An official website for WBC that gathers participants from over 30 countries, including renowned experts in bamboo design, construction, and architecture.
- Led end-to-end user experience for the official website of WBC, a prestigious global congress uniting trailblazers in bamboo ecology, cultivation, architecture, crafts, design, and community development.
- Collaborated with cross-functional teams to deliver a user-centric website that facilitated fruitful knowledge sharing and engagement among global participants.
- Improve the CTAs that are not getting enough clicks, Discover bugs and product pain points, and show-case engagement data visually to inform data-driven decision.
- Understand which are the most used areas on a pageIdentify areas which may be causing confusion or frustration
- Improve the user experience by optimizing page layout and content
- Use the Job-To-Be-Done framework to break down user tasks and plan the information architecture.
- Conduct stakeholder interviews.
- Perform competitive analysis.
- Translate the established information architecture and webpage sections into wireframes.
- Create mockups and prototypes for user testing.
- Develop a notification strategy using OneSignal to enhance revisit rates.
- Integrate nearby location exploration and travel features using Google API.
- Utilize HotJar to observe recorded sessions and optimize the user experience for different countries and devices.
- Adjust and optimize the design when users encounter difficulties.
- Utilize Google Analytics for quantitative data observation.
The World Bamboo Organization (WBO) was established during the 1992 International Bamboo Conference in Japan, while the International Bamboo Association (IBA) served as a coordinating platform for bamboo enthusiasts globally until 1998. The primary responsibility of IBA was the organization of the World Bamboo Congress (WBC). The WBC is a significant event that brings together participants from over 30 countries, including renowned experts in bamboo design, construction, and architecture, with the aim of promoting the sustainable development of the bamboo industry, diverse applications of bamboo, and global awareness of bamboo.
Organized by the WBO, the WBC is held every three to four years and has been conducted for over 20 years. The congress addresses best practices in bamboo supply chain management, emphasizing the protection of natural resources, environmental conservation, sustainable utilization, and the promotion of traditional uses for local and community economic development. Additionally, the WBC advocates for new bamboo cultivation in emerging industries such as bio-energy, bio-plastics, climate mitigation, housing materials, pulp, paper, textiles, nutrition, and medicine.
The most recent WBC, held in 2015 in Damyang, Korea, included in-depth bamboo tours as part of the World Bamboo Fair, attracting hundreds of thousands of visitors. With the theme "Bamboo for a Greener Future," the fair facilitated idea exchange and educated the public about the diverse uses of bamboo. The congress provides an interdisciplinary platform for participants to share experiences in bamboo art, environmental sustainability, architectural design, and innovative technology. The official website of the World Bamboo Congress 2024 serves as a comprehensive resource, allowing users to easily access information, register for events, and connect with peers worldwide.
Due to the dispersed nature of the project team, it was not possible to conduct interviews initially. After the first release, we scheduled user interviews. During the interviews, we learned about the users' pain points, including:1. Lack of a multilingual framework:a user shared the frustration of participating in WBC in Guatemala when information was only available in Spanish.2. Information Architecture:Information for different stages is scattered across various submission pages, making it challenging to find crucial details.3. Users from around the world:with participants from some countries, needing to plan accommodation and flights up to six months in advance.
We utilized an information architecture inventory checklist and card sorting method to redesign a user-friendly information structure. Subsequently, we established Jobs To Be Done (JTBD) and experienced outcomes as guiding principles for the team to strive towards.
From the interviews, we discovered that users found planning travel for the event more challenging compared to other conferences. In addition to comparing existing conference websites, we also analyzed travel itinerary websites and services with clear scheduling. Examples include Open House WorldWide and the NBA website, allowing WBC's unique bamboo-focused journey to be easily found and planned online.
Transform the finalized information architecture and webpage sections into wireframes. After review, directly create a prototype in the Webflow testing area and conduct user testing through a pilot run.
During the submission and review period, allow users to subscribe to effective notifications, reminding them not to miss the deadline for submission.
Integrate a bamboo-themed exhibition area to assist users in planning and exploring locations.
On the day of the conference, users may be mobile with their phones, using them to navigate between exhibition areas. Therefore, the design of a mini-calendar helps users clearly see which activities are happening concurrently on the day of the conference. This aids in making quick decisions about where to go for an alternative activity if one has already been decided to leave.
Utilize OneSignal to develop a notification strategy to boost revisit rates.
Integrate the exploration of nearby locations and travel functionalities using Google API.
Integrate with Google Calendar for calendar synchronization, creating a mini calendar.
We discovered that users from different countries with varying devices and preferred browsers could have a frustrating cross-device experience. During the pilot run, adjustments and optimizations were made when users encountered difficulties. We closely monitor U-turn behaviors, which may indicate users struggling to find information and navigate across pages. After analysis and discussion, valuable insights are considered for optimization by the team. Even after the Alpha Version Release, cross-device issues that were not initially anticipated continue to emerge in video recordings. We can observe rage clicks in the HotJar recordings.
In addition to HotJar information, we collect data from Google Analytics as supplementary support to understand long-term trends.
In progress, data and impact are still being collected.
Currently, there are users from over 30 countries using the platform internationally.
- Improve the CTAs that are not getting enough clicks, Discover bugs and product pain points, and show-case engagement data visually to inform data-driven decision.
- Understand which are the most used areas on a pageIdentify areas which may be causing confusion or frustration
- Improve the user experience by optimizing page layout and content
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