tattoo planning
User Research
Project Overview
Group Members: Stephanie Graf, Julie Rochelle, Sup Suh, Kevin Zimmerman
Tattoo information is widely available on many different platforms that include social networking sites, blogs, and apps. However, there is no single resource available that helps people plan a tattoo from start to finish. In our research, we found that tattoo planning challenges include finding the right style of a tattoo, finding an artist/tattoo shop, and booking an appointment with an artist.
Our team investigated the process of how people have planned or are planning their tattoos with a series of observations, interviews and surveying. This resulted in developing design implications for a technology-based tool that will assist people in their tattoo planning process.
Our team investigated the process of how people have planned or are planning their tattoos with a series of observations, interviews and surveying. This resulted in developing design implications for a technology-based tool that will assist people in their tattoo planning process.
My Role: All team members took part in analyzing all parts of the project as well as equally contributing written content for a final report. My individual contributions to this project include: conducted an observation and an interview, setup and created Stormboard content, created flow diagrams to show search/explore/selection process from our observation analysis, assisted in the creation of spectrums and personas, assembled user survey using Qualtrics, produced user scenarios, provided written content for Conclusions section of our final report (including Implications for Design and Limitations and Future Work sections.)
Observation Findings
During our analysis we found three consistent themes related to the process of planning a tattoo. The three themes are: Search, Exploration and Selection.
Observation Methods
Participants
Three of the four participants we observed had at least one tattoo. All participants were looking to get a tattoo within six months and had a tattoo or style in mind at the time of the observation.
Data Collection
We asked the participant to locate a business or tattoo artist that would fit the style they were looking for using their own personal devices. During the observation sessions, we kept our questions to a minimum, asking only for clarifications.
Analysis
We analyzed our data using the AEIOU framework then combined our notes into a common table.
After inputing our individual notes from each observation into Stormboard, we reviewed them, grouped them together and identified common themes.
Click image to view each theme
People looking to get a tattoo begin with a search to start gathering information. Searching was not only conducted in the beginning, but was an ongoing activity throughout each observation. All participants conducted multiple searches.
During the observations, all four participants explored the results of their search, evaluated the information based on their personal criteria, and then either continued a cycle of search and exploration, or moved forward to the selection of an artist.
After participants felt they had enough information gained from exploration, they proceeded to establish contact with the artist.
Interview Methods
Participants
We interviewed four participants. All participants had multiple tattoos and were looking to get a tattoo within six months.
Data Collection
Our interviews consisted of questions to gather information about our participant's current tattoos, past experiences getting tattoos and technology and/or resources they used when planning a tattoo.
Interview sessions were audio recorded and then transcribed, each lasting between 30 to 45 minutes.
Interview sessions were audio recorded and then transcribed, each lasting between 30 to 45 minutes.
Analysis
After reviewing our interview notes, we identified potential spectrums of characteristics and behaviors of our participants in order to create personas.
Click image to view full persona
Interview Findings
We categorized our interview findings into three themes related to the process of planning a tattoo: Motivations, Exploration and Interactions.
An individual’s motivations for getting a tattoo influenced their priorities when planning their tattoo. Motivations ranged from highly personal and sentimental to simply aesthetically pleasing.
The amount of exploration into the subject matter, style of tattoo, and tattoo artist influenced the participant's overall experience in the planning process. Each participant's level of research varied. Prompting us to add a "researcher type" characteristic to our personas. Researcher types included:
- Spontaneous: Spent no time / hours / days researching their most recent tattoo
- Cautious: Spent months researching their most recent tattoo
- Vigilant: Spent years researching their most recent tattoo
Resources used during exploration phase:
- Hardware: personal computer, personal smartphone
- Social Media / Search Engine: Instagram, Google, Facebook, Reddit, Tumblr
- Software: Adobe Photoshop, Adobe Illustrator
An individual’s interactions with the tattoo artist and the tattoo shop environment greatly influenced experience and satisfaction.
ALI
“Oh man, my squirrel [tattoo experience] was good because the artist was just as excited about giving it to me as I was getting it. Tattoo parlors and artists can be kind of intimidating sometimes, so it was sweet to have an artist that was stoked to be putting it on me.”
Keith
“I reached out to a tattoo artist before they were going to an area for a stop and they didn’t respond. I never got a response back and I thought that was too impersonal. It wasn’t very professional.”
Survey Methods
Participants
Eighty-five participants completed our survey. We recruited participants personally, through social media posts on Facebook and Reddit, and through a DePaul University participant pool.
Data Collection
We used Qualtrics for our survey platform. Our survey prompted questions on the following topics:
- Previous Tattoos – How many they have, when they got their first and most recent tattoo, favorite tattoos, and tattoos they regret
- Research – Amount of time they spent researching, information and factors they looked into, non-technical resources they used, and challenges they had
- Technology – Which devices they used, technology-based tools used, and importance of features in a solution
- Demographics – Age, gender, location, and occupation
Analysis
We used our observation and interview data to develop hypotheses that were related to our research:
- Hypothesis 1 – Spontaneous, cautious, and vigilant persona types research different attributes while planning a tattoo.
- Hypothesis 2 – Spontaneous, cautious, and vigilant persona types have different preferences of technology features.
Survey Findings
