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IXD thesis
Immigrating to a new country poses diverse challenges, especially for first-generation immigrants. Early support from one's ethnic community is vital, yet identifying and maximizing these supportive resources to better adapt to the new life remains a challenge for Chinese immigrants. "CommWeave," a digital platform, connects first-generation Chinese immigrants with their community and local businesses through parenting. It facilitates easy access to ethnic support and fosters lasting networks, ensuring a smoother transition and seamless adaptation.
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Picture this...
You land in Canada as a new immigrant, having some language and cultural barrier, no friends to rely on and face big and small daily challenges.
Where to find reliable suggestions and support quickly, and get socialization chances with the local Chinese community?
You have no idea, just explore little by little.
Early in the transition, having ethnic ties within the local community is vital to gaining help and support from people sharing similar backgrounds, making it easier to adapt to a new life.
However, It is hard to quickly find...
The overall information channels were blocked, and I did not know where else to find information other than asking my old classmates (if they live here).
From one interviewee
Also,
The majority of new Chinese immigrants do not have too much time to socialize; even if they had the time, they would not know who to socialize with. They prefer to use WeChat, hard to be always active other than parenting topics.
From the research analysis
New Chinese immigrant
1
Lack diverse and reliable support channels but are eager for quick, direct guidance from their ethnic group.
2
Have a strong focus on parenting and find it is easier to connect with others with parenting-related activities.
3
Look for connecting with business owners and their community, getting support and unity.
SO...
New first-generation immigrants need a parenting-centred socialization platform to connect them with the community and businesses which have a common background.
business model canvas
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ecosystem map
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Solution Diagramming
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User interaction features
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methodology & findings & iterations
USER story with COMMWEAVE
“I believe that life could be much easier and happier with CommWeave when moving to this new country. It can help me make friends with other families in activities naturally and provide invaluable resources and suggestions for me and my family with a smooth transition.”
-Emily Liu
Multiple ways to discover CommWeave
To guide users from initial awareness of the app to become loyal customers who actively contribute to the community, a marketing funnel strategy would be implemented for seamless user engagement.
Channels to support this journey include:
• community engagement events
• partnerships with local businesses
• influencer marketing
• content marketing
• social media campaigns
• community ambassadors
• a referral program
• localized SEO
• press releases and media coverage
• email marketing...
CommWeave is a parenting-centred socialization digital platform that connects first-generation Chinese immigrants with their ethnic community and local businesses, using parenting as the entry point to foster family friendships, bolstering ethnic support systems that promote a smooth and easy integration for immigrants.
First-generation Chinese immigrants access the group's assistance, aiding their integration. Engaging in diverse parenting activities nurtures offline connections and new friendships and fosters online social circle active engagement.
Chinese business partners gain targeted exposure on the app, boosting credibility and gaining more profits.
The app’s parenting-centric strategy attracts high family engagement, appealing to Chinese merchants as an investment opportunity. This leads to effective sponsorship for activities and increased advertising revenue for the platform.
Identifying Opportunity and Initial Design Sprint
In this phase, I identified an opportunity for design intervention: facilitating easy access to ethnic social support and enhancing sustainable networking for first-generation Chinese immigrants. I completed a design sprint, following an industry-standard process from Empathize, Define, Ideate, Prototype to Test, adhering to SREB guidelines. The research included Literature Review, Observational Research, Competitive Analysis, and Interviews, leading to potential solutions and laying the foundation for the project proposal, objectives, user definitions, desired functionality, tech requirements, and the next research plan.
(Click the cover to see the whole report)
Deepening Research and Developing Information Architecture
The project advanced with deeper research and refined insights, leading to a summarized version of personas and user journeys based on the comprehensive versions from Phase 1. Using methods like Card Sorting, Freelisting, Semi-structured Interviews, and Literature reviews, I tested assumptions and explored parties' relationships within the ecosystem. This phase aimed to understand party cooperation, develop key functions, and validate usability, providing direction for further platform iterations.
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Development of Prototyping and Iterations
This phase involved four to five iterations, including working prototypes, content plans 2.0 which detailed the rationale for section organization and content selection, and user experience validation through Interviews and Emoticon Scores. I established a visual design system and conducted further tests like Time-on-Task Measurements to assess user efficiency. Each design iteration was clearly illustrated, and the updated schedule included a marketing plan to ensure the platform reached targeted users.
(Click the cover to see the whole report)
