Problem
How can we get farmers to trust and see value in Indigo Marketplace after they have logged in to get the best price for their grain?
Hypothesis
If we show farmers important tools and information upfront as soon as they log in then they are more likely to find value in our product and stick with it
User Research
In order to design the best minimal viable product (MVP) it was important to get to know our users. To start off, we knew that our user groups consisted of first time users and returning users. But as a designer, it was important to dig deeper into the emotional and logical experience after logging in. Using previous customer feedback and questions, I split users into 3 groups:
Curious first time users
Motivated returning users
Confident transacted users.
Bucketing the kind of questions we have gotten about Indigo Marketplace resulted in the categorization of the 3 groups. Question were examples from past conversations/feedback had with farmers interested in using Indigo, farmers who have signed up but have not seen value, and farmers using Indigo Marketplace for a long period of time.
The Kitchen Sink Study
We began ideating on a few solutions that might help farmers decide whether they want to trade using Indigo Marketplace by managing their grain marketing risk and finding the best available prices for their crops. Through conducting a kitchen sink study, we wanted to start a dialogue with internal experts as well as actual farmers to know what kinds of ideas peaked people’s interest and what else might be of value.
“I’m coming on here ‘cause I wanna know what’s the best price for corn in my area [basis price] and what I need to do in order to get paid. ”
Inspiration & Ideation
As we began ideating, we needed to figure out how we wanted to introduce the grain marketing experience on Marketplace through a story. We wanted farmers to feel guided through each step of the experience, but also give them autonomy so they’re empowered to choose their own adventure and make brave grain marketing decisions. It was important to have your questions answered as a farmer as your eyes explore the homepage.
Detailed Designs
Our goal was to ensure that farmers felt like they could trust Indigo Marketplace and feel empowered to manage their grain disposition and pricing through Indigo. The design achieves this through:
A personalized homepage experience relevant to a farmer’s crop types, location and expertise
A carousel, educational experience of how to get the best out of Marketplace
Insights into how Indigo Marketplace is being used by others in order to build trust
Comparing bids by buyers on a local and national scale to find the best bid
Alerts on upcoming deliveries with a map view and a to-do list for that transaction
Managing and tracking your crop’s contracts over the years
Reflection & Next Steps
Obstacles
Getting hold of farmers for user research took longer than expected resulting in ideation happening before knowing the users needs completely
Making sure the homepage wasn’t too overwhelming with information
Successes
Lots of iteration, exploration and research resulted in a solution that was certified valuable by users, internal experts and stakeholders
A clean and delightful interface that matched the mobile app experience
Next Steps
After my departure, the project was handed-off to MetaLab Designs to finalize and develop for mobile & web
Team: Lead UX Designer (me!), Product Manager, UX Copywriter, Front-end & Back-end engineers, Design Team
Tools: Figma, Invision, AppCues