the internship
In this project, I worked with a start-up to re-design the user interface of their web platform with modern visual design aesthetics. This organization was trying to develop a platform to help university and high school students find job opportunities and mentors by focusing on the "stories" and paths of each individual. It was focusing less on the resume and took a more hollistic view of each student and individual on the platform. My goal was to design this platform to be more engaging, intuitive, and user-friendly.
my role
UX/UI Designer
Responsible for creating site map, features, wireframes, and prototype.
context
Part of an internship I did for a start-up called, Grit Digital Health. I worked with project managers, and developers to conduct user research and organize design thinking workshops
tools & skills
InVision, Sketch, Google Draw
Wireframing, Prototyping, Visual Design, HTML, and CSS
the research
01. interviews
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The average college student changes their major up to 4 times during their college career
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About 2/3rd, of the millennials reported not being engaged at work, and seeking to change careers not just jobs.
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With a rapidly changing employment landscape, this problem is continuing to grow exponentially and can lead to higher rates of dissatisfaction in life.
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The current platform was not very user-friendly and not very intuitive. It was not engaging for students and signing up for the platform was a very confusing process.
02. design workshop
design principles
easy-to-use
all students should be able to intuitively use platform to find relevant jobs and mentors.
personal
must be designed to meet all needs of different students with different experiences
inspirational
students should be motivated when they are using the platform to connect with others
design challenge
How might we change the platform to help students learn about and connect with potential job opportunities and mentors with similar goals and skills to help them find career path that fits their interests and needs?
03. mental model
two user journeys
student
students of all backgrounds and interests should be able to access and use this platform to find inspiration, connections, and opportunities for their professional career.
employers
employers of diverse organizations should be able to post job or internship openings on the platform that would be of interest to students and then track applicants.
new features to implement
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competency match graph
The most important feature of this platform is a bar graph that analyzes the user's interest from their profile and compares it with the job they are viewing or the person they were recommended.
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transparency
We will create notifications to let students know when their application has been received, viewed, and accepter or rejected to build more trust from students and provide encouragment
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story format
Users will present their profiles in a story format by outlining how they spent each part of their lives from high school to the professional work force. This was decided to draw attention away from the resume format and help students understand other's stories and backgrounds better to build deeper connections and create more inspiration.
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"role model" and "like me" filters
These filters will allow students to see profiles of users recommended to them by the Epixego algorithm to meet students like themselves or potential mentors or role models to look up to.
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job sorting filters
We will provide clear job filters such as "suggested", "saved", "contacted", and "applied" to help students manage their applications better.
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applicant tracking
We will also create applicant filters similar to the job filters: "suggested", "contacted", "applied", and "saved" to enhance the recruiting process on the employer end.
proposed solution
This platform was designed to connect high school and college students to opportunities that can create meaningful experiences for them. The goal of this for them to be able to design a path that fits their own passion and story. It is different than other career platforms in the sense that it takes the student's full story into account and uses an algorithm to create their core strength skills and uses their scores in these skills to match them to relevant jobs and people. They are able to find role models who can eventually become mentors and other students with similar goals.
The main audience of Epixego are the students and our research showed that since most people do not follow one plain career path, we want to show students how there are so many other options out their for them. We also wanted to provide a space for employers and recruiters to look specifically for students and post positions or programs that are designed for students.
04. personas
site maps
student journey
employer journey
wireframes
Landing Page
Student Interface: People Search
Employer Interface: Candidates
Landing Page
visual design
Bebas neue
helvetica light
I decided the main color of the platform would be periwinkle and a dark indigo because these are neutral colors proven to evoke both calmness and ease for the user, but also a sense of inspiration and wonder which is the experience the team wanted to create for students. Also different shades of purple has been used in some cases to symbolize education and learning which is another aspect of our platform.
Finally, I used Bebas Neue as our title font because it is very bold and easy to read. It also captures the user's attention. Since it is less commonly used on websites we thought it would also be something a little different, but not too different as to distract the user too much.I used helvetica light as the base text font because it is very common on web platforms, easy to read, and comfortable on the eyes. Since students have to be kept engaged
I also wanted to have a font they were familiar reading.
After deciding on these core design elements, I began creating these screens in sketch. My process was to first work on the student screens, present them to the team, make necessary changes, and then work with the developers to implement them. After the student interface was completed, I began working on the employer interface. Once all the screens were completed, I used Invision to make them interactive and share the prototype
05. designing the feature
landing page
This page was designed to be the home page to provide interested users with information about the platform. It will allow users to search jobs and people profiles registered to the platform as a marketing strategy. It will also display a flow diagram explaining the process and an FAQ section.
job search
This feature was designed to help students organize their applications by sorting them into different categories such as suggested, contacted, applied, and saved. The application will also be flagged to indicate whether they were viewed or accepted or rejected.
people search
This wireframe depicts how students would be able to filter and search for people on the platform. They would be able to find potential role models or mentors through the algorithm or other students with similar interests to help them build a strong professional network. They can also follow the people they are interested in to learn more about the path they are taking.
job postings
This page was designed to be the home page for the employer profile. They could view statuses about their current job postings or add another job posting. They can also search for applicants by keyword search or by location.
applicant search/sorting
This page was designed to allow recruiters on the platform to easily organize their applicants for each position. They can sort through the applicants by suggested, saved, contacted, or new applicants. They can also flag certain applicants to show what stage the application is in to increase transparency.
06. user testing
A few months after the platform was developed, it was tested at University of Washington St. Louis to a group of 50 students. The feedback received opened my eyes to the importance of being cognizant of designer bias and the importance of having multiple iterations for every project.
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Positive reviews of visual design of interface
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Addition of chat feature with mentors to connect with them easily
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"Groups" feature for schools on the platform to help students build a network that is tied to their school so it is more accessible.
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Wanted to see changes in competency graph overtime as their skills evolved.
reflection