Secondary Research

Before I ever landed on bird photography, my first question was, how do people learn creative or hobby skills? Before talking to users, I looked at what existing research says about how people learn creative skills online and what obstacles they face.

WHY PEOPLE START

People pick up creative skills for personal expression, enjoyment, and growth. Deci and Ryan's Self-Determination Theory (2000) identifies three psychological needs that drive this kind of motivation: autonomy, competence, and relatedness. When those needs are met, people stay engaged. When they're not, they disengage.
Ryan & Deci, "Self-Determination Theory and the Facilitation of Intrinsic Motivation" (2000)

WHY PEOPLE STOP

Slow progress, unclear instructions, time constraints, and lack of structure. Csikszentmihalyi's Flow Theory explains the mechanism: when the challenge of a task is too far above someone's skill level, they get frustrated and quit. Too far below, they get bored. The sweet spot is a narrow channel between the two, and most self-paced online learning environments don't maintain it.
Csikszentmihalyi, Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience (1990)

WHAT WORKS

Hands-on learning with immediate application. Community and peer feedback. Progress tracking and gamification. Bandura's Social Learning Theory found that people build confidence and skill by watching peers succeed at similar tasks, not just by practicing alone. Seeing someone like you figure it out is more motivating than any tutorial.
Bandura, Social Learning Theory (1977)
Microlearning — short, focused lessons designed for immediate application — outperforms long-form instruction on mobile. A 2021 study in Educational Technology Research and Development found that mobile microlearning increased knowledge, confidence, and certainty in practical decision-making.
Lee, Mobile Microlearning Design and Effects on Learning Efficacy (2021)

GOING FORWARD
This gave me a foundation for understanding how people learn creative skills and what gets in the way. I didn't have a specific direction yet. I went into user interviews with open questions and let my participants guide me toward the problem worth solving.

GENERATIVE RESEARCH | How do people learn creative or hobby skills?

User Interviews

How do people learn creative or hobby skills?

We asked these

5 Participants...

Rachel, 50
Avid birder, learning photography

Anne, 46
Learning drumming

John, 44
Musician, writer

Martha, 62
Hobby photographer, landscape architect

Shari, 45
Quilter, visual artist

...a selection of research questions:

What motivates you?
What drives your curiosity?
What do you think it takes to create something meaningful?
What makes a pursuit worthwhile?
How do you decide what matters?
What makes something feel difficult?
What keeps you going when things are hard?

User Interviews: 4 Patterns Identified

During the affinity mapping process we identified 4 patterns

To see the full

Affinity Maps Click Here

GENERATIVE RESEARCH | 1ST PATTERN NOTICED: Structure of Information

Pattern #1Structure of Information

Likes having freedom to explore but feels lost without basic guidelines. Once the basics are learned, Shari likes to experiment on her own.

"I start with simple projects because it makes learning less intimidating."
— Shari

"Most people don't want to read a wall of text."
— Rachel

"The only way is to break it down into smaller steps."
— John

"Adapting your learning style to the task is essential."
— Anne

Feels frustrated by a lack of clear and accessible skill resources.
— Rachel

"I like to just dive in."
— Martha

STRUCTURE OF INFORMATIONPeople want simple, many times step-by-step instructions, not dense text. They want to get started quickly and easily. Overwhelm can be a barrier to learning.

GENERATIVE RESEARCH | 2ND PATTERN NOTICED: Community support leads to success.

Pattern #2Community

"I have some friends who have started doing photography during the time that I've known them. I have watched them get better over time, and that's been a really big motivation."
— Rachel

"Learning alongside others is comforting."
— Rachel

"Knowing I'm part of a learning community helps to feel less isolated."
— Shari

"It's because there's somebody to share it with."
— Martha

"Community and collaborative efforts can amplify impact of my learning"
— John

COMMUNITY LEADS TO SUCCESSPeople want to see how others did it. They enjoy sharing their interests with like-minded creatives. Collaborative environments help skill-building and motivation.

GENERATIVE RESEARCH | 3RD PATTERN NOTICED: Fear of failure is a universal experience.

Pattern #3Fear of Failure

"I want to crush it every time... mistakes are hard for me to handle."
— John

Feels discouraged when she doesn't see quick improvement.
— Shari

"I don't show people poems usually, until, like, they're not always finished, but they're like, they've been worked on, they've been revised. They're not straight out the open for the most part."
— John

"The hardest part is just getting started."
— Rachel

"I grew up in ballet and I quit, because it was challenging and I didn't feel like I was good enough."
—Anne

"I have really high self-standards."
— Martha

FEAR OF FAILUREPeople are afraid to share imperfect work. The fear of failure shows up in different ways, from procrastination to perfectionism to self-doubt to self-criticism. These are barriers to skill-building but generally people can find the motivation for things that really interest them when they have access to quality learning resources.

GENERATIVE RESEARCH | 4TH PATTERN NOTICED: People sought out experts.

Pattern 04:Accessible Expertise

"I like TikTok, though. Whatever the topic, you'll keep getting [content]. I'm just gonna watch every video on this for like, three hours. You learn some new stuff."
— Anne

"I had a couple of friends that write HTML teach me some very basic things. Mostly, I just asked a nerd. That was mostly how I got to finish most of the things that I did."
— Rachel

"I use YouTube a lot. There are a lot of bad ones out there, but it has equalized things. The great equalizer that people are willing to share what they learned, that's just remarkable to me."

— Martha

"It's almost like something you have to be shown. It's like good to have, like, experts." (on learning to sew and quilt)
— Shari

ACCESSIBLE EXPERTISEPeople want clear and specific guidance in the moment. In the absence of an instructor or hands-on instruction, people will search for resources across search engines, apps, and social media. If able to find clear and accessible resources, they proceed with the trial and error method.

GENERATIVE RESEARCH | Two Strangers, Same Problem

Interview Insights

Two Strangers, Same Problem

Interestingly, we came across two people who both said they wanted to get better at bird photography.

Rachel

"I have some friends who are really good, and then I watch them shoot, and I see what they come out with, and I'm like, I bet if I actually did more technical skills, I could do that."

"I've just taught myself to do photography... I just feel like the technical knowledge is sort of the barrier between where I am now and getting better."

-RACHEL (on technical skills gap)

MARTHA

"My partner's a birder. I take pictures. But it's something we can do together."

"We go out our birding trips... my job is to get lots of pictures."

"I need to figure it out on my own. I'm not good at being told what to do."

-MARTHA (on learning by doing + birding trips)

TWO STRANGERS, SAME PROBLEMRachel & Martha want to get better at bird photography, and both hit the same wall: the technical camera skills are holding them back.

GENERATIVE RESEARCH | User Persona #1 - Julia Sterling

Meet Julia Sterling

Julia Sterling, 43
Freelancer
Birder

A curious learner who wants to take better bird photos but doesn't know where to start with the technical side.

What She Needs Quick, visual lessons she can pull up in the field. A way to see how other photographers got the shot. Progress she can track without pressure.

what gets in her wayTechnical terms feel intimidating. Too many options, not enough clear starting points. Afraid of doing it wrong.

Julia represents users like Rachel and Martha, who are enthusiastic about birding, but unsure where to start with the technical details of bird photography.

Learn more about Julia (and Elena's)
Backstory Here

User personas