STUDY BOND
STUDY BOND
The Study Bond website is a safe space to find study partners within the Merson FLoyd Online University community. It gives it's students an easy way to connect with each other, keep one another accountable, share notes and study tips, have one on one study sessions or group study sessions and more!
SCOPE
• Design Thinking
• Pragmatism
• Usability Studies
• Mokcups
DURATION
December 2021 -
February 2022
RESPONSIBILITIES
Conducting foundational research, interviews, wireframing, prototypes, conducting usability studies, accounting for accessibility and iterating on designs.
TOOLS
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Adobe XD
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Figma
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THE WHY
This website was made in order to complete my Google UX Design Professional Certificate. By doing so I increased my knowledge and experimented more with Adobe XD and Figma.
THE PROBLEM
Lack of available options to find study partners of diverse subjects and knowledge. Finding groups of people to study with without constant distractions is difficult, as well as dearth of motivation to study.
THE GOAL
Design a online space to make students feel motivated to study and offer an easy way to connect with other students in order to have study sessions and join study groups.
EMPATHIZE
FOUNDATIONAL RESEARCH
Research Methods
Both primary and secondary research were conducted. Starting with secondary research such as articles and testimonials from users on similar study sites. After learning as much as possible from others I started on my primary research, interviews. Thus giving me a better understanding on the matter to develop a solution.
Interviews
Interviews were conducted analyzing the pros and cons of studying alone, accompanied, the emotions studying evokes, their experiences on studying platforms and the general sense of their studying process. The goal of the interviews were to understand the users better, what they think and why.
Through the information collected it was gathered and organized into an empathy map which was used to later create a user journey map.
Pain Points
DEFINE
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Maria is a Mathematics undergraduate student, who needs To find a responsible and knowledgeable study partner because They want to be able to exchange information while finding an easier way to study.
For the define stage I created a user story to ensure I understood and empathized with the user to be able to create the product that was needed.
IDEATE
REQUEST FLOW
The request flow was created to ensure a working model of the website and happy path. This helped develop each screen and to get a better idea of what was needed and why.
PAPER WIREFRAMES
With all the knowledge I had I began the process of creating the paper wireframes. I went through several iterations and took the best elements of each one to create the best possible design.
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DIGITAL WIREFRAMES
Taking the paper wireframes I converted them into digital through Adobe XD. I made small changes with the help of feedback and peer reviews.
USABILITY STUDY
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A moderated remote usability study was conducted amongst participants of different backgrounds and ages. All participants were either attending university, thinking of attending university or university teachers.
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The research goal was to receive user feedback, identify problems users might encounter and see if it encourages studying.
Two usability studies were conducted. One to help guide the wireframe designs into mockups. A second one in order to refine the aspects of the high-fidelity prototype.
Round 1 findings
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Users want an easier to use and read hoempage.
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Users want the confirmation page to be either sent to you by email or more noticeable.
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Users need a more comfortable way to select a subject to study for when scheduling a study session.
Round 2 findings
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Users would like a more calming and creative color palette.
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Users would like bold text to differentiate subtext and call to action buttons.
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Users want an easier way to locate their study partners and groups.
PROTOTYPE
The color palette was inspired by a zen calming place to inspire students to study in a tranquil manner.
The quadrants help achieve Gestalt principles to make the website easier to navigate and intuitive.
Making the buttons stand out was important to me because in my interviews the users voiced their concern of having hard to find call to actions.
STUDY PARTNER USER FLOW
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TEST
You getting big brain after using the prototype
ACCESSIBILITY CONSIDERATIONS
Borders
Contrasting colors
Bold and simple typography
TAKEAWAYS
Impact
“It feels like a cool place. I wish I could have used it during online learning, it would have been a great platform to use and connect with others online when it wasn't possible in real life.”
What I learned
I was able to practice responsive design and my interview skills. I was able to work without a general bias and take better notes, feedback and aply those changes to my designs.
CASE STUDY