CASE STUDY:
Check out my prototype
“To design the best UX, pay attention to what users do, not what they say.”
-Jakob Neilsen, co-founder NN/g
Tinkl is a bathroom-finder app specifically designed to help trans, non-binary, and gender-nonconforming individuals locate safe, harassment-free gender-neutral and single-stall bathrooms. Principal development began in March 2024, the team released version 1.0 to the public in September, and Tinkl 2.0 is currently in development. Tinkl reached out to our UX team to evaluate the app's performance for primary users, requesting help with prototyping speculative and incremental improvements to existing functionality based on research findings. Our team of four collaborated on all aspects of the research, with my contributions focused on user experience research (UXR), user interface design (UID), and content writing.
Identifying the Requirements
for an Administrative Dashboard
Tinkl 2.0 will introduce features like filtering and additional accessibility options. With development underway, Tinkl needed a back-end for administrators to manage the platform as the user base grows. A user-facing UI was developed for version 1.0, but a fully functional administrative dashboard to manage user content and day-to-day tasks was not included, making it difficult to delegate administrative responsibilities. To address this gap, our team focused on creating an intuitive dashboard interface that enables multiple administrators to efficiently manage user-created content and make necessary updates with ease.
Existing Site
Research Methodology
The client supplied our team with a video walkthrough of their requirements for an administrative dashboard, however, the client stakeholders indicated minimal requirements. To enhance our understanding of how we might deliver value, we designed a research strategy centered on analyzing the administrative workflow. This began with a cognitive walk-through. Every member of the UX team conducted their own cognitive walkthrough. The findings were collected and consolidated into a primary research protocol which included a curated list of questions and a script for contextual inquiry interviews that we conducted with key stakeholders. In our post-interview debrief, the team observed that stakeholders, similar to their original video walk-through, offered minimal requirements for the dashboard, which posed a challenge. The limited feedback from stakeholders not only hindered our ability to fully understand their needs but also jeopardized the project's success by leaving critical gaps in the requirements for the administrative dashboard.
Insights and Prototyping
We learned that it is important for administrators to have an indicator showing outstanding work, and we heard that administrators find filters and a well-designed user interface helpful. With this in mind, I designed an information architecture to map out the screen flow for our proposal, then moved into hand-drawn prototype sketches to visualize key moments in the task flow. These sketches laid the foundation for the high-fidelity prototype, which leveraged the client’s existing design system. The prototype demonstrates use case scenarios derived from the research findings. I contributed as a designer to the interactive prototype created in Figma, demonstrating user stories.
Transforming Limitations
into Opportunities
The team concluded that this was an opportunity to explore how we might develop a meaningful and valuable solution that addresses future demands of which the stakeholders may not yet be aware. The research results and our proposal were combined into a findings plan that offered speculative recommendations for future scalability.
Design Proposal
The proposed dashboard was designed to support multiple use cases. For instance, after log in confirmation, the administrator sees a gallery of newly submitted bathroom content awaiting approval, and a notification displays the number of new entries. The dashboard is designed to land on the "Approve Bathrooms" tab by default to create an entry point and a smooth path to task completion. Administrators will see the red counter update as tasks are completed, which creates visibility of task status. In this design proposal, the administrator has the option to filter submissions based on location, amenities, or user, to streamline the review process when there is a large volume of content. We know that administrators find it helpful to have safeguards in place to protect against accidents, so confirmation modals were designed into the task flow to allow for forgiveness and avoid errors
User Story 1
User Task 1 - Approving a Bathroom
User Task 2
User Story 2 - Filtering Content
Aesthetic Appeal with
Practical Functionality
The five visual design principles of UX were applied to every element of the design proposal. Special attention was paid to visual hierarchy, balance, and scale to guide the administrator through each task. Individual pieces were intentionally chunked into meaningful groups on “cards” to reduce cognitive load. The result is a visually pleasing UI design that seamlessly combines aesthetic appeal with practical functionality, ensuring both an engaging and efficient user experience.
Recommended Design
Evaluate and Iterate
To evaluate the effectiveness of the design, we will implement a robust evaluation process that includes regular user testing sessions, usability studies, and feedback surveys from administrators. These evaluations will help us gather insights on user interactions and satisfaction, allowing us to identify areas for improvement with each release. As Tinkl continues to evolve, we envision the administrative dashboard as a powerful tool for managing user content and a platform that anticipates and adapts to the needs of our growing community.