I started tracker – the one-stop shop for job search organization – from scratch, beginning with the design thinking question: How might we better organize the job searching process, making it easier to track all of one’s job applications at once? Once I determined the design challenge of my project, I began to research, interview and observe potential users to get an idea of my audience. With the help of my classmates and some design thinking exercises, I collected potential solutions to the problem at hand.
Based on the insights I collected, I created an audience analysis chart, as well as two personas. The two personas below portray two distinct, potential users of tracker: Oliver, an organized, graduating senior who is looking for a full-time job, and Desiree, an unorganized undergraduate student who is seeking a summer internship. I chose to design these personas in a first-person narrative to evoke empathy for the potential users of tracker. Further, I emphasized the personas’ current frustrations with the job searching process so I could diminish them in my design for the user experience of tracker.
I moved on to create a design document, similar to a style guide, including the goals and purpose of tracker and an outline of color and typography choices. For example, I decided on a shade of light blue as the primary color in tracker’s brand because it represents trustworthiness, dependability and education, which are all very important factors in the job searching process. After I decided on this “vibe” for tracker, I moved onto developing the structure of its website, which included creating an asset list and overall flow chart. The main asset of tracker is – well – the tracking feature, but I also wanted to include other helpful attributes, including a contact book and briefcase, where users can store all of their job-related files.
And, next came my favorite part: the sketches! I started by creating some variations of basic black-and-white wireframes in Adobe XD until I came across a layout that would make sense for what tracker works to achieve. I wanted to focus on functionality and interactivity before I incorporated any styling. The layout I decided on was rather simple, as I wanted it to be as easy and intuitive to use as possible. After all, the purpose of tracker is to better organize the job searching process, making it easier to track all of one’s job applications at once.
I decided to design the website for desktop or laptop, as opposed to a phone application, because I believe my target audience (ages 18 – 25) will mainly access tracker on their computers. Once I had good wireframes to reference, “a design of key nodal points (minimum 8-10 screens)” was next on my list, so I developed an interactive prototype for tracker in Adobe XD.
When my design panels were “finished,” I ran three user tests of tracker on UserTesting.com, which were very insightful. I received feedback (both good and bad) from the user tests I conducted, and made changes to the final product accordingly. For example, one user expressed interest in a “real” home page, so that the website doesn’t open up to the main tracking page itself. As a result, I added a landing page that appears when the website first loads, just to give a brief introduction to the website. Overall, I was happy to hear that users felt the website was simple and easy to use and look at, in addition to the typography and color choices being modern and on-trend with current mobile applications.
