08 pt.1

Apply U

An intelligent, efficient, and personalized study-abroad application solution.

08 pt.1

Apply U

An intelligent, efficient, and personalized study-abroad application solution.

Timeline

May - Jul 2024 (v1.0)

Position

UX researcher

UX designer

Content designer

Team

PM

Designer

Developers

Tool

Figma

React

Timeline

May - Jul 2024 (v1.0)

Position

UX researcher

UX designer

Content designer

Team

PM

Designer

Developers

Tool

Figma

React

About Apply U

About Apply U

Apply U is an AI-empowered study-abroad application tool. Our mission is to help students worldwide achieve their dreams of study abroad effortlessly, intelligently, and efficiently, embracing a new chapter in their lives.

Apply U is an AI-empowered study-abroad application tool. Our mission is to help students worldwide achieve their dreams of study abroad effortlessly, intelligently, and efficiently, embracing a new chapter in their lives.

Check our official website

Check our official website

Check our official website

"Transform Your Study Abroad Journey with Apply U, Empowering You to Discover Opportunities, Achieve Goals, and Shape a Brighter Future."

"Transform Your Study Abroad Journey with Apply U, Empowering You to Discover Opportunities, Achieve Goals, and Shape a Brighter Future."

My role

My role

Responsibilities

As the sole designer, I led the UX design, layout rendering, and UX content for the project. Collaborating closely with Project Manager Jesse and Front-End Developers Cynthia and Cui, I created frameworks and prototypes to define the vision, establish design principles, and align content strategy. These efforts helped conceptualize ideas, streamline decision-making, and ensure team alignment throughout the development process.

Responsibilities

As the sole designer, I led the UX design, layout rendering, and UX content for the project. Collaborating closely with Project Manager Jesse and Front-End Developers Cynthia and Cui, I created frameworks and prototypes to define the vision, establish design principles, and align content strategy. These efforts helped conceptualize ideas, streamline decision-making, and ensure team alignment throughout the development process.

Context

Context

Improve the UX of our core feature

The beta version of the Apply U dashboard was launched for user testing to evaluate its usability and effectiveness. From our usability testing, 63% of users reported that the core feature, "Program Guide," lacked a streamlined user experience and did not stand out from other functions.

Improve the UX of our core feature

The beta version of the Apply U dashboard was launched for user testing to evaluate its usability and effectiveness. From our usability testing, 63% of users reported that the core feature, "Program Guide," lacked a streamlined user experience and did not stand out from other functions.

Overview

Overview

Beta Version

Version 1.0

Core feature - program guide

Core feature - program guide

Core feature - program guide

What is "Program Guide"?

"Program Guide" utilizes AI to analyze multidimensional data, such as students' academic backgrounds, interests, and career goals, matching them with the most suitable schools and programs. By integrating these data with a vast database, it delivers personalized application recommendations for target program (Match For Me) or suggests applicable programs (Recommend For Me). Each suggestion optimizes academic potential and career prospects, helping students find the best-fit study path with precise support for their study-abroad decisions.

How to use?

Select Programs

(Match For Me)

Select Programs

(Match For Me)

Select Programs

(Match For Me)

Personalization

Personalization

Personalization

Upload CV

Upload CV

Upload CV

Get Report

Get Report

Get Report

Design goals

Design goals

Streamlined Process of “Program Guide”

Streamlined Process of “Program Guide”

Intuitive Interaction

Intuitive Interaction

Enhanced Clarity in Information Input

Enhanced Clarity in Information Input

User-Centric Design

User-Centric Design

Design

Design

Design

Optimize

Adjust Process Sequence

Streamline the process with


  1. “Select Programs”

  1. “Upload Your CV”

  1. “Personalization”


We encourage users to firstly try our global-program-searching tool for free, instead of filling in their information, because some users would like to change and spend more time on the program choosing. By streamlining this process, the flow and interaction would be more intuitive.

ADD

“Upload Your CV”

Add “Drag & Drop”: Provide choices for users to upload CV by themselves, and “Questions Check” if there’s information missing from auto-fillin.


Highlight “Generate Your CV”: Guide users to try our function if they do not have CV.

Optimize

“Select Programs”

1

Allow users to check the program details when they are making choices.

2

Display the amount of selected schools to inform users.

ADD

Review before submit

For users: check all the information right
For developers: reduce sending data back due to missing ones

optimize

Clear Visualization of “Guide Report”

1

The report is too wordy, and the explanation of 6d-analysis is not friendly for checking it out.

2

Have no need to present the personalization data in every program as it’s the same for all.

3

CV takes to much space which is not a frequent checking element

4

Stacking programs with reports together is not helpful for clicking.

The report interface is designed in two sections, "Report Overview" and "Matching Outcome". Users can see the overall ranking and check the input information.

The report interface is designed in two sections, "Report Overview" and "Matching Outcome". Users can see the overall ranking and check the input information.

Report is changed to 5d-analysis, showing summaries respectively.

Report is changed to 5d-analysis, showing summaries respectively.

The diagram is visualized with attractive color and clickable for users to check each score.

The diagram is visualized with attractive color and clickable for users to check each score.

User Feedback

Version 1.0

The design was put in development for the official version 1.0. 95% (out of 46) testing users appreciated the improvements of using experience of the dashboard. Our project is still in the process of initial investment. Check out Apply U here.

Learnings

Cross-Functional Collaboration

Working closely with PMs, front-end developers, and other core members, I honed my ability to communicate design intent, align on goals, and integrate feedback across disciplines to create a cohesive user experience.

Cross-Functional Collaboration

Working closely with PMs, front-end developers, and other core members, I honed my ability to communicate design intent, align on goals, and integrate feedback across disciplines to create a cohesive user experience.

Balancing User Experience & Business Impact

Designing for business wasn’t just about aesthetics—it was about racing the time and opportunity. As a designer, I need to ensure the product design is both intuitive for users and strategically aligned with business objectives. This experience deepened my understanding of business vision and product success.

Balancing User Experience & Business Impact

Designing for business wasn’t just about aesthetics—it was about racing the time and opportunity. As a designer, I need to ensure the product design is both intuitive for users and strategically aligned with business objectives. This experience deepened my understanding of business vision and product success.