15% Engagement Increase For User Career Coaching Platform
I led the pilot of a 0-1 feature and presented it to 100+ tech leaders. We worked with BRIDGEGOOD, an Oakland based non profit that supports young creatives. I led product strategy, user research, and design to deliver a focused, scalable solution in just 3 weeks.
Wireframing, Prototyping, Responsive Design, User Interviews, User Journeys, Personas, Navigated Ambiguity, Decision-making
Responsibilities
Lead Product Designer
My Role
4 members
Team Size
3 weeks
Project Duration
Problem
Young creatives struggle to land their first job because they lack industry insights and/or connections. BRIDGEGOOD wants to close that gap within their community.
Solution
Fireside Chats gives young creatives themed group conversations with industry professionals to ignite a connection between them, all inside the BRIDGEGOOD platform.
Overview
BRIDGEGOOD is a nonprofit design education organization in Oakland, CA that helps young creatives break into the tech and design industry through apprenticeship style programs.
We created a video conferencing tool for young creatives in BRIDGEGOOD community. Our feature allows young creatives to expand their network by attending themed chats where they “ignite a flame” within the industry.
Aligning with BRIDGEGOOD’s business goals, our platform keeps design education accessible when supporting the next generation of designers. Fireside Chats would increase their scalability and focuses on quality over quantity while maintaining it’s low maintenance element.
I hosted my our live stream to over 100 tech professionals and showcased my team’s work on Bay Area KPIX CBS news for our Jefferson Award Feature. To view my presentation livestream click HERE and to view CBS feature click HERE.
My Role
Lead Product Designer & Researcher
As lead Product Designer I led a team of 4 designers and 3 stakeholders in researching the painpoints of our targeted audience and created a live prototype to serve young creatives increase their connections in the design industry
I played a large part in project leadership, strategic planning decisions, ideation, concept design, and prototyping. A challenging prospect our team faced was not biting off more than we can chew. I brought my team back to the drawing board to reevaluate what the most necessary components were for us to solve the issue we were targeting.
As a team Researcher I also conducted 50% of our interviews, and facilitated our online survey to collect data of our mentee users.
Research & Discovery
Competitive Analysis
I analyzed 6 companies and conducted SWOT analysis on our strongest competitors to leverage and test common features what identifying gaps of opportunity.
For our product to specifically target the needs of BRIDGEGOOD's audience, we conducted user interviews with young creative's at an entry level to better understand and empathize with their needs.
I conducted 50% of our interviews, and facilitated our online survey to collect data.
Stakeholder Feedback
We started from an unknown problem space, so stakeholder vision was important to ensure smooth collaboration and aligned expectations.
I spearheaded interviews with our 3 stakeholders, synthesized notes, and mapped them into themes that revealed their 3 main long term goals:
Innovative: Cohesive with the BG brand
Scalable Impact: Accessible to everyone and has the potential to grow
Low Maintenance: Doesn't require high effort to launch or to maintain
Mentor / Mentee Personas & Happy Path
Research focused on BRIDGEGOOD alumni (A) and career switchers (C) looking to land their first creative role in the workforce . I analyzed the information between both groups to bridge the gap between them.
Wanting to help but not knowing where to start (A)
Insecurity around being good enough to mentor (A)
Difficulty landing their first job (C)
A lack of visibility into current industry needs (C)
Location: Oakland, CA
Alex Ríos
Age, 27
Retail Supervisor and Self Taught Designer
Context:
Nina has spent five years in retail management while teaching herself design on nights and weekends. She finished an online UX course and has a small portfolio, but she doesn’t know anyone working in the field. She applies to entry level roles and rarely hears back. She wants to know what hiring teams look for right now, and she isn’t sure who to ask.
Image curtesy Vitaly Gariev silverkblack from unsplash
Goals
Land her first creative role
Understand what the industry needs today
Meet professionals who can give honest feedback
Build a network she can grow over time
Challenges
No contacts in the design industry
Unsure what employers expect from a first time designer
Cold messaging professionals feels awkward and unproductive
Motivations
Doing creative work every day
Career growth and financial stability
Feeling like she belongs in the design community
Early Stage Process
Our Early process included Low Fi Wireframes, Thought Exploration, sketches, dot voting and journey mapping.
Key decisions & Challenges
One of the biggest challenges we faced was adoption and scaling
A key decision I made was when I navigated my team to scope down from features that would make it a networking database, to instead structure one focused feature.
I learned we needed to prioritize a single feature solving the the targeted problem, to serve our audience better, rather than addressing less effective solutions.
Ideas that were cut included open networking formats, or 1:1 matching. Instead we chose themed group fireside chats because it met the perfect balance between stakeholder and young creatives needs, since it opens the gate to spark connections, allows the mentees to expand their network, and it answers stakeholder desires of low maintenance and scalability.
We designed around quality over quantity and low maintenance as hard constraints, to form an intimate learning circle.
Another was Stakeholder alignment
Stakeholder tension arose when we were in our mid fi wireframes iteration stage, and they expressed a viewpoint stating that "our product wasn't clear". I took their advise and revised the direction to be more comprehensible and use cohesive language.
One of the biggest challenges we faced was language because it reflected our concept and how we communicated to users. Specific terms that were cut include "Tea time" and "Workshop" because they didn't reflect the intimate setting we're cultivating.
Mid Fi Wireframes
Golden ticket to Fireside chat, this concept made it to the final round
Concept exploration of workshops & fireside chats
Tea time concept exploration
Combination of both workshops and fireside chats exploration.
Our Mid fi stage allowed us to have deeper conversations with our stakeholders, understand their concerns, and understand the direction of our product.
They were a crucial part in my decision making to steer the deliverables in a proper direction.
Final Comps
Location: Oakland, CA
Alex Ríos
Age, 27
Self Taught Designer and Fireside Chats Attendee
Context:
Alex joined a themed Fireside Chat on breaking into UX and met a small group of professionals who started in unrelated careers. She asked questions without feeling put on the spot and got honest feedback on her portfolio. She stayed in touch with two people from the chat. She now knows what hiring teams look for and applies with a clearer plan.
Image curtesy Vitaly Gariev silverkblack from unsplash
Goals Progress
Has clear next steps for her portfolio and applications
Understands what the industry needs today
Received honest feedback from professionals
Growing a network she can build on
Challenges Eased
Has real contacts working in design
Understands what employers expect from a first time designer
Reaches out through a warm connection instead of a cold message
Motivations Fulfilled
Moving closer to creative work every day
Building toward career growth and financial stability
Feels like she belongs in the design community
