Michaelbrz's Portfolio

Michael Brzuchalski

Role

Designer

Team

Myself

Jasmine Bhogal

Timeline

3 Days

Tools

Figma

Overview

Helping students recognize the design thinking already shaping their daily lives, and the career paths built around it.

High school students interact with design constantly but they just don't see it. Unseen is a tablet app that makes that invisible layer visible, helping students recognize the design thinking already a part of their daily lives, and potential career paths that revolve around it. This was created as a submission to Adobe’s Creative Jam 2019.

Challenge

Design a tablet app to provide a safe way for high school students (ages 13+) to Discover Design, and should encourage students to do the following:

Students discover what design is and how they interact with it every day.

Help them see the impact of good or bad design.

Encourage them to explore jobs/careers in design.

Inspire them to start their own career in design.

Context

Understanding students' motivations and concerns when choosing a career.

What do students value in a career? Where do they get their career information, and how do they perceive (both positives and negatives) of creativity/design as a career path?

Research

Key Insights from research

Three key themes came up again and again from interview participants.

Students don't see design as a "real" career path, and feel pressure from themselves and their parents to pick a more "successful” or “serious" career.

Students don't recognize how much design surrounds them every day.

Students underestimate the importance of design thinking and creative problem-solving as real, valuable skills.

Personas

Understanding who we’re building for

Redefine

Reframing the problem: The legitimacy gap and the invisibility gap

The Legitimacy Gap

Design reads as a risky or lesser path compared to careers that are already socially accepted, so even curious students talk themselves (or get talked) out of it before exploring further.

How might we make a career in design feel as legitimate and viable as more traditional paths?

The Invisibility Gap

Because design is invisible to them day-to-day, students underestimate both its relevance and their own natural aptitude for it.

How might we help students notice the design already shaping their daily lives and see it as a skill they already use?

Visual Style

Style guide made by career jam partner Jasmine

User Flow

Early sketches into the flow of screens.

Sitemap

Site map mapping out the pages and subpages.

Testing and Refining

Refining with feedback from a designer at Amazon

We had the opportunity to meet with a designer from Amazon to get feedback on our current concept, which brought to light our most glaring issues.

Pages lacked clear distinction. It wasn't obvious what each screen was for or how they differed from one another.

The purpose behind badges was unclear. What motivates a student to collect them, and why should they care?

The split-screen layout used too much horizontal space for how sparse the content often was.

Students are incredibly social, look to include a social element.

Final Design

Introducing gamification

gave students a clear, motivating reason to explore (badges tied to progress, not just decoration)

Final Design

Redesigning the layout and user flow

moved to a single-column structure that made better use of space and clarified what each screen was for

Moved to a single-column structure that made better use of space and clarified what each screen was for.

Final Design

Creating a sense of community

we added a social layer, since high schoolers are inherently social and peer influence plays a big role in how they explore ideas and make decisions

We added a social layer, since high schoolers are inherently social and peer influence plays a big role in how they explore ideas and make decisions.

Reflection

Working within a tight timeline forced us to prioritize ruthlessly.

Every feature we considered had to earn its place by addressing either the Legitimacy Gap or the Invisibility Gap. That discipline kept Unseen focused rather than letting us chase every idea that seemed fun or trendy.

Instagram