Celebrations closer than ever
From a collaborative challenge to a digital experience for celebrating together at a distance
Context
During the pandemic, family and social celebrations were interrupted. BeNear was born as a digital solution to create personalised virtual events that would help people reconnect emotionally and recover the meaning of celebrations, combining digital and physical experiences (decor, deliveries, music, food or gifts).
The project was developed during the Covid-19 Challenge organised by UXER School and TEAMLABS, in a multidisciplinary team of five people –alongside Belén Marte, Gloria Martínez, Florencia Pieroni and Irene Solana–.
The challenge was: How might we collaboratively design solutions to address the global challenges derived from the coronavirus pandemic?
Over five weeks (March-April 2020) we created BeNear following five stages: Understand, Ideate, Decide, Prototype and Test.
Process
In my role as a UX/UI Designer, Researcher and UX Writer, I developed all stages of the project, from research to product validation. My main contributions were:
- Research, synthesis of insights and reformulation of the initial challenge.
- Co-creation of User Personas and Journey Maps, focusing on emotional needs.
- Co-design of the interaction architecture and key screens, including the main flows for creating and sharing virtual events.
- Design of the first mid-fidelity prototype to test the idea and validate the main flow.
- Definition of the tone of voice and writing of interface texts, prioritising clarity and warmth at every touchpoint.
- Participation in usability tests, results analysis and prioritisation of improvements for subsequent iterations.
Onboarding screens of BeNear.
We applied methodologies such as Design Thinking and Human-Centred Innovation to understand how isolation affected and transformed emotional and social routines.
Through 10 interviews and 76 surveys, we identified that the greatest issue was not loneliness, but the loss of shared rituals. This finding redefined our design challenge: to recreate the feeling of celebration as a form of emotional connection.
Two percentage results from the survey conducted with 76 participants.
Empathy map of Irina, one of the profiles most affected during the pandemic.
The test with 12 users validated the proposal: navigation was clear and intuitive, and all participants expressed their intention to use the application to organise events. The most common improvements suggested –optional synchronisation, multiplatform invitations and simplification of text– were incorporated into the high-fidelity prototype.
Medium-fidelity prototype used to test the proposal.
The project continued, between May and July 2020, with a second stage focused on validation and product development: problem-solution fit, product-market fit and business model fit.
During this phase, we redesigned the naming and visual identity, evolving from BeNear to bnear.
We created the landing page, defined a multimedia strategy and a social media calendar (Facebook, Instagram and Twitter). We also developed the beta version of the app, implemented web analytics and analysed the results.
We completed this stage in August 2020, after validating the project’s feasibility at product and communication level. The positive reception and results demonstrated its potential, although the team decided not to continue development for personal and availability reasons, as we were based in different time zones and involved in other projects.
Results
bnear validated a deep emotional need: to keep celebrating with loved ones, even when apart.
The proposal combined digital communication with physical experiences, opening the possibility of a scalable model (B2B and B2C) that integrated local businesses as part of the service.
In addition, the development of the beta version, landing page and digital communication strategy strengthened the product-market fit and demonstrated the project’s viability.
Main flow: creating an event and sending a personalised invitation.
Pre-and-post-event notifications.
Learnings
bnear reinforced my conviction that product design builds meaningful experiences that foster empathy and belonging. As a UX/UI designer, I confirmed the value of integrating research, interaction design and content strategy to deliver coherent and emotionally relevant solutions. The impact of language and branding as essential parts of the experience, and accompanying a project beyond the initial concept: from research through to real feasibility.
BeNear logo and colour palette.
Read the full UX Case Study on Medium (in Spanish)
