New Market Story Expedition
User Research
Problem
Imagine you are a young adult who grew up in New Market, a place full of stories that rarely get heard outside your town. You’ve always wanted people to know what makes your community special — the voices, the history, the everyday moments that matter.
Solution
Then you discover Word is Born, a project that helps you and your neighbors share your stories in ways that feel true and meaningful. You see local artists, students, and families come together in workshops, interviews, and creative showcases. With support from the senior leadership of New Market, the project grows into something even bigger — a captivating body of work that honors residents’ stories while inspiring new ones. Little by little, your town’s hidden stories come alive for the world to see. And you feel proud, knowing your voice helps preserve the heart of New Market, while Word is Born builds a legacy that will last for generations.
How I used in-person interviews, affinity diagramming, and debriefing sessions to uncover pain points and design better solutions.
I conducted in-person interviews with a partner to gather honest, detailed insights directly from users. Working together made it easier to ask follow-up questions, capture different perspectives, and build trust with participants.
After each round of interviews, we used affinity diagramming to sort and cluster feedback, revealing patterns and recurring challenges. We then held debriefing sessions to discuss what we learned, prioritize the biggest pain points, and brainstorm actionable solutions.
This approach helped turn scattered feedback into clear, user-driven improvements — ensuring our final designs directly addressed real needs and frustrations.
How I used Figjam and Google Docs to Collaborate with others, leading to improving the interviewing process
FigJam: Used for collaborative brainstorming sessions and map out each step of the interview process visually. This helped the team identify gaps, pain points, and opportunities to make the experience smoother for both interviewers and candidates.
Google Docs: Used to document our ideas, share updated guidelines, and collect feedback in real time. This kept everyone aligned, allowed for quick edits, and made it easy to track changes and suggestions.
By combining these tools, we streamlined communication, brought in diverse perspectives, and ultimately designed a more efficient and welcoming interview process.
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Building Trust & Increasing Participation
- Forming relationships with the community leaders gives WIB further opportunities to expand community efforts
Driving Data-Informed Strategy
- Translated findings into actionable recommendations, leading to an expansion of the Society’s outreach programs.
Bucky Buckwalter
Hi! I'm an Innovative Product Design & User Experience Designer with 5+ years of experience in developing intuitive interfaces and conducting quantitative research with a focus in B2B and B2C Markets.
I help companies identify and act on meaningful trends to yield larger profits and am responsible for increasing user engagement by 30%, and improving system usability scores by over 40% through targeted design enhancements and data-driven strategies.
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