BIPOCSTOCK

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Overview

The stock photography market is huge but is not as diverse as it could be. In its current state, does not accurately represent the wealth of diverse people in society. There is an overrepresentation of a select demographic and BIPOC individuals have a much harder time finding stock photography that they can see themselves in.

Trying to solve this problem by way of a bootcamp case study, led to the creation of BIPOCSTOCK. A responsive web app that specializes in finding stock photography for BIPOC individuals. 

Timeline

10 Weeks - April 2021 to July 2021

Role

UX Designer/Researcher

Tools

Figma, Adobe Illustrator, Photoshop, Protopie

Platform

Responsive Website

Getting Started

Before I started doing any research, I needed to figure out what design process model to use. I went with the Design Thinking model. 

Empathize

Define

Ideate

Protoype

Test

Assess

“Design thinking is a human-centered approach to innovation that draws from the designer’s toolkit to integrate the needs of people, the possibilities of
technology, and the requirements for business success.”

-Tim Brown

Empathize-Research Plan

User Interviews

Qualitative interviews with a plethora of individuals is beneficial because you can view users and their behavior in the context of their lives. They can point out what site content is memorable, what people feel is important on the site, and what ideas for improvement they may have.

A Few Interview Questions

  • What are some challenges you face when looking for stock photography?

  • When looking for stock photography, what aspects are most important to you?

  • Do you feel it is important to see yourself or your culture reflected in your branding? Why or why not?

SURVEY

Asking users to participate in surveys is the easiest and most efficient way to get insight to the pain points that users may have with an experience. 

64%

of users do NOT feel represented in media.

51%

of users DO feel that it is important to see themselves represented in media.

75%

of respondents are DISSATISFIED with the current options available.

62%

of respondents said it was DIFFICULT to find stock photography that had BIPOC

MARKET RESEARCH

Data taken from Shuttershock that shows results for two of the most popular searches involving groups of people. They are filtered based on how prominently they feature people of color, if at all.

Shuttershock Search Term Top Results:
BUSINESS MEETING

graph1.png

54%

27%

11%

14%

N/A

No POC

POC in background

POC prominently featured

Shuttershock Search Term Top Results:
FAMILY

graph2.png

79%

1%

19%

4%

N/A

No POC

POC in background

POC prominently featured

Define-Problem Space & User Journey

PROBLEM SPACE

BIPOC individuals have a much harder time finding stock photography that they can see themselves in. The goal of this study is to get a clear understanding of the barriers that exist in this arena and to find ways to improve the experience for users.

IDENTIFYING POTENTIAL USERS

Using my data findings I created a persona to help better understand their pain points and subsequently resulting in better implementation of the solution.

PRIMARY PERSONA

 IRIS WASHINGTON

Needs:
-Access to high quality stock photos of black people.
-Affordable licensing fees
-Easy to use platform