UX Project
Navigate - A Complete Redesign
Students at my university were frustrated with the Navigate app, which was meant to help with scheduling, academic progress, and advisor connections, but it was cluttered, confusing, and ironically hard to navigate. For a class project, I took on the challenge of redesigning it independently, conducting research with 18 to 22 year old college students to better understand their needs and create a more intuitive experience.
Timeline - 2 Weeks
Year - 2024
My Role - UX/UI Designer
Goals & Objectives
Goals:
Create a more intuitive and user-friendly app for college students.
Help students efficiently manage their schedules, academic progress, and advisor connections.
Provide a clean, focused interface that reduces cognitive load and frustration.
Objectives:
Enhance usability and accessibility to make core features intuitive for all students.
Simplify navigation so key tasks like scheduling and academic tracking are easy to find.
Implement a consistent visual design system to improve clarity and readability throughout the app.
Research
I conducted extensive research on the client’s website and competitors to identify strengths, weaknesses, and opportunities for improvement. To gain deeper insight, I interviewed members of the target audience college students aged 18 to 22—to understand their pain points, preferences, and real-world usage patterns. This research helped inform design decisions and prioritize features that would have the most impact.
Design Process
I started by defining core personas and outlining key user needs to guide the design direction. To capture the overall look and feel, I created a moodboard that reflected the aesthetic and vibe I wanted the app to convey. From there, I built a low-fidelity prototype to map out structure and functionality before moving on to a polished high-fidelity prototype that showcased the full design. Finally, I tested the app with members of the target audience to gather feedback, validate design decisions, and identify areas for refinement.
Results
I completely rethought how users interact with the app by restructuring its navigation to make core tasks quicker and easier to access. This meant simplifying pathways, reducing unnecessary steps, and creating a more intuitive flow throughout the experience. Alongside these functional changes, I also redesigned the aesthetics to establish a cleaner, more modern look that felt approachable and aligned with student expectations.