Summary
UX Designers are constantly learning whether if they have been in the industry for years or are just beginning their journey. Networking and ways of learning are vital to being able to grow in their careers.
Client
Capstone Project
Duration
4 weeks
Year
2023
Roles
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User Experience Designer
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User Interface Designer
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Brand Designer
Tools
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Figma
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Adobe Illustrator
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Notion
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Zoom
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Google Forms
Problem
UX Designers need a place to be able to connect with others and also learn to improve their craft in their careers.
Solution
Create an app that connects Designers to other Designers as well as a platform to learn.
Solution
Find out what designers need and want in order to grow and create better solutions.
Beginning with market research of three popular networking apps and a S.W.O.T. analysis was a crucial launching point to understanding the product and how users are already interacting with existing mental models.
These initial findings helped formulate questions for my user survey and subsequent user interviews.
By synthesizing the data gathered from the above methodologies I created a user persona. The persona became the foundation for building the user flows and site map for this project.
Research
S.W.O.T.
Strengths
Information well organized
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Straight forward with what is offered
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Easy to navigate
Weakness
Some require paid membership subscriptions for full access
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Difficult to connect with others
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Confusing finding what you want to learn
Opportunities
Make networking clear and easy
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Create a platform easier for users to hone their skills and learn
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Focus more on user’s subjects through posts and questions
Threats
Other apps offer additional features beyond only networking and learning
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Customer loyalty from bigger companies
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User
Survey
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User
Interviews
Conducting interviews allowed me to deepen my understanding of the topic through the qualitative lens of a UX Designer. These interviews helped me with more nuanced experiences that my surveys did not capture.
The people I interviewed were recruited through my survey and were from a wide demographic.
“I find it difficult to network with other designers on big platforms because of my experience.”
“Its hard to find different ways to learn the same topics possibly due to my learning style.”
“I’m looking for platforms what don’t require me to pay lots of extra money just to be a part of their platform.”
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Persona Development
Over 50% of my survey respondents identified as a male between the ages of 21-30. 53.5% of my survey respondents identified as Asian.
45% are working in the industry as UX designers full time while 24.5% are currently students. This data coupled with the information received from the user interviews helped create my primary persona.
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User
Stories
As a UX Designer, I want to know where I can connect and network with other designers so that I can get advice and learn more.
As a UX Designer, I want to know where I can learn more about different design methods so that I can better understand what I am trying to do.
As a UX Designer, I want to know where I can find or post articles, my own experience, or questions to the community.
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User
Flow
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Site Map
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Wireframes
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Brand Development
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Style Guide
What I learned
Designing experiences for others takes so much more empathy than I ever imagined. I appreciate the user tests most of all because they gave real-time feedback on what was working and what still needed to be iterated upon. These small changes impact the overall usability of the product in profound ways and the results are immediate.
If I had more time, I would test a broader demographic. I would like to see how an aging-in-place demographic tests with the solution I came up with and iterate based on the feedback of an older population.
