Dummy
Next
Griffith College
UX/UI Designer
1 Month
User interviews
Userflows
Low Fi & Hifi
Prototype
This project involved designing a student productivity application aimed at enhancing the academic experience of Master’s students. The app facilitates task management, assignment submissions, and student-lecturer interactions. I employed a user-centric design process based on the Goal Directed Design methodology, ensuring that the solution met the students’ needs and academic demands.
Third level students are seeking a platform that enables them to achieve overall academic excellence.
Research Goals:
- Understand business goals
- Understand student habits and frustrations with existing productivity apps.
- Identify key features to enhance user engagement and experience.
Domain research: I explored concepts of student productivity, including time management, attending classes, note-taking, and assignment submission.Investigated Virtual Learning Environments (VLE) and their effectiveness in supporting students' learning activities.
Moodle (Griffith College):
Strengths in functionality but suffers from poor UI.
Blackboard (University of Ontario): Slow and clunky, with a non-user-friendly interface.
Learn.gold (Goldsmiths University): Efficient and engaging, with no significant weaknesses.
Stakeholder Interview:
Griffith College wants to give its students an app which will aid/ease education processes.such as attending classes, access their notes, keep up with (and if possible) stay ahead of peer studies, interact with their classmates and lecturers, submit assignments ahead of their stipulated deadlines.
Persona:
Based on interviews, the persona created was Violet, a Master’s student who balances academic work and personal life. She values efficient time management and easy access to study materials.
User Interviews: Conducted with current students and recent graduates. The insights highlighted a need for mobile-friendly platforms, key functionalities like assignment tracking, and student engagement.
The sitemap organized the app’s core functions—courses, messages, assignments—into a simple hierarchy. This clear structure helped streamline navigation and made it easy for users to find what they need with minimal clicks. The design prioritized accessibility and ease of use, ensuring that students could quickly access critical information and tools.
iOS was chosen For the wireframe and prototype because, during the user research, a majority of the interview subjects indicated that they primarily use iPhones for their academic activities.
The app's color scheme uses a Blue Violet (#4D52DE) to provide a bold and energetic feel. It contrasts well with white backgrounds and provides a modern, vibrant aesthetic, which can evoke creativity and focus for users.
Typography: Inter was used for body text, with larger header text to prioritize readability.
Stock iPhone icons and minimalistic design were used to enhance familiarity and user comfort.
New users are guided seamlessly into the app, reducing friction and helping them become comfortable with the platform from the start.
Students can easily browse courses, access course materials, and view detailed notes.
The design emphasizes simplicity in navigation to ensure students can quickly find and use resources.
The intuitive calendar feature allows users to keep track of their academic schedule, ensuring they never miss a class or deadline.
Students can engage with classmates, fostering collaboration and enhancing their learning experience.
This flow makes it easy to upload assignments, with clear options to track and manage submissions.
Key details like file upload status and due dates are easily visible.
This extra features focuses on giving users full control over their academic activities in a customized way.
Profile Overview: Users can manage their profile, including name, program, and institution.
Grades: Students can track their performance across subjects, with each topic showing the score achieved, helping them monitor progress.
Notes: Easily access and organize notes for each course, offering a streamlined way to review study materials.
Schedule: Users can manage upcoming events and deadlines in their calendar, staying on top of their tasks with a clear, simple layout.
Early technical issues with the prototype and limited interviewee diversity due to time constraints.
Successfully adhered to the Goal Directed Design process, developed a functional prototype, and conducted in-depth user research that shaped the app’s direction.
The app, “Dummy,” provided a user-friendly solution to student productivity challenges. It succeeded in simplifying key interactions like assignment submissions and academic planning while ensuring an efficient and visually appealing design. Future improvements could include expanding functionality based on user feedback and addressing more diverse user scenarios.
