UX/UI Design
Overview
Find what you love. Find your fit. Find yourself.
NextPath is a web platform aimed at helping high school students transition into adulthood by providing access to career and personal development resources. The platform addresses the common issue of students graduating without a clear direction, offering them the information and guidance they need to make informed decisions about their future.
Role
Daniel - UX/UI Designer - Research, Design
Ilia - Research synthesis, UI pattern
Tools
Figma, GSuite, Slack, Zoom
Story
High school graduates often face a multitude of post-graduation options, from traditional career paths to college and apprenticeships. However, many students lack access to the necessary resources to help them make these important decisions. The stress of schoolwork, social interactions, and personal growth can overshadow the time and resources required for post-high school planning.
UNDERSTANDING OUR SOON-TO-BE ADULTS. UNDERSTANDING THE CHALLENGES.
To understand the challenges faced by high school students and graduates, we conducted interviews and surveys. However, finding participants in the target demographic was challenging.
Research was done on how students prepare for life after graduation and the actions they take on their path to adulthood.The research on students' plans to attend college post-high school was reinforced with scientific case studies on how schools in the United States approach post-secondary education preparedness.
TALKING TO REAL PEOPLE
We follwed up the surveys with interviews with three individuals, uncovering key pain points:
Overwhelmed with career planning alongside coursework.
Short-term planning.
Uncertainty about post-high school options.
Pressure from parents.
A tendency to follow the college path due to societal expectations.
"Go to college, for business...No preference in college yet."
"I had a short-term plan: graduating high school and getting accepted to college."
"Family/parental pressure was a motivator..."
FOLLOWING UP WITH DEEP AND RICH INSIGHTS
We crafted a survey to challenge some of the assumptions we had about post-high school preparedness. The survey of 11 respondents revealed these key insights:
personal traits may guide students and their decisions,
as well as the people who influence their daily lives.
Nearly half of the young adults surveyed said they had no access to a guidance counselor,
along with mixed results for the helpfulness of guidance counselors from those who said they had access to a guidance counselor.
Do you now or in the past have a guidance counselor/mentor? (Multiple-choice)
When asked if they had or have access to a guidance counselor/mentor, 45.5% said they did not. That was nearly half of those surveyed.
Were your guidance counselors a factor in your decision? (Multiple-choice)
When asked on the helpfulness of guidance counselors we received mixed responses.
If you are undecided about your next steps after High School, what do you think would be the most helpful resources? (Checkboxes)
•We identified that people may want to combine different resources
•Also, an overwhelming 7/11 people chose a one-stop online resource including information about college majors, industry roles, study abroad, joining the military, etc.
•and, 9/11 people chose meaningful guidance, including counselor/mentor sessions.
KEY PAIN POINTS UNCOVERED
"Go to college, for business...No preference in college yet."
"I had a short-term plan: graduating high school and getting accepted to college."
"Family/parental pressure was a motivator..."
MOLDING OUR RESEARCH INSIGHTS INTO A TANGIBLE DELIVERABLE
We created a proto persona to anchor our research findings, even though the data was limited. The persona, "Eddie," represents the main needs, goals, motivations, and frustrations of our target user.
THERE WERE HIGHS…AND THERE WERE LOWS
The user journey map highlighted key stages from consideration to action. It revealed pain points that needed addressing, including areas of improvement marked in red, orange, and yellow dots.
THE MAIN PROBLEM ADDRESSED IN THIS DESIGN SPRINT
PROBLEM STATEMENT
Eddie needs access to all potential career paths, whether through counseling, independent research, materials, or references so that he can make an educated and calculated plan and feel confident in his decision.
WE MUST ALL START SOMEWHERE. WE CAN ALL LEAD WITH RESEACH.
The research led us to two main areas of opportunity in "Exploring Careers" and "Planning."
In a perfect world, I would test, interview users, and gather more data but alas time runs with or without you - so I better catch it.
There was enough research data to move forward into the next phase - for now.
LAYING IT ALL OUT
Rapid ideation sessions through mind maps explored potential options on career paths, guidance, interests, and development.
PUTTING PEN TO PAPER
Crazy 8s ideation sessions generated concepts related to mentorship, learning opportunities, career paths, and personalization.
NARROWING DOWN TO ONE SCENARIO
Initial sketches provided insights into the information architecture and the flow from screen to screen, laying the foundation for the digital design.
FROM ANALOG TO DIGITAL
MID-FI WIREFLOWS
HOME PAGE (guest)
User goes to Landing page and clicks on 'Career Path' dropdown, then 'Travel Abroad'.
TRAVEL ABROAD
User goes to Landing page and clicks on 'Career Path' dropdown, then 'Travel Abroad'.
HOME PAGE (Signed In)
PERSONALIZE in PROFILE
From username/avatar icon in top right, User views profile, general info, view upcoming saved events, bookmarked items, create/review checklists, and set milestones.
ALL TOGETHER NOW
MID-FI FIGMA PROTOTYPE
A mid-fidelity prototype was developed to visualize the user experience, although an interactive version would be more informative.
From NextPath to NextSteps
UPSKILLED
Next:
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