Building Phone Panchayat
Category:
Product & Experience Design
Client:
Shivam Dixit
Duration:
6 Weeks
Phone Panchayat is an innovative platform designed to connect users with hyperlocal news and essential services. It allows individuals to stay updated with the latest happenings in their vicinity through video-format news and provides access to services such as plumbing repair, bike repair, and dabba services. Users can also contribute news from their local area, making it a community-driven platform.
Project Goal
Shivam came to us with a clear objective: to create a platform that would serve hyperlocal news and essential services to users in an accessible and efficient manner. The key challenges included:
Hyperlocal Focus: Ensuring that the platform effectively aggregated and delivered localized news content and services relevant to specific communities.
User Experience: Designing an intuitive and seamless user journey that would appeal to users across different age groups and technical abilities.
Speed and Accessibility: Building an app that would offer fast access to content and services, even in regions with slower internet connections.
Service Integration: Incorporating various essential services like plumbing, bike repair, and dabba services into the platform, making it a one-stop solution for users.
Our Approach
Product Brain worked closely with Shivam to bring his vision to life by developing an exceptional app tailored to the unique needs of hyperlocal communities. Our approach included:
Discovery and Ideation: We conducted in-depth research to understand the specific needs of the target audience and brainstormed features that would add the most value.
Design and Development: Our team focused on creating an easy-to-navigate interface that ensured a smooth user experience. The app was designed to provide quick access to news and services with minimal effort.
Testing and Optimization: We rigorously tested the app across various devices and internet speeds to ensure optimal performance and fast accessibility, even in areas with limited connectivity.
Implementation
Hyperlocal News Aggregation: The app aggregates and delivers video-format news updates from the user's immediate vicinity, keeping them informed about local events and issues.
Integrated Service Booking: Users can book essential services like plumbing repair, bike repair, and dabba services directly through the app, making it a comprehensive solution for their daily needs.
User-Friendly Design: The app features a simple, intuitive interface that makes it easy for users to navigate and find the content or services they need.
Optimized Performance: The app is designed to be fast and responsive, ensuring that users can quickly access the information and services they require.
Solution & Building
User Research
To ensure the Phone Panchayat app would meet the needs of its target audience, we conducted extensive user research. Our research focused on understanding the habits, preferences, and pain points of users in Rajasthan who were interested in hyperlocal news. We engaged with potential users through surveys, interviews, and focus groups to gather insights into what they valued most in a news app.
Key Findings:
Preference for Localized Content:
Users expressed a strong preference for news that was directly relevant to their immediate surroundings. They wanted a platform that could filter out broader national or international news and focus solely on their local areas.
Ease of Use:
A significant portion of the target audience had limited experience with technology. Therefore, the app needed to be extremely user-friendly, with a simple interface and clear navigation.
Speed and Accessibility:
Users highlighted the importance of quick access to news, especially in areas with inconsistent internet connectivity. They preferred an app that loaded content quickly and was lightweight enough to perform well even on older devices.
Trust and Reliability:
Trust was a major factor for users when consuming news. They wanted assurance that the news provided by the app was accurate and from reliable sources.
These insights guided our design and development process, ensuring that the Phone Panchayat app not only met but exceeded user expectations.
The Process
Discovery
We began with a deep dive into understanding the client's goals, target audience, and the specific challenges of delivering hyperlocal news. This stage involved gathering all the necessary information to lay a strong foundation for the project.
Ideation
Our team brainstormed innovative ideas to address the unique needs of the app's users. We explored various concepts to ensure that the app would stand out in the crowded news app market while effectively serving its purpose.
Research
Extensive research was conducted to understand the preferences and behaviors of the target audience. This included user surveys, interviews, and competitive analysis to ensure that our approach was aligned with user expectations.
Information Architecture
We organized the content and functionality of the app in a way that was logical and easy to navigate. This step was crucial in ensuring that users could quickly find the news they were looking for without any confusion.
Wireframes
We created wireframes to map out the structure and layout of the app. These low-fidelity sketches allowed us to visualize the user journey and make adjustments before moving on to the more detailed design phases.
Color Schemes
The visual identity of Phone Panchayat was developed with careful consideration of color schemes that would resonate with the brand while providing a pleasing and accessible user experience.
Style Guide
A comprehensive style guide was created to maintain consistency across all design elements. This guide outlined typography, iconography, and other visual elements to ensure a cohesive look and feel throughout the app.
Design System
We established a robust design system that streamlined the development process and allowed for scalability. This system included reusable components and templates that ensured consistency and efficiency as the app evolved.
Screens
Finally, we designed the individual screens for the app, ensuring that each one was user-friendly and aligned with the overall design strategy. Every screen was carefully crafted to provide a seamless and engaging experience for the users.
Shivam Dixit
"Working with Product Brain was a fantastic experience. Aman and Vaibhav were deeply involved in every step, ensuring the project stayed on track. Vaibhav, in particular, did an outstanding job managing the product features and crafting solutions that exceeded our expectations. Kudos to both for bringing our vision to life with such excellence!"
The development of Phone Panchayat highlights the importance of understanding and addressing the unique needs of hyperlocal communities. Through close collaboration with Shivam, Product Brain was able to create a platform that not only met his objectives but also provided users with a valuable resource for staying connected and informed. The success of Phone Panchayat demonstrates our commitment to delivering innovative, user-centric solutions that make a real impact on people's lives.
The positive feedback from 3 lakh active users and a 4.3-star rating is a testament to the effectiveness of our approach.
