi's redesign, I was in constant communication with my teammate to confirm the feasibility of my redesign suggestions. This meant multiple iterations on the wireframes that led to a usable interface that – save for typing – can be navigated with just one hand.
As the initial app design lacked actions that allowed users to look through crime data efficiently, I suggested that we add more user actions that allowed for quicker and more meaningful interactions with available information, including search and sort filters, bookmarks, and action history.
Because this was a crime map app, we wanted the UI to elicit feelings of safety and reassurance. We settled on a concept with a teal-leaning green and a friendly icon to set the tone accordingly.
validating with users
We crossed most of our design goals off our list, but after gathering feedback from a few users, we realized a few points that we overlooked. We've been working on making more improvements to the app, like adding other ways to bookmark locations to account for other familiarity with other apps.
takeaways
Korean map apps normally place the search bar on top of the screen, switching Ansimi's layout to the thumb-friendly format was a gamble that prioritized accessibility over familiarity. However, it still led to positive initial feedback, which proves that taking design risks – provided that you can justify them – can lead to success.
While it can sometimes be challenging to find out that some ideas may not be possible because of technical limitations or timelines, I have become better at reframing the situation and viewing it as a challenge to think outside the box instead.