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Onedu - One Design University
ABOUT
Since the COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted the normal lifestyle of people across the globe, the virtual world has come to the rescue. Amongst many institutions, schools have also shifted their base to virtual platforms to conduct classes online. But, design students using this platform cannot adapt as much to the online classes. The lack of a hands-on approach and peer collaboration is one of the main problems. Onedu is an online learning application created for students of design.
MY ROLE
During a 24-hour design sprint, my responsibility as the sole designer was to synthesize extensive research effectively. I aimed to leverage and demonstrate the pinnacle of my skill set, translating these insights into a design within the given time constraints.
THE CHALLENGE
Problem Statement
Design a digital solution for a new hybrid mode of education where it will act as a one-stop place for:
• Virtual class
• Learning resources
• Collaboration
• Student progression
• Student identity management
01
DISCOVER
02
DEFINE
03
DESIGN
04
PROTOTYPE
Primary Research
User Interviews
Empathy Mapping
Survey
Secondary Research
User Personas
Journey Diagram
Assumptions
Info Architecture
Lo-fi Wireframes
Hi-fi Screens
Figma Prototyping
Walkthrough
DISCOVER
Identifying Problems
As per the studies conducted by UNESCO, there is enough evidence that the online learning industry is the future of education and as user experience designers we are tasked with the effort of creating digital spaces that enhance the learning experience.
Since the COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted the normal lifestyle of people across the globe, the virtual world has come to the rescue. Amongst many institutions, schools have also shifted their base to virtual platforms to conduct classes online.
But, design students using this platform cannot adapt as much to the online classes. The lack of a hands-on approach and peer collaboration is one of the main problems.
I started investigating the aspects that set aside design education from the rest.
From Personal Experience
I have a design background as I did architecture in my bachelors and I believe I have some good understanding that I developed over time regarding the nature of design studies.
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Design education is more experiential in nature
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Involves a lot of hands-on explorations
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Involves open jury sessions and interactive discussions
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Ideas built over critiques and arguments
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Requires to share images and sketches to explain ideas
A typical production night
Can we create a product that recreates the very same essence of group work and jury experience in a digital space?
Scenes from architectural design jury
PERSONAL OBJECTIVES
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Interact with faculty in a more personal way
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Streamlined Collaborations
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Share files and ideas quickly among peers
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Share my work and see peers work
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Digital workspace for group work
From User Interviews
I selected couple of design students who had a background in non design studies, as they could identify the problems more efficiently.
Name: Gautam K
Background: Mechanical Engineer
Q. How is design education different from other studies?
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No Textbooks and concrete answers to design
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Design is an argumentative process
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Lots of research involved
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Exploratory in nature
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Based on conversations and experiences
Q. What are the features that could be included in the current online platforms that will make it more design studies friendly?
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Collaborative sketching space
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Online labs
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Better Messaging
Derived Product Attributes:
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Needs more interactive workspaces
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Better tools of communication
Name: Archana
Background: Computer Science
Q. How is design education different from other studies?
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Practical knowledge and the practice of theory
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One to one interaction
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Design doesn’t have a rigid structure
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Involves simultaneous task and collaboration
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Involves a lot more creativity
Q. What are the aspects of design studies that cannot be conducted online?
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Hands-on material explorations
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Lack of books and resources
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Collaborative work with people
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Seeing each other's work and strengths
Derived Product Attributes:
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Find resources and see each other work
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Able to form groups and collaborate easily
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Motivate to work
Empathy Mapping
To dive deep into understanding the online learning experience, I decided to do an empathy mapping of a few candidates.
Understanding students work patterns on design projects
Based on a quick survey form circulated among the design students the following data was obtained.
DISCOVER
Secondary Research
Next, I investigated different products that cater to a certain need of the student and understand its workings. Further, I will look at clubbing them into one common platform that does it all.
Google Classrooms, Meet and Zoom Meeting have been the go-to platforms for our university. So I looked up and listed all the features of these platforms and identified the scope of improvements and missing features that can be added to the new product.
1. FOR CLASSROOM INTERACTION
While studying these platforms I also explored possible layouts and options to provide the users with the desired experience.
2. FOR INSPIRATION, RESOURCES & SHARING
Dribbble and Behance are the two major portfolio sharing platforms that users look up to. The users have familiarized flows of the same and would quickly adapt to it.
3. FOR COLLABORATIONS
Figma Jam and Discord are used for workspace collaboration and very handy tools for sketching, organizing and sharing ideas.
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DEFINE
User Personas
Based on the research and empathy mapping, I created a few typical user personas who would be using the product and try to solve some specific challenges.
Assumptions
Following are the assumptions for the design proposal. An iPhone is used as a mock-up. The app will be available on all mobile operating systems.
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Online connectivity
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Availability to smartphone
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Third-party data-sharing agreements
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Institutes across India join the platform
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Faculty join the app using the teacher's app
DESIGN
Information Architecture
DESIGN
Low Fidelity Wireframes
Sketched out a few wireframes and styles based on the information architecture that I conceptualised.
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DESIGN
High Fidelity Screens
Inside Course
Once users select a course, they are able to see the progress and associated classes and tasks.
Classroom
Once logged in, users land on the classroom page where they are informed about their progress important schedules and notifications
Inside Class
Classes are subjects the user pursues and are highly organised with schedules, tasks and recordings.
Add New Course
The feature allows the users to add new third party courses apart from their institutional course.
Connect
This feature helps organise & schedule classes and connect the students with their faculties & peers in a more interactive way
Collaborate
This feature helps users work in groups specifically for sharing files and communicating.
Community
This space is for students to upload their group projects and get appreciated & inspired.
Design Jam
This feature helps users sketch, ideate and discuss designs with built-in drawing space and voice interactions.
Profile
The profile page helps students set goals and track their progress in a visual infographic style.
PROTOTYPING
Connecting the dots
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PROTOTYPING
Figma Prototype
An interactive prototype created in Figma is used to get the real-time experience of the users. Check it out here:
PROTOTYPING
Testing & Feedback
Way forward, I wish to reach out to a few of the users from the interviews and guide them through the screens and get some feedback.
Figma Prototype
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