Company — UX Design Capstone Project
Client: MICA UX Design MPS
Project type: Research and Prototype
Deliverable: High fidelity prototype
Role: UX Designer, UX Researcher, Branding Designer
Being a newcomer can be nerve-wracking. You have to deal with feelings of imposter syndrome in a world where everyone seems very confident and well established in their industry. I plan to design a way for recent graduates or entry-level employees to make networking feel more like mingling while reducing the pressure of first impressions.
My goal is to make users more confident in the job hunt through social interactions with people inside their field. As well as letting users gain experience in the early stages of their career. This app aims to help generate better-qualified employees, as well as confident individuals that will mentor new users later.
My proposed solution: an app that helps users make connections with people just starting out in the tech industry offering mentorship and educational resources.
Process
Research
To better understand the market and its users, I created a competitor analysis and held user interviews. The competitor analysis helped me launch my research and define the assumptions I wanted to address.
Some assumptions I had were:
— Users don't want (need?) another social platform
— Introverted users will be less likely to join the app
— It will be difficult to regulate the app from scams/spams
— The project scope may be too large for an MVP
— Users need resources like blogs/forums to add value to the app
— Users might feel this is the same as LinkedIn
Link Up was the original name of Company.
Through user interviews, I defined key features and confirmed some assumptions.
“I wish there was a different way to do networking, because I know how important it is to like the industry in finding a job, especially when networking events say 90% of our people have been referred by others in the company.”
I later synthesized the user interviews through an affinity map. I created a user journey to represent what pain points my solution could tackle.
Findings from user interviews.
Insights
After organizing my research, I defined my key insights. Users said:
I feel alone searching for a job and want to feel supported.
I dislike networking because it feels ingenuine.
Virtually networking takes the pressure off of meeting someone new.
With these findings, I decided to tackle 3 main features in the app.
Build a sense of community
Create a work and life mentorship program
Design ice-breaker experiences to alleviate pressure of making the first move.
Concept evolution
Due to time constraints, I decided to focus on developing the user experience of the entry-level employee and not tackle the mentor's side.
Initially, my idea was to create a community that resembled that of a neighborhood. Where users could fill in their houses as you would villagers in Animal Crossing.
Initial sketches for our first critique in class.
Initial sketches for our first critique in class.
After receiving feedback from my peers, I defined how users would onboard the app as well as how they would interact with the different features. Would they be prompted or notified?
I was able to take my sketches and create a lo-fidelity prototype where I addressed where would features live and how would the architecture of the app be like.
Lo-fidelity prototype designed in Figma.
Visual Design
As the project progressed, I started building the visual look and feel of the app. The interfaces’ simplicity and comforting hues aspire to help users feel at ease.
Resembling the design of a bubble map, the more you interact with other users in your neighborhood, the bigger their bubbles get. Helping users visualize what relationships require care and attention.
Clickable Prototype
Will be available soon.
Outcome
Challenges
Due to the nature of the course, the most challenging aspect of this project was the time required by an individual for 8 weeks. UX projects require designers to wear many hats to accomplish well-designed and relevant experiences. At times, the project felt overwhelming but the goal was clear.
Reflection
Creating Company helped me become a better project manager, designer, and researcher. I was able to test how this program has shaped me to be an agile designer and work to resolve problems while being ruthless in the process. Being able to be the sole owner of the project felt overwhelming, but having critiques and relying on my peers for feedback helped my end result.
Next Steps
— Test prototype with users.
— Iterate with feedback provided by user testing.
— Develop an MVP.
— Design and iterate the Mentor side of the app.