The Roam
The Roam app makes it easy to connect to free, secure WiFi at over a million hotspots worldwide. With automatic, password-free access using a unique ID, you can stay connected effortlessly. The app’s simple interface includes a map to find nearby connections, making it perfect for anyone on the go.
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Context
Overview
Roam (previosly Metablox) is a Web3 project building a decentralized Wi-Fi network. Users can earn points, rewards, and stickers by validating (check-in) Wi-Fi coverage and creating interactions between router owners and users at specific locations (spots).
The Roam App is mainly designed as a tool to let the public enable access to the Roam network. Meanwhile, Roam App users earn token rewards as a validator if they validate the Roam network status.
My Role
The Team
Project Lead, Product Manager, UX/UI Designer, Senior Product Designer (Me) QA Engeneer and Developers.
Role
Senior Product Designer
Duration
Since 2022 – up to now
Industry
Web3, Blockchain, Crypto
Tools
Figma, Adobe Creative Suite, Atlassion, Jira, Trello
Goal
Project / Business Goal
Roam aims to create a strong user community, providing global Wi-Fi connectivity through a dedicated mobile app. Users enjoy seamless access to Wi-Fi OpenRoaming, earning tokens, stickers, and participating in interactive quests.
We envision a vibrant user ecosystem within Roam, fostering connections, shared experiences, and a gamified world. Roam goal is to redefine how people connect, communicate, and explore the digital landscape through a cutting-edge and user-friendly platform.
- The Roam mobile App is mainly designed as a tool to let the public easy-to-access the Roam network and to OpenRoaming in Roam network WBA-provided networks. (Final goal)
- Roam mobile Ap creates Roam user profiles, helping them to get access to the networks. DID+VC, as a tech solution combo, helps users to join the Metablox network while protecting private information. Meanwhile, the Roam user profile needs to include their hotspot 2.0 profile supporting users to open roam in WBA-provided networks.
- Roam App users can easily find locations that provide Roam network services.
- Roam mobile App users can earn Roam token rewards or points, and stickers as a validator if they validate Roam network status.
What we encountered
Challenge
Roam, a revolutionary project aimed at creating a global Wi-Fi open roaming network with token incentives, faces several user-centric challenges.
Users struggle with complex onboarding processes, difficulty in discovering network locations, and a lack of motivation to become validators. Additionally, concerns exist regarding the protection of user privacy and data when using the DID+VC (Decentralized Identifier + Verifiable Credentials) technology combo. These issues hinder the growth and success of the project, necessitating a comprehensive UX solution.
Brainstorm
Potential Solution
As a Senior Designer, I’ve been leading the development of the Roam mobile app since its inception, with a focus on creating a seamless, engaging, and secure user experience.
1. Registration Optimization:
- The registration process should be simple to ensure that it is completed in just a few steps (30 seconds or less), making it extremely user-friendly.
- Users should be able to easily find Roam network services to increase user engagement and participation.
- To incentivize users to become validators, we will implement a system where 60% of regular users are converted into validators. This will improve the reliability of the project and the growth of the network.
4. Privacy and Data Protection:
- User data privacy is of utmost importance. Robust security measures and clear consent mechanisms ensure the highest level of user privacy and data protection.
- We will implement game elements such as rewards, points, tokens, stickers, and quests to make the Roam app interesting and engaging for users.
- The combination of DID+VC technical solutions is easy to integrate, ensuring both user privacy and network security.
Version 1.0
Highlights and Screenshots
This design was made at the beginning of the project, when it was called Metablox. At the end of the case study, you will see how this application has been transformed into a more convenient and functional version.
Previous
Next
Version 1.0
Metablox App V1.0
Here is the first version of the Metablox mobile application.
The process
Design Process
Product Development
Responsibilities
Before we started the development process, we made a zone of responsibility for who would do what. We usually use an Agile approach, which helps all participants adapt their work and be more flexible when performing tasks in a startup.
Research
Surveys
We managed to survey 467 participants in 1 week with an existing application (MVP). You can see some of the results in the screenshots.
Research
Affinity Map Categories
Question: What do you do?
- Business & Entrepreneurship: 19.28%
- Technology & Engineering: 16.87%
- Trading & Crypto: 13.25%
- Education & Students: 11.45%
- Service & Labor: 10.84%
- Freelance & Self Employment: 8.43%
- Creative & Arts: 7.83%
- Agriculture & Farming: 4.22%
- Healthcare & Medical: 4.22%
- Unemployed: 3.61%
Research
User Goal and our Goal
- A strength signal and a stable network
- Secure and privacy protected
- Easy to access
- Earn rewards
- Enable to find location
- Design and develop an App, cooperating with Roam hardware, usage as a tool letting public EASY to access the Roam network.
- Use DID+VC as a tech solution combo to solve problems of Public WiFi Risks (prevent users providing personal information to a specific server, solving theft personal information).
- Provide a way to reward users if they are interest in being a validator.
Flow
User Flow
Components
UI Components
Current stage
Design
Summary
Summary and some statistics
As a Rom project, we raised over $20 million in 2023 as a web startup. After conducting extensive user research, which led to a 45% increase in user satisfaction and a 30% reduction in onboarding time. We learned what our users needed and we adapted different quests in our app to different countries.
At the moment, the application has already been published in the Google Store, but the mobile application is in the process of improvement and adaptation.
