Vaping is an increasingly popular habit among young adults in today's world because of its efficiency, consistency and accessibility. Unlike the 1930s and 40s with smoking, people today have a general awareness that vaping is not a healthy habit to maintain overtime. However, why is it that nobody prioritizes quitting? Yes, it is both addictive and makes you feel good. Nevertheless, what can we do to change the reality of this situation?
Through interviewing seven college aged students about their experience vaping and deeper thoughts on nicotine in general, I came away with vital information that helped me develop a trajectory for my product as well as an idea of the demographic encompassing those who use nicotine.
Through interviewing seven college aged students about their experience vaping and deeper thoughts on nicotine in general, I came away with vital information that helped me develop a trajectory for my product as well as an idea of the demographic encompassing those who use nicotine. To summarize the motivations, users vape because they want to relax , and are attracted to the instant gratification nicotine provides. On the flip side, they complain about the accessibility of nicotine products making it too easy to vape, the lack of control over their finances, and most importantly, lacking a reason to quit.
Using the insights I gathered from user interviews, I decided to tackle the two most pressing pain points people encounter in their journey using nicotine: finding a reason to quit while bringing order to chaotic finances. If users struggle to find an incentive to quit, why not give them the opportunity to create one? This was the thought that birthed the idea I ultimately pursued, where users have the power to forge their future both behaviorally and financially. I structured this project in a way that supports the user in attaining a physical reward they set when they sign up for the app. At the end of their journey, with the money saved from not vaping, the user will be able to embark on what they had been working towards while also remaining nicotine-free! It's a win-win.
Usability testing was a vital aspect of this project as it shed light on the most pressing flaws and assumptions I was making. Through this, I came away with two fundamental issues that people encountered when engaging with my prototype: Onboarding and understanding the purpose of the app. This is where the fun part began. I set out to fix these issues by revamping the UI with the intent of making the onboarding process more intuitive. Additionally, I worked to provide the user with a better understanding of what this app is trying to accomplish.​
Writing this outcome section from the future, this was the first project I pursued in UX and the amount that I learned from engaging in the full design thinking process was intangible. I could think of a thousand ways to redesign the UI, but I believe I created a solution to a problem that runs rampant among the younger generations that the market has yet to adapt to. Namely, providing an incentive to quit vaping. Smoking apps today leave it on the user to abstain from a habit with no reward, which in my opinion, is not an attractive model for success.