UX/UI

Intro

Duration

September – November 2019

Skills

Research, Design

Device Info

Mobile App, iPhone 6s, Software: iOS 12.4, Patreon App Version: 4.8.9

Tools

Adobe XD, Adobe Illustrator, Adobe Photoshop, Bullet Journal, Notion

Goal

  1. Customized experience for both types of users: Creators & Patrons
  2. Create a landing page showing a feed of Creator’s content
  3. Develop a Search section to increase visibility for other Creators
  4. Add customization to user profiles

Approach

  1. Document my own experience with the app
  2. Conduct research through app reviews and competitor app reviews
  3. Create low-fidelity wireframes
  4. Develop high-fidelity mock-up

What is Patreon?

Patreon lets creators earn a monthly income by giving their subscribers access to exclusive content and custom rewards. It is used by videographers, artists, writers, podcasters, musicians, and more. It allows creators to receive funding directly from their fans, or “patrons”, on a recurring basis.

My Initial Findings

  • The app opens to the page of a supported Creator’s profile as opposed to a feed.
  • To access the feed of the Creator, they must click on the top left hamburger menu and then click under the section “Patron Of”, showing their name and photo.
  • The dashboard is only catered to Creator and not Patrons. When the Patron accesses the Dashboard, it says that the user has 0 patrons and makes $0.
  • The icons at the bottom of the app are:
    – Home (Dashboard for a Creator)
    – Notifications (For Patrons & Creator)
    – Create a New Post (Creator)
    – Profile (Creator)
    These sections are more focused on the Creators and not the Patrons.

Reviews of the App Research

“As a patron, I like seeing the things I’m paying for in a convenient place. This app needs a landing page with a feed just like every other content driven service ever.”…”I want to see the new stuff that I’m paying for, not the page of someone that hasn’t updated in 6 months.”

“…I’d really appreciate seeing the content I’m about to purchase before I do so. At the moment, you have to either really want to support the artist or view their work elsewhere to see it before the subscription. So possibly, in the future, the Patreon team could do a preview style of the creators content.”

“…As a Creator, this app disconnects me from my Patrons. I am unable to view any statistics, patron info, pledge info, etc. from the app.”

“The organization of the site is strange. Why do you make each episode so big so it takes soooo long to scroll through the episodes. I don’t need to see the entire description for each episode off the bat.”

“Once you’ve become a Patron to someone, it’s impossible for you to discover any other creators. Your only option is to search for someone by name. They really need to show you things you like like or even let you browse stuff by category. I saw the browse originally but once you sign up, it’s impossible to get to again.”

Low Fidelity UX Brainstorm Sketches

Wireframes

Results

Pictured below: The opening screen, the Dashboard feed, and the Explore page.

A feature I wanted to add was the ability for the user to create a public (or private) profile to create a stronger bond between the Creators and Patrons. In their profile they can choose to upload a photo, reveal their location, add a short bio, and choose what mediums they’re interested in. By stating their interests, the users will then receive suggestions of Creators to support on their Explore page and also on their Dashboard feed.

Adding an Explore page helps Patrons find other Creators to support instead of using the app for one specific Creator.

The user has the ability of favoriting a Creator as they scroll so that they can come back and check out their profiles later and can continue searching.

The favorited creator will appear at the top of the page under “Saved Searches”. The user can scroll left and right to view their saves.

The user can also search for Creators by name, medium, and keywords. The Creator can add keywords associated to their work via the Settings.

When the user is interested in viewing a Creator, they can click on the arrow to the right of their name and read a snippet of what they do, how many Patrons support them, and how much they make per month. Another version of this expanded section has a photo of the Creator’s work.

If the user clicks on the Creators photo/name, they can view the Creator’s full profile page.

They can favorite or unfavorite a creator by clicking the heart to the left of the name.