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Background
ClassFindr is a web app concept that aims to bridge the gap between empty seats across colleges and provide affordable course alternatives to students outside of their home institutions.
Challenge
For this project, my team was tasked with moving the concept one step closer to reality through the design and testing of a ClassFindr prototype.
Key Insights
We used the following research methods to dig deeper into the issues users were experiencing with the site: business research, market research, surveys, & interviews.
The most common negative registration experiences amongst interviewees included scheduling issues, full classes, lack of support, lack of knowledge, and feeling behind
Interviewees listed online option, fit to schedule, peer recommendation, proximity to home, difficulty, and legitimacy as important course criteria.
Personas
With research complete and the key insights discovered, I moved on to generating personas. These helped the team articulate frustrations and goals amongst target ClassFindr users.
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Problem Defined
College students need a better way to search for and enroll in required classes that are available outside their university so that they can accomplish their graduation requirements on time.
Solution
Create a web based tool that guides college students through the process of searching for and enrolling in a college class at an alternate university/college. Key goals for the tool:
01
Gather info about user class needs without feeling overwhelming
02
Provide users with enough relative and robust info to make a confident decision
03
Establish a visual language that feels both friendly and supportive
Design Solutions
To ensure that I'd achieve my goals by the end of the process, I came focused on interactions that correspond to each one.
01. Stress-free info gathering
In order for the tool to find the class fit for each user, we need to ask them questions. However, there is always a risk of overwhelming people during this process.
I kept both concerns in mind as I created a flow focused around friendly questions and a guide to help along the way.
02. Provide the right info
Providing users with robust and relevant class info is vital in ensuring they are confident about their choice.
I utilized data from our interviews and research to determine that the most important search criteria for users is online option, fit to schedule, peer recommendation, proximity to home, difficulty, and legitimacy.
With this in mind I designed class cards and class overview pages that are inclusive of those data points.
03. Friendly and supportive visual language
It is important that users feel the tool is legitimate and capable of helping them find a class without feeling cold.
I addressed this through font, illustration, and language choices.
Design Process
In order to get to the above solutions, I generated a user flow, concept sketches, wireframes, and a visual style guide. Ultimately these steps led me to my final design.
User flow
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Wireframes
Prototype
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User Testing
Confusing icons - 50% of those tested reported being confused by the back and restart icons in the question section. I addressed this by introducing a more common restart icon.
Class option screen needs guidance - 25% of users tested reported feeling lost and overwhelmed on the class option screen. I addressed this by introducing an onboarding flow.
Style Guide
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Final Designs
