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Mauricio Cornejo

User Experience and Service Design MA

I am a Product Designer and Webflow Developer based in London. Some time ago, I transitioned from a career in business and finance. Since then, I have been working with early-stage startup founders, helping them turn their ideas into MVPs.

The Big Problem

Remote work is becoming more and more common in today’s world. This is resulting in a lot of “Digital nomads” relocating in different places around the world. A digital nomad can be defined as a person who leverages technology to travel while working.

This may sound like a nice thing, and they often want to immerse themselves in local communities and create a positive impact, but they face issues like rising tension with local communities, social segregation and lack of opportunities to connect with people beyond transactional motives.

How can this movement be sustainable for local communities in the long run? How can we improve social interaction between digital nomads and local communities and benefit everyone in the equation, avoiding social conflict?

This was the starting point of the project.

The Solution

Communities around specific interests

Local communities that create a sense of purpose and belonging, creating connections around shared interests
Voluntary opportunities and meetups

Events that allow people to get together and engage in meaningful activities while enabling spontaneous and real-world interactions.
Social network features

Features that create an engaging experience, providing the users with recognition for their actions and fostering social interaction and community.

How I got there?

Vision Statement

After doing primary research and understanding the motivations and pain points that digital nomads face in today’s world, I defined the vision statement to start thinking about a solution.
Design Process

After defining the vision statement, I followed this process to get to the final solution.

Process Highlights

Design Principles

These principles would set the guidelines for the project.

1. Exciting: I wanted to encourage exploration and make users feel curiosity about getting involved in something new and unique. Inducing behavioural change.

2. Fulfilling: I wanted users to feel like they are creating a positive impact on the local community and benefiting others through their actions.

3. Belonging: I wanted users to feel included and accepted within a group, create a sense of belonging and shared identity with others.
Competitive Analysis

To figure out what is currently working and get some inspiration about best practices. Also, see if there is a gap in the market and create something that can satisfy a real need.

There was not any solution that offered voluntary opportunities with community features and focused on digital nomads. I concluded that there was a gap in the market.
COM-B Analysis

To understand user behaviours, factors that influence them, and ideate interventions that can effectively promote behaviour change.

I identified 2 types of users and target behaviours:

1: Digital nomads (Volunteers): Actively engage in local community activities, volunteer projects, or social events around specific interests.

2: Locals (Hosts): Actively involve and integrate digital nomads into local community activities, events, or initiatives.
User Journey

Focusing on the journey of the volunteer.
The key moments of the user journey are the following:

1. Joining a community: The user joins a community based on his interests and is welcomed by the members feeling a sense of belonging.

2. Attending to an event: The user attends an event and engages in real-world interactions with people from the community.

3. Getting recognition on the platform: The user gets recognised by the community and is able to see the impact he is making while engaging in social interaction with other members.

Final Features

Impact

A sustainable solution for digital nomadism to thrive while contributing to local communities

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