Project Focus
Information architecture
Usability Testing
Wireframing
Visual Design
Problem Identification
Highlights
Streamlined User Navigation System
Redesigned navigation to help students find career opportunities more efficiently.
Enhanced Search with Intuitive Filtering
Added filter functionality allowing users to narrow results based on their specific interests.
Data-Driven UX Improvements
Identified pain points and implemented targeted design solutions based on research findings
Business Introduction
PeopleGrove is a technology company connecting students, alumni, and professionals to support career development through mentorship, networking, and experiential learning opportunities. Their platform helps universities build engaged communities while enhancing users' career readiness and professional networks.
Three Key Insights
After conducting a usability test with three students and interviewing each of them about their experience, I arrived at three key insights.
1.
Users were hopeful to find opportunities that connected directly to their career goals.
2.
Filtering options were not well-integrated into search functionality.
3.
Students needed clearer navigation pathways between interests and opportunities without losing context.
Marcus
Age
23
Gender
Male
Education
UX/UI Design Student
Location
Los Angeles, CA
Bio
Marcus is a full-time UX/UI Student. He lives in Los Angeles, enjoys spending time at the gym, and visits the beach on the weekends. He is eager to begin his career as a UX/UI designer and is hopeful to find an opportunity to build his portfolio and make connections with mentors and colleagues in the field.
I’ve learned so much about design during my studies but I’d really like to get more experience with putting the tools to use!
Goals & Core needs
•
•
•
Frustrations & Pain Points
•
•
•
The empathy map reveals gaps between user expectations and platform capabilities.
While users valued the interests customization, they were unable to leverage their selections easily when filtering their search results.
I also observed users collapsing details before reading all information and quickly clicking through all of the tabs, demonstrating a need to restructure information architecture and content prioritization.
Says
Thinks
Feels
Does
“The interests section is helpful for customizing what kinds of opportunities I see.”
“I wonder if there are more direct networking features I haven't seen yet.”
I don’t see an option to filter my search results based on my interests.
I wish I could see which skills I would develop in each experience.
The journey map reveals how users' emotional states change throughout their interaction with the platform. The initial discovery phases produce positive engagement, but frustration emerges at critical points at the end of the interaction sequence.
I chose to highlight these opportunities on the wireframes since they can be well-represented through foundational components.
The Home page is intended to mimic the functional layout of the online Dashboard, featuring tailored recommendations and an immediate call to action via the search bar.
Adding selectable filter tags provides an efficient method for leveraging users’ interest selections and creates space for other frequently used filters (Recently Added, Paid, etc.).
On the Interests page, I included a button for users to view their saved interests on a separate screen. This helps reserve space for the primary goal of this page, which is to help users navigate the interest selections.
I also added category cards for browsing all of the interest options, which facilitates a more user-friendly approach to finding suitable interests to customize search results.
As users narrow in on the types of opportunities they are interested in, they can tap this button to view similar opportunities. This function will help users navigate to related postings with ease.
The final mockup designs integrate user research insights with PeopleGrove's established brand identity. These high-fidelity representations demonstrate how wireframe solutions seamlessly incorporate the company's visual design system while addressing specific pain points identified through user testing.
Existing Company Website:
I utilized the company's established color palette and typography hierarchy to ensure seamless integration with their current design language
I adopted PeopleGrove's signature green gradient and dotted pattern elements to maintain visual consistency with the existing platform
Repositioned the 'View Saved Interests' button to improve user flow. Users can quickly bookmark and access their personalized career interests.
Introduced category-based navigation with clear iconography (Art, Business, Science) to reduce cognitive load and improve discoverability
Designed large touch targets and ensured proper contrast ratios for accessibility considerations
Included "View Similar Opportunities" functionality to encourage continued exploration and address the platform's goal of connecting students with relevant career pathways
Project Outcomes
Through usability testing and interviews, I identified three evident user needs:
1.
Career-aligned opportunities:
Users need opportunities that connect directly to their professional goals.
2.
Improved search functionality:
The current filtering system creates friction; key user actions require a more intuitive design.
3.
Streamlined information architecture:
Users needed clearer pathways to navigate between interests and opportunities without losing context.
My approach resolved current pain points identified in the empathy map and transformed the platform into a more intuitive tool for students transitioning from theoretical knowledge to practical experience. The wireframes and high-fidelity mockups demonstrate how these improvements can be implemented using simple components while maintaining a clean, focused interface that aligns with PeopleGrove's established brand identity.
Next Steps:
With the foundational research and design solutions established, the following phases would validate and refine the user experience improvements:
Back to Top