2023
UX/UI Design
Web App Design, Visual Design/Branding
Cirkel
MVP design of B2B2C web platform enabling virtual peer learning circles for pre-seed startup
ROLE
Product Design Intern, Visual Design Lead
TOOLS
Figma, Miro
PROBLEM
Cirkel is an pre-seed startup with a vision to help every person define and create trusting relationships through supportive peer groups.
To accomplish this, the co-founders envision a B2B2C collaboration & learning platform that facilitates supportive peer group sessions (within academic and professional development settings). My teammates and I were responsible for designing the MVP that would be shared with angel investors.
SOLUTION
Our process entailed an end-to-end design of the MVP.
As the visual/UI design lead, I also created the design system/ branding elements and ensured all high-fidelity screens were aligned.
The final prototype was featured at a social impact conference and generated multiple leads from potential partners and investors.
FINAL DESIGNS
As a participant, get matched into a new Cirkel group based on your characteristics. View all your tasks, resources, and group sessions in your participant dashboard.
Discover | COMPETITOR ANALYSIS
Competitive research found that Cirkel needs to differentiate through clear(er) positioning
During our initial kickoff call with the co-founders, my team gathered information about the business model, goals, and constraints. It became clear we needed to better understand the landscape of existing solutions, so I focused on assessing competitor features, branding, and business positioning.
Opportunities for Cirkel:
Providing a tailored matching process and user journey
Clarifying the purpose and features of the solution
Conveying the ‘feeling’ of the solution through fresh visuals and content
Discover | INTERVIEWS
Participants agree: peer groups are helpful but difficult to maintain
To understand current engagement with peer support groups, my team conducted 7 semi-structured interviews to understand participants and coaches/trainers.
I led the research on the research/analysis on the Participant user group, while my teammate focused on the Coach/Trainer user group.
Key Research Questions:
What's essential for psychological safety in a learning setting?
What are existing benefits and challenges of peer support groups?
How does tech fit into this space?
Interview snippets:
“I’ve done a lot of self-growth, and I’m looking for women who have also done that kind of growth so we can reflect together.”
“I like when people are being themselves, when I feel like I can be myself…a low-stakes, low-pressure environment.”
“We were supposed to meet every two weeks, but we lost consistency in people’s attendance due to work. After a few times, people felt disconnected.”
Define | AFFINITY MAPPING
For participants, perceived value of group engagement must be > personal investment
Using Figjam, I mapped out the relationship between interview themes to distill the 7 key insights to inform the product design.
Some highlights:
Show the value: In order for participants to engage, the perceived value of the session must be greater than the perceived investment of time and energy
Intentionality is paramount: setting very clear expectations at the start is important to ensure a successful experience
Fluid structure: strike a balance between structured prompts and flexibility to avoid the feeling of 'work'
Define | PERSONAS
Both participants and coaches want the same thing: participant engagement and growth
Using the synthesized research insights, we created 2 user personas to help convey the user groups' pain points, needs and goals to the founders.
Define | HMW's
HMW make participants feel more joyful and deeply connected in their Cirkel group sessions?
Develop | USER FLOWS
To maximize value for the business, we focused on Participant persona user flows
Given our limited time and goal to differentiate Cirkel for investors, we decided to prioritize the user flows for onboarding and joining a Cirkel session from the participant’s perspective.
Develop | SKETCHES & WIREFRAMES
Combine the best, wireframe the rest
To ideate more efficiently, each team member sketched ideas for essential screens: homepage, matching survey, participant dashboard, in-session dashboard.
We selected which designs/elements to move forward with, and my teammates transformed the sketches into wireframes.
Design | USABILITY TESTING
Usability findings alert! Users couldn’t complete some fundamental actions
INTERACT WITH THE FINAL PROTOTYPE
Design | DESIGN SYSTEM & BRANDING
I developed the visual design elements to represent Cirkel’s joyful and supportive brand
As the visual design lead, I was responsible for creating the branding elements and design system.
I also reviewed and made final edits on my teammates’ high-fidelity prototypes to align with the design system and ensure accessibility before client handoff.
Brand values: connection, joy, vitality, trust, love
Brand attributes: mass appeal, playful, friendly, conventional, young/innovative
