Hobbnob App Design

To begin, I needed to understand what made someone a hobbyist? Hobbyists are people who fill their free time with an activity or interest for pleasure. Their activities are generally done for their own enjoyment and not for monetary gain. Many use it as a means to socialize, while others use it as their time of seclusion. Hobbies can be done with people or alone. Their interests can exist in an urban or rural setting or anything in between. It can be found in any setting, whether indoors or out.

Hobbyists have an enthusiasm to be challenged. When the challenge no longer pushes them, a hobbyist will find something new. This can be an entirely new interest they may have discovered, a deeper dive into an interest they already know, or a hobby lateral to their interest expanding on things they already learned

However, not all hobbyists are alike. Some hobbyists require very little encouragement and jump right in, while others are easily intimidated and reluctant to start something new. Hobbyists need a way to find advice from an expert, because they want a safe space to quickly learn more about their field of interest.

Some of the most common roadblocks are cost, access, and encouragement. Hobbies can be very expensive. Equally difficult is the cost of time. These barriers affect enthusiasts at any proficiency level but can be especially hard for a beginner. Beginners have many unknowns that can make cost seem too daunting to even begin. Access to a hobby can mean many things, perhaps the hobby requires a lot of space, or specific equipment, or it may only be available in certain areas. And finally some people need support from others to begin like a friend, mentor or community with a positive outreach.

I began testing my hypothesis with user interviews. All of my interviewees agreed that YouTube videos were how they did most of their learning. There are videos available to learn nearly anything, however my interviewees revealed that they followed very few people and felt they needed a trusted source whom would teach them correctly.

Research also showed that forums, workshops, or frequented shops are not always a positive place for beginner hobbyists. Experienced members of a community sometimes surround themselves with like minded-people and push others away.

Many of my interviewees agreed that having a positive community made their hobbies more enjoyable. They enjoyed seeing friends accomplish their goals, and it motivated them to continue.

With the data collected from the interviews and a better understanding of my users I created personas to match each main type of user for my app and the user flows needed to accomplish their goals.