TOPIA - 2023

Asset Browsing & Dropping

01 overview

Company

Topia

Contribution

As lead on this project, I created a project plan and led all initiatives from discovery to handoff. This involved close collaboration with key stakeholders, product managers, and developers to successfully achieve the desired outcome.

Duration

3 weeks

Try it

Context

Topia is an application that enables users to engage in real-time experiences through spatial communication within personalized virtual worlds. Within the Topia platform, users have the ability to construct their worlds using 'Assets' – the essential building blocks of each world. Users can either create and upload their own personalized Assets or explore the marketplace, a collection of Assets uploaded by other users. Upon discovering a desired asset, users can place it in their world by dropping it on the digital canvas.

Purpose of the redesign

1. It had never undergone a redesign before.
2. Low user engagement and retention.
3. User feedback indicated some difficulties and dissatisfaction.

Goal

Improve user engagement, retention, and overall satisfaction with the feature.

02 discovery

Methods used

Audit of existing feature

User Flows

Personas

User Interviews

Research questions

1. Who uses the feature?
2. What are the main motivations and primary objectives when using the feature?
3. What pain points are our users experiencing?

User flows

I began by documenting all possible flows in the current feature. This allowed me to gain a deep understanding of the feature as a whole as well as identify the various user types who use it.

User interviews

After identifying three main user types—world builders, uploaders, and platform admins—I conducted user interviews with each group to understand their primary objectives, typical tasks, and to pinpoint pain points.

03 definition

Insight synthesis

After gathering numerous insights, I employed a synthesis method to identify prevalent themes and problem patterns. This guided prioritization of design efforts and issue resolution towards project goals. Upon thorough review and synthesis, two primary challenges emerged for the current feature.

Theme 01

The process of browsing and dropping assets was slow and tedious, directly impacting the end user's experience.

Theme 02

The uploading and managing of assets lacked essential features, complicating the process, particularly with large collections.

Plan

Considering the scope of these challenges alongside the target completion date, it became clear that dividing the project into two separate efforts would be the most effective approach. One project to tackle the functionality for browsing and dropping and the other for improving the process to upload and manage assets.

Next steps

After defining the project's scope, I delved into the insights gathered on browsing and dropping assets to identify areas for improvement.

Problem 1: Menu navigation

The drawer was overcrowded with menu items, resulting in various lists of assets spread across separate tables on different pages. Consequently, this led to confusion and a cumbersome navigation experience.

Problem 2: Full screen display

Asset lists are presented in a table format on a page that dominates the screen. The full-screen display obstructs the view of the canvas and detracts from the immersive experience, hindering user engagement.

Problem 3: Browsing assets

Browsing through assets is inefficient due to the limited number of visible rows on the screen at once. Additionally, the small size of the asset images makes it challenging for users to select the desired asset easily.

Problem 4: Dropping assets

Upon selecting an asset, the page closes to facilitate placement of the asset. However, if the user wishes to continue browsing assets, the table does not retain the user's last position leading to a repetitive experience.

04 solution

Simplified menu experience

To prioritize clarity and simplicity, we have reduced the number of menu items from 12 to 4. This change allows for faster decision-making, allowing our users to focus on their main objective.

Unified asset catalogue

Combining separate asset lists into one, users can now view all assets in a single location, utilizing filters to narrow down options. This approach also removes the need to navigate between separate pages.

Optimized asset presentation

By eliminating excess information and prioritizing images, we can showcase more options simultaneously, facilitating rapid scanning. These updates promote fast experimentation and better world-building.

Streamlined asset dropping

In the previous version, assets were displayed in a full-screen table, requiring the user to close the table and repeat the process to find and drop more assets. Now, the assets are located in a drawer, allowing the user to view the world while choosing which asset to drop and avoiding repeating the process every time.

Multi-drop assets

Dropping an asset multiple times used to be time-consuming. With our 'multi-drop' technology, users can now seamlessly drop the same asset multiple times while it's selected, saving valuable time and effort.

Real-time asset editing

Customize asset details like name, size, and orientation before dropping. This feature allows users to fine-tune assets to their preference in real-time, eliminating the need for separate editing steps later on.

Next Project