PROJECT OVERVIEW
The Product
"The Bridge" is a mobile application designed to empower job seekers by offering personalized skill roadmaps to guide their learning journey. It provides a centralized platform to identify and learn essential skills and connect with fellow job seekers for support and motivation. The app caters to individuals actively seeking new employment opportunities, those looking to upskill or reskill for career advancement, and anyone feeling overwhelmed or lost in the job search process.
Navigating the vast online landscape, job seekers struggle to identify and learn the precise skills needed to land their dream jobs, often leading to feelings of overwhelm and uncertainty.
The Problem:
The Goal:
The Bridge empowers job seekers with personalized skill roadmaps and a supportive community, fostering confidence and connection as they navigate their career journeys.
My Role
As the lead UX/UI designer, I took ownership of the design process from concept to delivery, working independently and collaborating with users to shape the user experience.
Responsibilities
Conducting interviews, paper and digital wireframing, low and high-fidelity prototyping, conducting usability studies, accounting for accessibility and iterating on designs.
Project Duration
3 Weeks
Understanding the User
User research
Personas
Problem statements
User journey maps
User Research Summary
To understand the needs and challenges of job seekers, I conducted an online survey. Going into the research, I assumed that most job seekers would have a understanding of the skills they needed to develop and would be actively using tools and strategies to manage their job search. However, the survey revealed that many job seekers struggle with identifying necessary skills, staying organized, and maintaining motivation throughout the process. These findings highlighted the need for a platform like The Bridge to provide guidance, structure, and support for job seekers.
Empathy Map
Pain Points
Difficulty Identifying Necessary Skills
Users struggle to find courses or resources relevant to their skill goals, often feeling lost or frustrated.
Design Implication: Implementing an intuitive categorization system with filters, personalized recommendations, and a skill-based progression map.
Lack of a Tracking System
Users can’t monitor their learning journey, leading to confusion about progress and difficulty resuming interrupted learning.
Design Implication: Develop a dashboard to track completed courses, in-progress modules, and upcoming goals, with notifications for reminders.
Lack of Motivation and Direction
Overwhelmed by Information
Users feel demotivated without clear milestones or engaging ways to track progress toward their goals.
Design Implication: Introduce gamification elements like badges, streaks, and milestone celebrations, along with clear goal-setting and regular progress updates.
Users find the sheer volume of content daunting, making it hard to know where to start or what to prioritize.
Design Implication: Use progressive disclosure, curated learning paths, and concise, goal-focused summaries to simplify decision-making.
User Journey Map
Persona: Aaliyah
Starting the Design
Paper wireframes
Digital wireframes
Low-fidelity prototype
Usability studies
Paper Wire-Frame
Wireframing started with creating the user flow which is defining the entry point of the app to completing the task and exiting the app.
I have created the story boards which were divided into two parts Big picture and close up:
Big-picture storyboards focused on what the user needs, their context, and why the product will be useful to the user on the other hand close up storyboards concentrate on the product and how it works.
When wireframing the UI I focused on creating clear and intuitive user flows, ensuring that job seekers could easily navigate the app and access the features they needed most.
Digital Wireframe
Moving from paper to digital wireframes made it easy to understand how the redesign could help address user pain points and improve the user experience.
Elements like Home, Roadmap, and navigation menus—making sure they're clear and functional.
Low-fidelity prototypes
I incorporated visual cues and interactive elements to enhance engagement and guide users through their skill development journey.
Prioritizing useful button locations and visual element placement on the home screen was a key part of my strategy.
Visual Hierarchy: Placement of elements like headers, call-to-action buttons, and content to guide the user’s attention.
Usability study: findings
I prioritized a clean and uncluttered interface to avoid overwhelming users, who often struggle with information overload during the job search process
I filtered out the best features and elements that will address the user pain points
User Needs: Aligning features with user expectations and Project goals.
To create a low-fidelity prototype, I connected all of the screens involved in the primary user flow of searching a skill to the start learning a course.
At this point, I had received feedback on my designs from user about things like navigation and page organization. I made sure to listen to their feedback, and I implemented several suggestions in places that addressed user pain points.
Onboarding Process
Testing revealed that users faced difficulties in performing their primary task of selecting skills and beginning their learning journey. This was primarily due to a lack of a streamlined process, which resulted in confusion from app entry to goal achievement.
It was discovered that users were not fully engaging with the community page, which offers valuable opportunities for connecting with mentors and peers. This connection is essential for maintaining motivation and successfully completing a course.
User Engagement
Reading Difficulty
The user has indicated that the app's bright screen poses a challenge for prolonged reading, primarily due to the predominance of a white color scheme.
Refining the Design
Mockups
High-fidelity prototype
Accessibility
Mockups
Based on the insights from the usability study, I made changes to improve the app’s onbarding flow, adding elements in community page and adding a dark mode.
Before usability study
Before testing app takes users directly to the home screen after sign in
Before usability study
Before usability study
After usability study
After usability study
The onboarding process allows users to select skills that align with their career goals, offering tailored courses based on their preferences.
After usability study
I have incorporated an account stories feature that will enhance user interactivity with the screen, leading to improved user engagement.
Accessibility considerations
When a user clicks on the account image, they can access additional information about the other user, allowing for a deeper understanding and connection.
To enhance user experience, i have introduced an option to select app themes: light, default, or dark. This feature aims to alleviate concerns regarding bright screens, enabling users to choose a theme that best supports prolonged reading.
Dark Mode & Clear Headings
Implementing dark and night modes for improved readability, along with clear, appropriately sized headings to establish a strong visual hierarchy.
Incorporating voice search functionality to enhance ease of access and help users quickly find courses within the app.
Voice Search for Easy Navigation
Accessible Video Content for Inclusive Learning
“To design with accessibility in mind basically means that throughout the entire product development process, i continually try to understand and address the needs of people with disabilities”
Ensuring videos in courses are designed with accessibility in mind, avoiding bright flashes and high-contrast images for a more comfortable viewing experience.
Going Forward
Takeaways
Next steps
Takeaways
Impact
Our target users shared that the design was intuitive to navigate through, more engaging with the images, and demonstrated a clear visual hierarchy.
Next Step
Moving forward, I will be enhancing the app by introducing new features, including a job board that allows users to apply for jobs without having to leave the app.
I aim to enhance the app's responsiveness, expanding its usability across a broader range of devices.