Case Study
Thingiverse
implementing a rewards program on a 3D printing sharing website
Role
UX/UI designer, UX researcher
Tools
Figma, Maze, FigJam, Mural
Duration
4 weeks
Goal
Incentivizing and increasing user engagement on a website where users share, download and remix 3D printing files by implementing a rewards program
Results
Worked with main stakeholder to create responsive website according to their needs and budget
Revamped logo, branding and style of the bakery
Directed UX team to create a cohesive and coordinated app
Background
Over the last two decades, 3D printing has become popular as consumer models continue to become more affordable and more advanced.
With this explosion of popularity, platforms emerged for people to share their knowledge and ideas.
Thingiverse is one of these websites.
This is a conceptual case study that is unaffiliated with Thingiverse or Ultimaker.
I followed the Nielsen Norman Group's design thinking phases for this project.
Empathize: How is Thingiverse doing?
Thingiverse has a very strong open-source culture.
Users design and share 3D models, whether for utility (kitchen parts, shelves, brackets and other household items) or for fun (toys, figures, cosplay).
The site has a "remix" feature that encourages users to tweak the original models for specific use cases (for example, making a more compact version of a 3D printed whistle).
In more recent years, the perception of Thingiverse has gotten more negative, as users took issue with the poor servers and lack of updates to the site.
General user sentiment on how Thingiverse has fallen off
"Thingiverse is the Myspace of 3D printing. it was first, but it won't last."
"Search function barely works. You search for a dog and the first page or two are literally just what's currently trending."
“Thingiverse is a sad place these days. A relic from the time where MakerBot was an integral part of the maker community.”
"Yes, but I remember a time when it was basically the YouTube of 3D models. It was the one central place to go. Now, there is no other central platform."
However, despite the perceived decline in quality of Thingiverse, it is still the most popular 3D repository site.
Source: Prusa (Printables) blog post
I wanted to question users in more detail, so set up an interview guide and started gathering participants.
User interview insights
All seven participantsknew about the existence of Thingiverse. Users are drawn to the fact that there are no paid features.
Users do not want to socialize for “leisure” - if there is communication, it is utilitarian, such as comments on the file to ask for help/clarification
While a marketplace, subscription, or other paid features are not out of the question, they are detrimental to Thingiverse’s reputation as a “free” site
There was a unanimous no from all seven interviewees that they would not enjoy a forum or discussion space.
Users that download files have no incentive to participate in the community.
Users that upload files enjoy receiving feedback and seeing pictures of their creations.
Competitive analysis insights
Other sites have more curation in comparison to Thingiverse. One common complaint about Thingiverse is the lack of quality control - anyone can upload any model.
Many other sites monetize, which can attract users who want to sell models. These are generally perceived to be higher quality than free ones.
Monetization: other sites offer printing services, so users can receive their item printed in a specific way.
Some sites specialize in a niche; for example, tabletop miniature models.
As shown by the user interviews and research, there was a tricky line to tread.
What would be good for business goals was not necessarily the same as an enjoyable user experience.
Define: where are users' problems?
Prototype: building out the rewards shop
I used Thingiverse's existing design and branding in order to build new features that would seem seamless.
Test: validating the ideas
User testing insights
The 12 users had a 100% success rate in completing the tasks (finish a mission, buy a shop item)
Users noted they had difficulty telling that the tabs (My points, rewards shop, points history) were tabs and not a progress bar
Five users noted they could not easily tell how many points they had accumulated.
For the points history page, 5 out of 12 users noted they had difficulty telling apart gaining or spending points.
Users were also asked their preference between these two shop versions - one with a filter for digital and physical items and one without.
Users were fairly split, with 7 preferring A and 5 preferring B.
With this feedback in mind, I made changes as I increased the fidelity of the wireframes.
I made the rewards tabs clearer to read.
I lessened the affordance of the points history numbers and also color coded them for easier readability.
With the more polished prototype, I did a round of usability testing with 20 users.
Usability test results
Users had a 100% success rate for the task of completing a mission
Users had a 84.6% success rate for the second task, partially because of administrative error in directing users to the right target.
100% of users explained correctly what the purpose of the filters are.
I iterated one last time, adding further functionality to the "Sort by" feature and color-coding the physical and digital items.
Implement
Conclusion and next steps
Users were able to successfully complete the tasks relating to the new feature. The gamification of socializing means that users could be motivated by rewards in order to promote behavior that is beneficial both for other users and for Thingiverse.
In the future, I would like to implement further integrations with the site (for example, personalizing recommendations and missions), and implement more ways to incentivize favorable user behavior.
Impact
Users were successfully able to navigate the rewards shop, with 100% success rate
Users could explain the different features of the rewards shop.
Users felt the experience of the new feature was seamlessly integrated into the existing site.
What I learned:
Doing research can yield unexpected findings - I did not expect that users would be so against socialization features
E-commerce information hierarchy is very complex, and users already have expectations of how a storefront should behave
Look to existing pattern libraries and how competitors implement goals
Making sure that new components fit within an existing design system - if users can tell the difference, something is wrong