Objective: Create a mobile application that addresses social homelessness on university campuses.
Solution: In this semester long project, my group sought to combat the social isolation that transfer students often face when transitioning into a new university. Using the design thinking methodology as a guide, we set out to interview 5 students who had experienced the transfer process and empathize with their perspectives to design a tool that would foster this transition.
Tools: Adobe Illustrator, Balsamiq, Sketch, Adobe After Effects
Beyond Print Exhibition Poster
Process
1. User Research
In this first phase, we interviewed five UW-Madison students regarding their experiences with the transfer process. We empathized with their perspective to gain qualitative information that could help us locate the need for a mobile application and its specific features.
2. User Personas
After Conducting user interviews, user personas were created to represent UW-Madison students similar to our interviewees to help us understand the needs, experiences, and goals of our users.
Example of User Personas
3. Journey Mapping
User journey maps were created to represent the experiences of our users with the transfer process. Understanding and empathizing with the experiences of our users helps us to identify the most prominent issues facing these students face, and how we can go about solving them.
4. User Storyboards
A series of storyboards were created representing both the current and ideal scenarios of each of our user personas.
5. User Flow & Wireframes
From here, the functionality and initial UI of the app were sketched out along with the intended user flow. These sketches were then evaluated in peer review, and modified and adapted accordingly. The revisions were then applied to initial wireframes created in Balsamiq.
6. Brand Identity
The brand identity to be associated with the UI and application materials was developed, including: symbol, logo, color palette, and typographic palette.
7. Prototyping
After a series of peer review sessions, feedback and revisions, the final wireframes were adapted into a high-fidelity prototype in Sketch.
Prototype Samples: Splash Screen, Home Page, Messages, Connection Map
Full UI Walkthrough
2019 Beyond Print Exhibition