Surprizle
Surprizle is a proof-of-concept web app where a user can send electronic gifts to friends, colleagues, or family members… but with a twist:
To open the gift, recipients must first solve a puzzle that the sender designs.
The puzzle can be as easy or hard as the sender chooses to make it, and as unique and specific to the recipient as the sender wants it to be.
The Opportunity Space
At the time of this project, Surprizle existed as a live, proof-of-concept web app offering a trivia game paired with the ability to send images or links inside the puzzle
The user goal for the sender is to attach a digital gift card or a photo of a physical one.
Looking to the future, Surprizle aspires to grow into a functional, reliable, user-friendly, and meaningful app that accomplishes its user goals and creates revenue for its stakeholders.
My Role
UX Researcher
UX Designer
Tools
Figma
Figjam
Pencil/Paper
iMovie
Methods
Google Slides
Google Sheets
Googe Forms
Google Meet
otter.ai
Kano Analysis
Think-Aloud Evaluation
Architectural Diagram
Lo-Fi Sketch Prototypes
Kano Analysis
Hi-fi interactive Prototypes
Summary
We conducted 3 rounds of user interviews and a Kano Survey to learn about the existing proof-of-concept.
Using those synthesized insights, our team built high-fidelity interactive prototypes of a customizable and personal Surprizle app that bridges the gap between whimsical fun and simple, usable interfaces.
We also identified and recommended four monetization opportunities
Surprizle’s Primary Users
The Sender
This user enjoys challenges and finding creative ways to bridge the gap and maintain a connection with friends and loved ones.
They want to connect in a way that is engaging, interactive, and fun, so they need a personalized gift-giving experience that can accomplish all of the above remotely.
The Willing Recipient
This user enjoys a good challenge and loves to solve puzzles and play games.
Goal: maximize this user’s fun while minimizing friction in accessing and completing a puzzle.
The Unwilling Recipient
This user doesn’t necessarily enjoy puzzles, or may just not have time or motivation for it right now.
They appreciate thoughtful and personalized gifts. They value clear instructions for completing the puzzle, and above all, they want to unlock their gift with a minimum amount of friction.
Challenges
The founder of Surprizle, Chad Lubbers, brings enthusiasm and creativity to gift-giving which inspired him to create Surprizle.
Chad first experimented with the idea of letting his kids’ solve puzzles to get their birthday gifts when they were young. That idea was a hit, so the tradition stuck.
With his kids about to reach college age, these in-person, puzzle-based, gifts won’t always be an option. The solution for Chad was to continue his gift-giving remotely while still entertaining and engaging his children.
So he created his own digital equivalent of these unique in-person interactions.. It’s a tool that connects gift givers and receivers remotely, no matter the distance between them.
For Chad, the greater the challenge a sender can think up, the more fun the experience. Inflicting good-natured suffering upon his gift recipients is supposed to be part of the fun!
In testing, many of our users failed to pick up on the same vibe. Certain proposed features that aligned with Chad’s vision didn’t sit right with new users.
One of our biggest challenges in this project was creating an app that works for all types of users. To succeed, Surprizle needed to quickly convey what the app is, how it works, and the founder’s vision for the type of fun, challenging, puzzle-based gift-giving Surprizle aspires to, while ensuring that users who receive gifts and are not in the mood to complete a puzzle can still have a positive experience.
The Process
Our team began by testing our client’s existing proof-of-concept web app.
We utilized Think-Aloud Protocol to ascertain first-time users’ experience running through Surprizle’s key tasks: sending a Surprizle and receiving one.
My role:
Get the script ready for use through proofreading and editing, as well as conducting interviews.
Our team sketched prototypes for new features and embedded them in a Kano Survey to which we received over 50 responses!
The analysis showed that several of our proposed features were attractive.
Our most important takeaway was regarding one of the key monetization ideas for the website—allowing recipients to pay a small fee to skip the puzzle and directly claim their gift.
That feature is the little black dot in the chart on the left!
This feature was in line with the spirit of good-natured torment that Surprizle’s founder envisions, however users had a hard time seeing things from that perspective.
They described the idea as “a bit harsh” and “bogus”. One user said they’d be “livid” if they were made to pay to access their gift!
So, it was back to the drawing board.
After further ideation on monetization, we decided that the sender would have to pay to turn off the Easy Way Out feature.
The recipients could be presented with a brief advertisement after solving (or skipping!) their puzzle.
These ideas tested well, and the ad, in particular, managed to avoid bothering anyone!
The Deliverables
Architecture Diagrams
Architectural diagrams - Sender and receiver flows
Mid-Fidelity Prototypes
The start of the sender flow. Users select an image for their puzzle OR upload their own for a fee.
Here users can preview their puzzle and select a difficulty level
Here users decide what goes inside their Surprizle – a gift card, an E-Card, or their own file.
A proposed gift card mall where users can buy gift cards to send, directly on Surprizle.
Enter recipient info, attach a personal message.
The confirmation page features an animated gift box image and a CTA to send another Surprizle.
High-Fidelity Prototypes
