OVERVIEW

“Ingenious” is a live-online training platform that allows students to share the cost of tuition and receive additional financial support from benefactors.

DURATION

10 Weeks

ROLE

UX/UI Designer

Researcher

TOOLS

Figma

InVision

IDENTIFYING THE PROBLEM SPACE

There's no shortage of problems in this world - so I focused on subjects that were of interest to me and those that I felt had problems that, if solved, could really empower people to change their lives for the better.

Problem Space

Live-Online training is the most effective style of distance education, but it's not accessible to everyone; It is expensive, industry specific and often related to job training. Affordable options are independent and self-directed, which is not ideal for everyone.

How Might We

make live online training affordable so that it is accessible to everyone.

CONSTRAINTS

Establishing a list of possible constraints was helpful in keeping me focused on creating a solution that was practical and viable. One of my biggest constraints was developing this product within a very tight timeline, the list of constraints were mostly in consideration of bringing the product to market.

TECHNOLOGICAL

Unstable network connections
Glitches/bugs in software
Privacy & data security breaches
Compatibility issues
Access to reliable & appropriate technology
Unfamiliarity with technology & platforms being used

BUSINESS

Availability & quality of talent
Product awareness
Regulatory Compliance: accessibility standards, content regulation, accreditation requirements
Intellectual property - copyrights, licensing
Lack of capital

SOCIO-CULTURAL

Racial & cultural discrimination & bias
Poverty
Learning disabilities
Lack of motivation
Language barriers

SECONDARY RESEARCH

gathering information from journals, articles and reputable websites - This is when I was able to confirm or deny a list of assumptions I’d made about my problem space and user. It also gave me a few areas to focus on - my opportunities for intervention.

ASSUMPTIONS

01 LOCATION

02 FINANCIAL

Can’t afford available
education and training

03 DELIVERY

Self-guided, independent study not ideal. In class not available or viable

04 TIME

Limited on time due to
family or financial/work
obligations

Not in close proximity
to education and
training institutions

Lisa - photo by Kirill Balobanov on Unsplash

Lisa Iseroff, 26

Location:
MOOSONEE, ON
Title:
STORE CLERK
Industry:
RETAIL - GROCERY
Education:
HIGH SCHOOL DIPLOMA

FRUSTRATIONS

The high cost of post-secondary education

Lack of local training opportunities

Limited job opportunities

PAIN POINTS

can’t afford education or training

not qualified for higher paying jobs

can’t relocate due to family commitments

GOALS

Move to a bigger town or city

Find a higher paying job

Learn how to start a small business

MOTIVATIONS

Better quality of life

Independence

Financial Stability

Career Satisfaction

POVERTY

Most people living in poverty have a lack of education.

GEOGRAPHY

Affordable options are typically offered in urban areas, excluding people in rural and remote locations.

SUCESS RATE

drop out rates for distance education are as high as 98%

ENGAGEMENT

Student-Instructor interaction is one of the the highest contributors to success.

PRIMARY RESEARCH

interviewing people who fit the criteria of my proto-persona to confirm or deny my assumptions and guide me in my task selection.

RESEARCH OBJECTIVES

01

Determine why they chose online over in-class education

02

Discover the cost & how they were able to pay for their program

03

Identify frustrations & pain points with online learning

04

Identify aspects of their education that worked for them

05

Define personal reasons that made pursuing education and training difficult

Research Method

Conduct a minimum of 3 telephone interviews
from home using zoom & recorded with Otter

Recruitment Criteria

AGE: 18-45 years old

LOCATION: Lives in or is from a rural or remote community

EDUCATION: Enrolled in (or was) an online program within the past 5 years

SOCIO-ECONOMIC STATUS: From a lower to mid socio-economic class

Lisa - photo by Kirill Balobanov on Unsplash

Kendra St. Jean

Age: 35
Current Location:
TORONTO, ON
Home Location:
NORTHERN, ON
Title:
CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE
MANAGER
Industry:
RETAIL
Education:
COLLEGE DIPLOMA

FRUSTRATIONS

The high cost of education & training

Lack of local training opportunities

Limited job opportunities

Schedule & time commitment

PAIN POINTS

lack of human connection

affordability

heavy workload

stress

GOALS

Higher Level of Education

Higher paying job

Start a small business

MOTIVATIONS

Convenience

Flexibility

Better Job Opportunities

Higher Salary

Personal Growth

OPPORTUNITIES OF INTERVENTION

Based on my research and assumptions, I discovered themes and key insights that presented great opportunitites for intervention and figured out how my product would help solve the problems.

KEY INSIGHT

Regular, live interaction with other students & instructors creates a sense of connection, helps with motivation and accountability.

THEME 1:

AFFORDABILITY

education is not affordable without financial help

OPPORTUNITY:

offer affordable, high-quality online education & training programs with shared tuition

THEME 2:

CONVENIENCE

school must fit in with work and life commitments

OPPORTUNITY:

offer variety in start times, length & topics in consideration of individual needs & interests

THEME 3:

ENGAGEMENT

human interaction is an important factor in accountability and motivation

OPPORTUNITY:

Emulate in person classroom experience with structured & guided learning to keep students engaged and motivated

THEME 4:

TOOLS

suitable technology for the program is necessary for participation and not always feasible

OPPORTUNITY:

partner with community organizations to address the issue of access to appropriate technology

TASK SELECTION PROCESS

User stories organized into categories, bring about common themes which help determine core epics which determines the primary task.

CORE EPIC

Affordability & Financial Support

PRIMARY TASK

Search for accounting classes & set up tuition related notifications

PRODUCT FUNCTION

Provide affordable, live online training by allowing students to share the cost of tuition & apply for additional financial support

USER ROLE

Prospective Student: Young Professional

USER STORY

As a prospective student I want to be able to share the cost of my live, online classes with other students & recieve additional financial support from benefactors so I can upgrade my skills within my budget.

EPIC

Affordability & Financial Support

TASK

Search for accounting classes and set up to receive notifications when tuition price is within my set budget

VISUALIZATION & PROTOTYPING

Visualization started with collecting inspiration from products in existence, collecting my thoughts then putting my ideas to paper. My first ideas were rough sketches that eventually evolved into a hi-fidelity prototype - with a few steps along the way.

INSPIRATION

Inspiration is everywhere! Especially in products that already exist. Here's a few pieces I found that influenced my visualization process.

LANDING SCEEN

Fun vibe. Use of solid colours, Fairly simple logo.

SIGN IN/REGISTER

Continuing with the fun vibes. Rounded buttons. Option to sign in or create an account

LOGIN/REGISTER

HOME

So many options, cards with rounded edges & image focus

CLASS PROFILE

Nice hierarchy, I liked the overall layout and feel.

SEARCH RESULS

Small, but full of info. Focus on video clip. Bold, informative, header. Overflow menu.

1st Round: all ideas welcome, very rough draft, rapid-fire & crazy 8's

2nd Round: ideas taking shape in first iteration of wireframe sketches

3rd Round: taking things digital with 2 rounds of low-fi prototyping

USER TESTING & ITERATION

2 Rounds, 10 testers and several iterations later, I had enough feedback to bring my prototype to hi-fi status!

Round 1: After the first two tests and some feedback from my peers, I changed the task flow to include a login page - the premise being that the user is already registered - and a notifications setting page instead of a call to register as the final step. Some changes to the script, like less words and better organization of premise and task delegation, also made things easier to grasp.

Second Flow - After the pivot: login made the home page make a bit more sense.

First flow - Before the pivot: Home screen was confusing - too many text links - didn’t feel like a home page and users couldn’t progress to the next task. Review task & script.

Second Flow - After the pivot: added notifications options

Round 2: Another round of feedback, another round of changes. Some notables included a home page
revamp and changes to the categories menu - from ambiguous drop down to more obvious card.

HI-FI PROTOTYPE

After the second round of testing, I took all of the feedback and incorporated the changes into a final,hi-fi iteration. From start to finish, the changes were astounding. Below is an illustration of my journey using starting point & home page iterations.

MARKETING SITE

Done and dusted with the product (for now), creating an equally punchy marketing site was the next step in this magical process. Following a similar path, the site started out with inspiration, wireframing, iteration and a nifty translation to an alternate platform of choice - the logical choice - mobile!

View Site!

VISUAL IDENTITY: A STORY

Creating a visual, digital masterpiece starts with inspiration. On my quest to design a feeling and a structure and tone to support it, I curated visual artifacts from websites like dribbble, unsplash, pexels, pttrns, and of course from awesome products already in existence. Paired with a "more A than B list" - a moodboard emerged to guide my vision.

Tone Inspo: Inquisitive & friendly, easy to digest and also trustworthy. Like a summer camp counsellor.

Structure: Offset images and content blocks stacked & broken apart by white space. Impactful snippets or info vitamins.

UI Inspo: Collecting parts to make an intuitive, user friendly whole

Header & subheader centered
with CTA following immediately.

Hidden navigation positioned to the right of the logo, clean.

Video embedded with

link to more on YouTube

DESIGN IMPACT & FUTURE THINKING

With great power comes great responsibility. In order to stay grounded and user centred at the end of my design process, I consulted a great oracle to assist me in determining what impact my design intervention could have on our society. Pulling 3 cards from the Tarot Cards of Tech deck, I authored a future state with several outcomes.

The BFFs - Two friends embark on a learning journey together and sign up for the same painting class. They learn the fundamentals together, from a distance, with a dozen other would-be artists. They couldn't have done it without each other's support - financially and emotionally. They feel engaged and inspired by the energy of their life-like class. New friendships are created from all over the globe with other people with shared interests. They exchange tips, insights and stories and cheer for one another when progress is made. At a time when loneliness and disconnection is at its peak, my product unites people and fills the void that in-class exploration cannot provide at this time in history.

The Big Bad Wolf - There's been a security break and a bad apple has accessed the personal and financial information of all students enrolled on the platform. This is a disaster and a PR nightmare. Confidence in the safety and security that my product has to offer has been eradicated - new enrollment has halted and there has been a mass exodus of existing subscribers. Lawsuits? Probably. Hate mail? Definitely. Working tirelessly to fix the flaws in the armor is expensive, time consuming and virtually impossible with the product online. The potential for fraud and identity theft is definitely a concern. Especially seeing that the product is designed with vulnerable people in mind. The ship is taking on water fast and we can't empty enough cups to stay afloat.

The Smash Hit - We hit the 100 Million subscribers mark. People all over the world are using "Ingenious" to upgrade their skills and learn new ones. The social impact has been remarkable. Struggling communities that were once limited in their capacity to lift their members are thriving. New business ventures, renewed job markets, higher literacy rates and lowering of poverty levels are among the some of the fantastic, global trends my product has facilitated. Education is no longer seen as a commodity, but a right for everyone. It is accessible and affordable through this model. People everywhere are leveling up their lives and supporting each other in their growth. We might just win a Nobel Prize. Or get assasinated. Only time will tell.