Prospective
UI/UX Design
Group Project
Description
Prospective is a web application designed to streamline the scholarship search process. Tackling challenges faced while searching for scholarships, Prospective aims to help students find scholarships that match their skills and abilities and leverage AI integration to get instant feedback.
Style Guide
Prospective's design journey started with the establishment of a design system, defining type sizes, and creating a style guide for the application. This step ensures consistency in design and enhances accessibility for all users. The color palette selected for Prospective prioritizes accessibility and user comfort, with colors chosen to be visually pleasing and easy on the eyes. An accent color of blue was incorporated to evoke feelings of trust and security, fostering a positive user experience throughout the application.
User Research
User research was conducted on a group of students to better grasp the landscape of scholarship providers, identifying gaps in the scholarship market and the specific needs and preferences of the target audience.
- Students need a reliable platform that provides accurate and up-to-date information on available scholarships and bursaries.
- Some students reported that the timing of scholarship deadlines clashed with their academic schedules, leading to missed opportunities. Addressing deadline coordination could improve application rates.
- Most students prefer scholarships with more specific eligibility criteria compared to a broader one because it gives them a better shot of getting it and understanding if they should apply or not
User Research
User research was conducted on a group of students to better grasp the landscape of scholarship providers, identifying gaps in the scholarship market and the specific needs and preferences of the target audience.
User Personas
Created two user personas to gain a deeper understanding of our target audience's needs and preferences during the scholarship search process. Through extensive user research, including surveys and interviews, we identified common pain points and aspirations shared by students seeking financial aid.
Objectives
User research uncovered critical pain points experienced by students during the scholarship search process, highlighting the need for targeted solutions in the application design.
Design Process
Lo Fi
Following initial brainstorming, each team member created lo-fi wireframes to visualize the app's layout and functionality, initiating the design exploration process.
- Sketching out the wireframe was something that I did to get a better understanding of what that layout could look like
- This phase emphasized ideation and conceptualization, enabling us to explore diverse design possibilities and refine our understanding of user interactions.
Mid Fi
From there we discussed what aspects of each of the designs would work best and created a mid fi wireframe which would undergo a first round of user testing
- Building upon insights from lo-fi wireframes, we synthesized key elements into a mid-fi wireframe for more detailed iteration and refinement.
- The mid-fi stage focused on refining user flows and addressing usability issues identified during early testing, laying the groundwork for further development.
Hi Fi
After receiving feedback we started working on the Hi Fi design and a dark mode which would go through another round of user testing before finalizing the design.
Printed Designs
To prepare for the final presentation, several designs were created including a brochure, business card, and hoodie which needed to be printed before the final presentation. When designing these items, the biggest challenge was finding the proper CMYK shade of blue that would most closely match the branding of the app.
