FIDELITY PHYSICAL CAFE AND DIGITAL EXPERIENCES FOR SPACE UTILIZATION

Envision a community space for gig workers to reinforce the sense of belonging and get work support.

Sponsored Project | Multi-modal Interaction | Prototyping

Fidelity Investments wanted to create an experienced model to build trust amongst self-employed individuals. To solve this, our team designed a connected digital-physical experience which provides a community where gig workers can gain a sense of belonging, receive various benefits such as financial work support and career support, and develop their professionalism.
Context

Fidelity Investments sponsored the topic in the Interaction Design Workshop course.
‍
February - May 2020 (14 weeks)
My Role

Ideation
Mobile/Kiosk UI Design
Storyboarding/Sketch
User Testing
Prototyping
Team

Subin Kim
Kyungtae Kim
Yuanyuan Hu
Background
Working in the Gig Economy Solo
According to Fidelity Investments, there are five types of gig workers divided by their purpose of being indys - Entrepreneur, Steady Indys, Square Pegs, Passionate Sprouts, and Side Hustlers.
The Steady Indys
"Steady Indys" is the type of self-employed individual who is already in the gig economy for a while and is in a relatively stable situation where he/she is able to cover his/her living expenses with the earnings.
Characteristics
‍• Indy work fuels life financially
• Built indy life to mimic full-time life (with the added pros of Indy)
• Indy work is my job, not my identity
• Committed but not passionate about being indy
Needs
‍• Stability of full-time work with the flexibility of indy
• Need to feel like there's always work in the pipeline
• Need benefits of full-time work, in their own terms
Success Metrics
‍• The right balance of money, work satisfaction, and time with family
Define a Problem
Working in the gig economy is a decision made in the effort to have more freedom, yet it is often met with many complex and time-consuming tasks.
Since there are no longer other functional units in a company environment to support, independents must recreate employee benefits packages for themselves.
What they are struggling with?
Lack of Accessibility
Independent workers are tasked with designing their own benefits systems. Gig workers  need access to a pool of skills, experts, and tools
Lack of Community Space
Building their own benefits packages is not easy. While doing this daunting and confusing task, indy workers need someone to talk to, who can plan for the future together.
Lack of Reference Point
The fear of getting it wrong can be paralyzing. As an alternative, many choose to put their focus solely on finding and doing work.
HMW
Help gig workers manage their own lives professionally and confidently?
Process
Competitor analysis
Through the case study, we were able to figure out what solutions our competitors are providing, and organize the results of competitor analysis into a 2x2 matrix to determine the direction of Fidelity.
User experience map
We looked into gig worker's behavior, environment, and culture to understand the systems around them. In this process, user context and user journey map frameworks were used.
Wireframing
Based on the structured design principle, detailed information architecture was organized. In this process, we started to materialize the visuals through wireframing.
Rapid prototyping and key insights
To test what we've learned, we conducted user testing on real gig workers using rapid prototyping. We used the Merit framework to organize the insights from the research.
UI design
Using Figma, we designed the UI that goes into both the smartphone and the kiosk. Various use cases and experience maps have been compiled together to see how gig workers use the UI in what manner and in what situations.
Presentation to Fidelity
We presented interactive prototypes and user experiences to our workshop partner, Fidelity Investment client, and were able to receive positive feedback.
Identifying Context
Offline space where it is easy to access, network, and collaborate with other indys and to get Fidelity financial supports.
We identified opportunity areas for Fidelity going into physical space by using 2X2 of accessibility and interaction points to analyze current co-working spaces and finance offline spaces.
Define Experience Model
We identified the connection point between user needs and potential solution space. Through the results derived from this, I was able to create a rough experience design called "Fidelity Cafe", and this experience was transformed into a simple sketch, a low-level prototype.
User Experience System Map
User Experience Map
3 Use cases
Design Principles
Problem1
Lack of community space
Gig workers need a space where they can connect with like minded people and talk about their difficulties.
Problem2
Lack of reference points
Gig workers work alone, so they need a benchmark against which to compare their lives with others.
Problem3
Lack of community space
Gig workers need a place with easy and convenient access to a diverse talent pool and the tools they need for their job.
Design Principle1
Provide physical touch-points
Provide a space where you can actually make contact with other Gig workers and experts, and let various conversations and necessary information flow naturally.
Design Principle2
Provide networking and data access opportunities
Gig workers are in a similar situation. Provide experience to network with other gig works and mentors who can give you advice.
Design Principle3
Provide accessible resources and tools in a package
Provide easy access to expert consultations, workshops, forums, and diverse talent pools that gig workers need.
Information Architecture
Feature Model
It is important that the experience outside the cafe before and after going to the CrewCrew cafe is naturally connected with the experience inside the cafe space upon arrival. Mobile and kiosks can be used interchangeably depending on whether it is personal, a function that needs a continuous update, or to use the facility efficiently in the cafe.
Information Architecture
While the use of kiosks is advantageous for space management and minimizes user(app download) inconvenience, the app helps them to schedule and set up all personal activities. Drawing the user flow helped our team understand how customers navigate this multi-modal experience within our service.
Wireframing

Based on the structured design principle, we started to materialize the visuals through wireframing. With a simple prototyping format, user testing was conducted.

User Testing and Iteration
Insight Classification
Using the Merit(multi-level requirement) framework, we categorized the insights into context need, user need, and content.

Insight Clustering
By clustering the various insights of interviewees into similar categories, we identify and structure the clearly appearing needs groups.Through this process, we were able to clearly determine the direction of design development by identifying the various needs that gig workers face in their lives, which appear in the three groups of contextual, user, and content needs.
Product Experience
Design Deliverables
Scene 1
Visit Reservation

A visit reservation system should be recognized as a behavior that gives gig workers a sense of belonging. The biggest problem with gig workers is that they work alone. They find it difficult to get feedback on their work or feel a sense of belonging. Fidelity CRCR Cafe will be their one-day company.
Physical touch-point
"I need someone to talk with"
Bob is always anxious about uncertainty as a gig worker. He decides to visit CrewCrew Cafe and talk to people.
Scene 2
Entering Cafe

Bob, our gig worker, visits Fidelity CRCR cafe to talk to other gig workers with similar interests and occupations to the front of the kiosk.
Physical touch-point
"Coffee first"
When Bob enters the cafe, he accesses the kiosk. When he logs into the kiosk service, it recognizes him and recommends options he often drinks.
Networking and data access opportunities
"Let's make a plan for the day"
Bob can use the kiosk to pick up their plans of the day. Once planned, capsule balls with chat starters can pop out of the kiosk like fortune cookies and this serves as conversation starters with others.
Scene 3-1
Cafe Activity: Expert Consultation

Our gig worker, Bob, visits the cafe to meet with Fidelity's financial planners in order to design a more stable and concrete future for his uncertain future.
Networking and data access opportunities
"Data transfer for financial counseling"
‍Bob can bring personal information that exists in the existing Fidelity Investment app to the Fidelity CRCR app and this will later be used as data when consulting with Fidelity financial experts.
Accessible resources and tools
"Make an appointment to talk to Fidelity financial experts"
The app tells Bob's financial scores, career scores, and mental health scores. Make an appointment with a Fidelity professional financial planner to increase your financial score.
Accessible resources and tools
"Receive a feedback from the expert"
After consulting with a financial planner, Bob receives a financial plan designed for him. As Bob manages his income according to the designed plan, his financial score goes up.
Scene 3-2
Cafe Activity: Skill Trade

Our gig worker Bob works alone, so he feels the need to outsource some things he can't do on his own. Therefore, he is trying to find a good gig worker partner to work with inside the Fidelity CRCR Cafe.
Accessible resources and tools
"Check my schedule"
Bob can receive information about the schedule he has decided to participate in today and various events taking place in the cafe through the app. Also, the longer the guests use the cafe, the more membership points they can accumulates and they can use in a variety of ways within the space.
Networking and data access opportunities
"Networking with other gig workers can bring a new opportunity."
Bob finds the Visual designer sitting at a table where they can sit together. Bob checks her information and portfolio through the app, and set a meeting to propose collaboration. If she allows, Bob can join the table by following the lights of a certain color on the table.
Accessible resources and tools
"Job toss to each others"
Bob can get, offer, or trade freelance jobs by clicking on the Skill Trade tab. This feature may also uncover further networking opportunities.
Reflections
It was a great opportunity to think about the whole digital ecosystem to give gig workers a sense of belonging and less worries about their jobs of job by creating a multi-modal interaction in the physical and digital space. We learned to be more comprehensive in creating interaction points since there are a lot of traps in the UI design that gets people confused. Also, we were able to approach the problem with the perspective of the industry, connected with actual interaction designers in the field.
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©Sue Kim 2022

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