Farmers of Blacksburg Bulletin

Problem

In Blacksburg, VA, there is a local farmers market that is typically held every week, with a variety of small-business owners and vendors. Aside from their own personal websites, and the Blackburg Farmer's Market Website, which is rarely updated, there is no way for vendors to quickly share up-to-date information with all market customers.

Our solution

For simple, straightforward, and accessible communication, we created a virtual bulletin board application called the Farmers of Blacksburg Bulletin, or FOBB, that allows vendors of all ages a comfortable and easy way to share information via text or image posts. The bulletin board is a virtual space where vendors can post any information they please and customers can view and comment on the posts, similar to if there was an actual bulletin board for the Blacksburg Farmers Market.

The process

A contextual analysis was conducted via observations and interviews, and then design-informing models, or DIMs, were created based on the data collected. We had noticed a challenge in the information flow in the farmers market environment and decided to tackle the issue of lack of communication outside market hours between vendors and market goers. On the right is a flow model DIM examining the total farmers market environment and prominent barriers.

Design ideation and development

A key factor in deciding how to address the barriers would be to visualize the types of vendors in the market. Typically, vendors at the market ranged in age from old to young, meaning an effective design would incorporate simple features for older vendors to adopt. We crafted the idea of a virtual bulletin board based on that notion and thought of a social application that was similar to Instagram but simplified and optimized for the farmers market itself. Wireframe images created in Figma were developed, informed by the brainstorming process and extraction of the work activity affinity diagram.

Challenges and next steps

Creating a technology that all vendors can adopt is a huge factor in whether our project is successful or not, since based on our interviews older vendors do not always intuitively understand how to use social media applications. We designed the FOBB to specifically address this issue and ensure it was very straightforward and similar to what older generations would be accustomed to, such as posting on a real bulletin board. Our team’s next steps are to develop a refined prototype and pitch the idea to the Blackburg Farmers Market team for further feedback and potential implementation.

Tools used

We used a variety of tools to create our project, including FigJam, Figma, and Google Docs. FigJam was used to create the flow model DIM and the work activity affinity diagram. Figma was used to create the wireframes and mockups of the FOBB. Google Docs was used to create the contextual analysis and the final report,which contains all of our research, methods, and in-depth details of the project.

Reflection

This project was a great learning experience for me, as it was my first time working on a UX project with a team. I learned a lot about the process of UX design, from contextual analysis to creating wireframes and mockups. I also learned a lot about the importance of communication and collaboration in a team setting, and how to work with others to create a cohesive project. I also learned a lot about the importance of user research and how to conduct interviews and observations to inform design decisions for a niche community like our Blacksburg Farmers Market.

Final prototype and design

Below is our final prototype of the FOBB homepage, which is the first page users will see when they open the application. The homepage contains a feed of posts from vendors, and users can click on the post to view more information. Users can also click on the profile icon in the top right corner to view their profile, which contains their posts and comments. To see the full application design and the rest of the prototype, use the link below to view it on Figma.

Click here to see the full prototype.