CyHobby

UX Design Project

An app to help ISU students make meaningful connections through social messaging, clubs, and events, enhancing their experience at Iowa State.

Tools

Figma, FigJam,
Miro

My Role

UX/UI Design, Research

My Team

Aditya, Uma, Carly, So Young

Timeline

Aug 2023 - Oct 2023

Problem

Iowa State University students often struggle to make friends due to their busy schedules and the time-consuming nature of traditional methods, alongside poorly promoted campus clubs and events, leading them to seek quicker and easier ways to connect.

User Research

To gain a better understanding of the problem, we conducted 10 semi-structured interviews with ISU students and collected 18 survey responses.

My Role: I interviewed two users who highlighted the need for better connections with other ISU students. One user expressed a desire to easily see available ISU clubs and thought it would be great if they could create their own but wasn't sure how. I collaborated with the team to create, conduct, and analyze the survey.

Key Research Insights

1. It can be challenging for new students to find others who share their interests and to find time for hobbies during their first semester.

2. ISU organizations and clubs lack effective advertising, making it difficult for students to discover and join them.

3. Students acquire information through various social media apps, but it is scattered across different platforms.

Affinity mapping with sticky notes to identify the pain points of our users.

User Persona

User personas were created to better understand students' needs for connecting with others, finding like-minded friends, and joining clubs at ISU.

My Role: My role was to develop a fictional user persona based on my interviews to better understand their needs.

Sunny is a 30-year-old PhD student and teaching assistant in Ames, Iowa. Sunny's persona highlights the importance of efficiently making connections and finding clubs to join. Busy with her studies and TA responsibilities, she struggles to find the time to meet new people and is unsure where to quickly gather information about various clubs.

"As a busy PhD student, I want to easily meet other students and make friends. I also want to quickly find information about dance clubs I can join.” - Sunny

User Journey Maps

To better understand the users' perspective, our team worked together to create several user journey maps to help us visualize and gain insights into their emotions and actions. This process allowed us to identify areas for improvement.

My Role: I created Sunny's user journey map to visualize her experience and possible emotions, helping us identify her needs and potential challenges.

Sunny's example below demonstrates her goal to connect with other students and develop friendships.

Site Map

I collaborated with my team to design a site map for our mobile app, organizing the content and structure to ensure a clear and intuitive flow. I made regular revisions and updates as needed throughout the process.

My Sketches

My early sketches of what the mobile app might look like.

Close-up Storyboard

My close-up storyboard sketch of the mobile app that allows our user, Jacob, to create his own videography club at ISU and connect with other students that share the same hobby.

Low-Fidelity

Welcome Page

Home Page

Calendar

My Friends

My Hobbies

Chat Page

Profile Page

Search

Club Page

Create Event

Set Up Account

Create Page

Chat with friend

My Clubs

High-Fidelity

My role: I collaborated with my team on all screens, focusing on account setup, friend profile, user profile, ISU Hip Hop (clubs), and chat screens. I created high-fidelity designs from wireframes, ensuring consistency in visuals, typography, and colors. I conducted usability and comparative testing, collaborating with the team to implement feedback and improve the user experience.

Prototype

My role: I worked with teammates to prototype our design, bringing everyone's ideas together to create a final product that matched our project goals.

Typography

Figtree is a geometric sans serif font characterized by its clean, friendly appearance.
Similar to Iowa State University, it balances a playful spirit with a professional tone.