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C-Connected! App
Timeframe: Aug 2024-Oct 2024
Software Used: Figma, Adobe Illustrator, Miro
Type: UI/UX, App Design
C-Connected! is a calendar and scheduling mobile app designed for students and local community members in Champaign-Urbana. Users are suggested events that suit their interests, all while fitting perfectly into their schedule. To encourage engagement, users can track and view a report of their involvement on campus and in the Champaign-Urbana community.
Software Used: Figma, Adobe Illustrator, Miro
Type: UI/UX, App Design
C-Connected! is a calendar and scheduling mobile app designed for students and local community members in Champaign-Urbana. Users are suggested events that suit their interests, all while fitting perfectly into their schedule. To encourage engagement, users can track and view a report of their involvement on campus and in the Champaign-Urbana community.
The Problem
Campus-community integration builds connections, meaningful experiences, and a sense of belonging. However, without enough hours in the day, students and local community members across Champaign-Urbana can’t seem to dedicate time to activity engagement within campus and throughout the community. Ultimately, they face difficulties with campus-community integration—minimizing support, experiences, and social-connectedness. They become confined in their communities due to the clash of schedules and face social disconnect.
Research
After identifying a leverage point—” time effects engagement in events”—within the scope of campus-community engagement and integration, I needed to determine the specifics of this issue. Through survey responses, I was able to better understand campus-community engagement amongst University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign students.
Survey responses reveal:
Survey responses reveal:
- Respondents have answered that they average around 5 hours of activity engagement per week
- 62.5% of respondents rarely engaged in off-campus activities within Champaign-Urbana (organizations, events, sports, volunteering, etc.)
- Trends amongst respondents were: students engage in campus activities for social and professional connections; students are either mostly informed through social media or not informed enough; students on campus cannot engage in off-campus events due to time and transportation
Survey Responses:
Persona
To synthesize the information gathered from the systems map and survey response, I created a detailed user persona to better empathize with the target audience and make informed solutions moving forward. Say hello to Isaiah!
Sketches:
From the research, I began ideation by creating sketches for the C-Connected! App. It started off with loose sketches, and through feedback, each stage of the sketches was progressively refined. The app features I focused on were:
-
A user-friendly onboarding process where users follow the prompts that ask about their schedules and interests
- Personalized dashboard with reminders of the user’s upcoming events
- Calendar feature where users can view their daily schedule and add suggested events based on their availability and interests
- “Involvement” tab where students can set goals and view what events they have attended to encourage increased campus-community engagement
Low-Fidelity Prototype:
I created a paper user interface prototype using the sketches to test the flow of the app. Users were asked to navigate the app without instructions.
Mid-Fidelity Prototype:
Using the input and feedback from the low-fidelity prototype, I created a digital mid-fidelity prototype.
High-Fidelity Prototype:
In this high-fidelity prototype, I implemented design elements inspired by UIUC branding. The colors reference Illinois’s iconic Illini Blue and Illini Orange. To reflect the target audience, the app uses energetic yet welcoming type with sleek, rounded features.
Final Screens:
With additional feedback, I replaced the previous type with a selection that is bolder and has improved readability. Along with the change in the typography, I increased the scale of the text to improve usability. The final screens of this mobile intervention include:
- Login for users who are students and Champaign-Urbana residents; Additionally, organizations will have their own login to promote their events
- Easy onboarding for new users
- Personalized dashboard with reminders of the user’s upcoming events
- Calendar feature where users can view their daily schedule and add suggested events based on their availability and interests
- “Involvement” tab where students can set goals and view what events they have attended to encourage increased campus-community engagement