Davis Design Fest
Hubbble
Platform
iOS
Role
UX Designer
Duration
1 Day (March 2024)
Overview
Hubbble is a platform that reimagines career and education development for designers. On this platform, designers are able to participate in periodic design challenges, expand their network, receive advice, and find new projects to work on!
I collaborated with two other designers to research and design Hubbble over the course of an 8 hour design fest at UC Davis. In the end, we were able to win Best Overall Design while competing against 29 other teams.
Empathizing with our users
We utilized user personas, surveys, and competitive audits to develop an understanding of our users' needs.
User Personas
Alex the Ambitious Designer
Background: Alex is a young designer who recently graduated and entered the design industry. Eager to climb the career ladder, Alex is constantly seeking feedback to improve design skills.
Challenges: Struggles with effectively receiving and implementing feedback. Wants a solution that streamlines the feedback process and provides actionable insights for skill enhancement
Mia the Mentor
Background: Mia is an experienced designer with a passion for mentoring and teaching. She believes in giving back to the design community and helping emerging talents.
Challenges: Faces challenges in efficiently connecting with mentees and providing constructive guidance. Looks for a platform that simplifies mentorship and teaching interactions.
Sam the Skill Enthusiast
Background: Sam is a mid-career designer looking to stay updated with the latest design trends and technologies. Enjoys learning new skills to remain competitive in the evolving design landscape.
Challenges: Struggles with finding relevant and engaging skill development opportunities. Seeks a solution that curates personalized skill development plans and resources.
Nina the Networking Novice
Background: Nina is a junior designer who finds networking challenging and intimidating. Recognizes the importance of building professional connections but doesn't know where to start.
Challenges: Needs assistance in navigating networking events and establishing meaningful connections. Desires a platform that facilitates easy and purposeful networking within the design community.
Competitive Audits
In addition to user personas, I also audited 3 successful career and education development products that designers commonly utilise: Behance, LinkedIn, and Handshake.
Interviews
For our interviews, we asked four participants about their experience with career and education development and how they currently struggle with aspects such as network growth, and education development.
Research Summary
After conducting our research, we gained insights into several pain points:
Networking is difficult due to its unnatural and awkward nature.
There aren't any central platforms for educational and career development for designers that provide opportunities for feedback and project development.
Low Fidelity Sketches
In my sketches, I designed a core feature to innovate how designers could expand their network, which would be based off of a swipe-and-match function. This would create a friendlier, more casual way for designers to connect and strip away the layer of awkwardness that usually comes with networking.
Additionally, I designed the profile page as a mini portfolio, which would allow users to gain insight on one another's work experience in a fun, casual layout.
Additionally, I created "hubbbles" or communities, for users to find the specific groups they're looking for, such as project groups or people who want portfolio or resume review. This social media setting would help users authentically connect and develop in their career.
Mid Fidelity Sketches
For our mid-fidelity prototypes, we discussed what features worked well to meet our users' needs. We wanted to make the UI playful and bubbly so that users could feel comfortable reaching out, making connections, and providing feedback. We decided on the swipe-and-match function so users could learn more about each other in a fun and interactive way.
Challenges
Our biggest challenge was not being able to gain insight on a larger scale, since we only had 8 hours. If we had more time, I would have liked to conduct SWOT analysis and interviews to investiage with a larger group.
Next steps
If we were continuing this product, I'd like to do user testing and develop an understanding of whether or not our product fulfills users' needs and bridges the gaps that other competing products fail to fill.