STUDIO-X

timeline: 2 months (august - september 2021)

team: solo project

project overview

Studio-x delivers online education in the fields of art and design utilizing the freemium business model. This project presents the design challenge of hybridizing a free and premium experience.  With the free version of studio-x, users can take a limited amount of courses and get a sneak peek into discussion boards. With the premium version, users have unlimited access to courses, discussion boards, and the bonus feature of tutoring services.

what is freemium?

free + premium = freemium

Popularly used by software and internet-based companies, freemium is a business model that hybridizes free and premium (paid) services.

Both free and premium bring their own unique benefits. The free experience is a powerful marketing tool that facilitates business growth and customer acquisition. Users can proceed to pay for a premium experience if they would like to utilize an advanced feature set.

why is freemium

important?

mutual benefit to user and business

The freemium business model mutually benefits the user and the business. The free version allows users to try a limited version of the product without financial commitment, while also bringing business value by establishing a healthy user base. Furthermore, the premium version allows for both an enhanced user experience and a viable solution for monetization.

the challenge

encourage free to paid conversion

Studio-x already has a healthy user base of free users. Now the challenge is to evolve the feature set to include a premium experience so that users can enjoy enhanced features and the company has a subscription-based revenue stream.

Designing a freemium experience is a delicate balancing act. While free features must be enticing enough to attract new users, they cannot provide too much such that users will not upgrade. The premium experience must be even more compelling than the free experience so users will pay to upgrade.

the solution

Conducting secondary research, user interviews, and a competitive analysis helped me identify three key approaches to encouraging free to paid conversion:

01 establish credibility for the educational platform by showing user reviews of courses and instructor credentials

02 prove value of the premium experience by allowing free users to access limited courses and discussion boards along with a free trial to preview tutoring services

03 incorporate interactivity in the educational environment to model the collaborative benefits of in-person learning

01 secondary research

learning about the freemium business model

02 competitive analysis

how industry leaders employ freemium

Freemium is a popular business model among many industry leaders such as Spotify, YouTube, and Skillshare. I identified strengths and weaknesses of these three competitors to inform and inspire Studio-x’s implementation of freemium.

01 YouTube

why YouTube?

• a popular freemium media service that also serves educational purposes

strength

• progressive disclosure of premium benefits to avoid overload

weakness

• redundant information about premium benefits may complicate user understanding

02 Spotify

why Spotify?

• maintains impressive 20% conversion rate

strength

• digestible A/B comparison of free vs. freemium

weakness

• no visibility into how to upgrade

03 Skillshare

why Skillshare?

• a direct competitor in online learning for creatives

strength

• prompted to upgrade in multiple flows for increased visibility

weakness

• unclear there is a free version in onboarding, users may abandon app

03 user interviews

understanding what motivates users to upgrade

In order to dig deeper into what motivates users to upgrade, I conducted five detailed interviews with those that fit the following criteria:

target audience

• 18 - 26 years old

• tech-savy

• budget-conscious

• consume freemium media, including online education

affinity map

I discovered valuable insights about what motivates users to upgrade. When arranging the insights by affinities, some key themes emerged:

•   trust

•   value

•   curation

•   interactivity

•   understanding

•   frustration

persona

I created a persona named Jade to represent Studio-x’s typical user. Jade, like most of the people I interviewed, is looking for a trustworthy, valuable, and interactive learning experience.

research insights

Synthesizing secondary research, competitive analysis, and user interviews, I identified three key insights to guide design ideation.

01 users trust a product with established credibility

evidence

secondary research:

• free users are most valuable for referring new users and elevated brand perception

user interviews:

• “Endorsements and reviews impact my decision-making”

02 users need to understand the value of the product

evidence

secondary research: 

• conversion can be sustained if value is continually increased

competitive research:  

• Spotify’s A/B comparison of free vs. premium

user interviews:  

• “I need to understand how much value premium will add on top of an already free experience.”

03 users appreciate interactivity in a learning environment

evidence

user interviews:  

• “I don’t just want to be lectured.”

• “I want the virtual learning experience to be as close to the in-person learning experience as possible.”

how might we…

ideation

answering the ‘how might we’ questions

In order to ideate solutions, I reframed the ‘how might we’ statements into user stories to personify Studio-x’s priorities. From there, I brainstormed potential features to address these user needs.

01 trust

• instructor bio / credentials

• reviews

02 value

• free trial

• free vs. premium matrix

03 interactivity

• tutoring

• discussion board

feature prioritization

defining the minimum viable product

Prioritize which features will be included in the minimum viable product (MVP) based on a matrix evaluation of impact and expectation.

The MVP should include all impactful and expected features, enhanced by some impactful and unexpected features.

high impact + expected = free

high impact + unexpected = premium

impact

Impactful features add value to the educational experience.

user flows

I organized MVP features into three key flows:

01 onboarding

02 find a class

03 find a tutor

Additionally, I determined where to prompt the user to upgrade from a free to a premium plan.

I surfaced upgrade prompts later in the key flows so that the user has the chance to understand the value add of the feature. For example, free users can still browse the list of available tutors, read their reviews and bios, but will be prompted to upgrade before they can schedule appointments.

low-fidelity sketches

mid-fidelity wireframes

onboarding

find a class

find a tutor

usability testing round 1

goals

I conducted usability testing with five users who have used online education freemium services. I observed them complete tasks in a clickable prototype.

The goal was to identify usability issues with the three key flows: challenge creation, challenge tracking, and community engagement.

issue 01: no clear option to upgrade later in the onboarding flow

observation:

4 out of 5 users were hesitant to upgrade in the onboarding flow, but struggled to find an option to upgrade later.

solution: 

Add an underlined text button “Maybe Later” beneath the CTA.

issue 02: free users do not have enough visibility on what the discussion board offers

observation:

3 out of 5 users expressed frustration when unexpectedly restricted from discussion boards. They questioned what the discussion board offered.

solution: 

Allow free users to view the top three discussions. .

creating a visual identity

Before proceeding to high-fidelity mockups, I created brand attributes and a style guide to visually convey Studio-x’s mission to provide an educational environment for young creatives.

bold hip smart

high-fidelity mockups

onboarding

find a class

find a tutor

usability testing round 2

goals

I conducted usability testing with five users who have used online education freemium services. I observed them complete tasks in a clickable prototype.

The goal was to identify usability issues with the three key flows: onboarding, find a class, and find a tutor.

issue 01: users that opted for a free trial in onboarding did not understand which features were premium

observation:

4 out of 5 users could not identify differences between free and premium. These users started the free trial when onboarding. The fifth user started the free trial after exploring the app and realizing he needed premium to schedule a tutoring session.

solution: 

Remove free trial offer in onboarding so that users recognize the value of premium prior to upgrading.

issue 02: the unselected state of buttons looks too similar to the users’ expectation of a disabled state

observation:

2 out of 5 users thought time slots were unavailable when they were unselected.

solution: 

Change visual language of unselected state to brand salmon color outlined buttons with white text.

issue 03: users mistook the discussion board for reviews

observation:

3 out of 5 users thought they were reading reviews when viewing the discussion board.

solution: 

Add copy summarizing what discussion board is for, similar to the copy on the tutoring tab.

reflection

lessons learned

it’s a balancing act

The recurring theme of this project is balance. I learned that the freemium business model necessitates balance between free and premium users, features, and the needs of both the user and business.

Both free and premium users are valuable in unique ways. While free users play a key role in elevating brand awareness and referring new users, premium users generate subscription revenue for the business. In order to satisfy both user groups, we must create a free experience that motivates retention and, and a premium experience that is valuable enough to incentivize upgrading. Ultimately, Studio-x’s freemium model needs to mutually benefit the user and the business in order to remain both desirable and viable.

measuring results

conversion and retention 

Is Studio-x achieving its goals of promoting free to premium conversion by establishing trust, proving value, and fostering an interactive learning environment? One way to measure results is to look at Studio-x’s conversion rate. What percentage of free users are converting to premium? Furthermore, what percentage of premium users are renewing subscriptions?

satisfaction  

It is also important to evaluate qualitative data. What is the user experience after conversion? In order to find this out, I would like to survey and interview premium users to measure satisfaction. Is Studio-x’s premium educational experience worthwhile?

future plans

commit to continual innovation 

Performing secondary research taught me the importance of continual innovation in order to attract budget-conscious late adopters. I would like to continue to evolve Studio-x to become a more interactive and collaborative learning space.

One major takeaway from user interviews was that users value the interactive learning experience that is provided by in-person education. Studio-x currently offers tutoring sessions to incorporate interactivity, however, meeting with other students is also a major component of the in-person learning experience that is missing from virtual learning. In the future, I would like to increase focus on a collaborative learning environment by allowing students to form study groups.