Project type
MVP
sector
E-Learning
Social Media
Team
Product Owner
Developers
Tools
Figma
Adobe Illustrator
Adobe Photoshop
Time
8 Weeks
CLIENT
GLOBAL GATEWAY
Contribution
Product Developer
UX Designer
Brief
Design a user-friendly mobile-only app that helps Chinese students studying in the UK adjust to the cultural shock and adapt to their new home, fostering a sense of belonging and community.
My process
Explore my design thinking process in detail on my research-focused portfolio (link below).
top pain points
Chinese students often waste money at grocery stores because they are not familiar with English food and unintentionally buy things they don't like
Chinese students want to find ways to participate in all aspects of British culture but don't know how and also don't want to feel they are abandoning their own culture.
Chinese students want to find ways to participate in all aspects of British culture but don't know how and also don't want to feel they are abandoning their own culture.
Chinese students often waste money at grocery stores because they are not familiar with English food and unintentionally buy things they don't like
The majority of Chinese students struggle to speak English, making it hard to interactive with British locals and adjust to the new culture
top INSIGHTS
In the UK, Chinese students are driven by a dual purpose: they want to experience and adopt elements of the new culture while simultaneously ensuring that the process fully respects and preserves their own heritage.
In the UK, Chinese students are driven by a dual purpose: they want to experience and adopt elements of the new culture while simultaneously ensuring that the process fully respects and preserves their own heritage.
The lack of familiarity with local food culture and English product labeling leads to a high frequency of wasteful, low-satisfaction purchases. This creates a significant, recurring financial and emotional friction point that requires a solution for instant, contextual product education.
The lack of familiarity with local food culture and English product labeling leads to a high frequency of wasteful, low-satisfaction purchases. This creates a significant, recurring financial and emotional friction point that requires a solution for instant, contextual product education.
Language difficulty is less about academic competence and more about social confidence. The struggle to speak English hinders casual interaction with locals, creating a social isolation loop that actively prevents the cultural adjustments necessary for comfortable daily life.
Language difficulty is less about academic competence and more about social confidence. The struggle to speak English hinders casual interaction with locals, creating a social isolation loop that actively prevents the cultural adjustments necessary for comfortable daily life.
RESEARCH METHODS
ROUND 2: USER TESTING
PRIMARY RESEARCH
INSIGHTS
RESEARCH METHODS
ROUND 2: USER TESTING
PRIMARY RESEARCH
INSIGHTS
RESEARCH METHODS
ROUND 2: USER TESTING
PRIMARY RESEARCH
INSIGHTS
RESEARCH METHODS
ROUND 2: USER TESTING
PRIMARY RESEARCH
INSIGHTS
RESEARCH METHODS
ROUND 2: USER TESTING
PRIMARY RESEARCH
INSIGHTS
RESEARCH METHODS
ROUND 2: USER TESTING
PRIMARY RESEARCH
INSIGHTS
TOP Challenges
Cultural Sensitivity & Trust: The design must be culturally sensitive, building a safe environment that encourages users to connect with local strangers. A key challenge is establishing trust and ensuring user safety in social interactions.
Cultural Safekeeping: The biggest challenge is to find a way for Chinese students to embrace British culture while implementing their own.
Solutions
The app serves as a dedicated cultural and social support system. It directly addresses the pain points of isolation and a cultural differences by providing a secure platform for social connections, British recipes and local sustainable living tutorials for daily life in the UK. To ensure users are interacting with Brits seeking to support and embrace Chinese students' journey and culture, they can connect with British users seeking a language exchange.
Events Tab
Recipes Tab
User Profile
Sustainability Learning
THE RESULTS
THE RESULTS
Launch Performance: After a 3-month MVP period, the app has seen an average of 5,000 active users per week. The social matching feature has led to the creation of over 10,000 new connections.
Launch Performance: After a 3-month MVP period, the app has seen an average of 5,000 active users per week. The social matching feature has led to the creation of over 10,000 new connections.
User Engagement: The "Mastering UK Cuisine" video series had the highest engagement, with an average watch time of 7 minutes per session. The language exchange feature has shown a direct correlation with improved user confidence in speaking English, based on self-reported surveys.
User Engagement: The "Mastering UK Cuisine" video series had the highest engagement, with an average watch time of 7 minutes per session. The language exchange feature has shown a direct correlation with improved user confidence in speaking English, based on self-reported surveys.
CLIENT
GLOBAL GATEWAY
sector
E-Learning
Social Media
Project Type
MVP
Time
8 Weeks
Contribution
Product Developer
UX Designer
Team
Product Owner
Developers
Tools
Figma
Adobe Illustrator
Adobe Photoshop
GLOBAL GATEWAY
GLOBAL GATEWAY
GLOBAL GATEWAY
PROJECT TYPE
MVP
sector
E-Learning
Social Media
Team
Product Owner
Developers
Developers
tools
Figma
Adobe Illustrator
Adobe Photoshop
Time
8 Weeks
PORTRAIT
TOP PRIORITIES GRID
PERSONA
TOP PRIORITIES
USABILITY ISSUES
COMPETITIVE ANALYSIS
TRIANGULATION
TOP PRIORITIES GRID
PERSONA
TOP PRIORITIES
USABILITY ISSUES
COMPETITIVE ANALYSIS
TRIANGULATION
TOP PRIORITIES GRID
PERSONA
TOP PRIORITIES
USABILITY ISSUES
COMPETITIVE ANALYSIS
TRIANGULATION
▼
Real Recommendations
by real
people
Featuring
curators
from
around
the
world
▼
RESEARCH METHODS
ROUND 2: USER TESTING
PRIMARY RESEARCH
INSIGHTS
RESEARCH METHODS
ROUND 2: USER TESTING
PRIMARY RESEARCH
INSIGHTS
RESEARCH METHODS
ROUND 2: USER TESTING
PRIMARY RESEARCH
INSIGHTS
RESEARCH METHODS
ROUND 2: USER TESTING
PRIMARY RESEARCH
INSIGHTS
RESEARCH METHODS
ROUND 2: USER TESTING
PRIMARY RESEARCH
INSIGHTS
RESEARCH METHODS
ROUND 2: USER TESTING
PRIMARY RESEARCH
INSIGHTS
RESEARCH METHODS
ROUND 2: USER TESTING
PRIMARY RESEARCH
INSIGHTS
RESEARCH METHODS
ROUND 2: USER TESTING
PRIMARY RESEARCH
INSIGHTS
RESEARCH METHODS
ROUND 2: USER TESTING
PRIMARY RESEARCH
INSIGHTS
RESEARCH METHODS
ROUND 2: USER TESTING
PRIMARY RESEARCH
INSIGHTS
RESEARCH METHODS
ROUND 2: USER TESTING
PRIMARY RESEARCH
INSIGHTS
RESEARCH METHODS
ROUND 2: USER TESTING
PRIMARY RESEARCH
INSIGHTS
OLD IMAGERY VS CUSTOMER PREFERENCE IMAGERY
NEW SCS IMAGERY (CUSTOMER PREFERRED)
SCS BEFORE OUR HELP (PRICE-DRIVEN)
SCS AFTER OUR HELP (EMOTIONAL)
WIREFRAMES
INSIGHTS
USABIILITY TESTING
RESEARCH METHODS
PRIMARY RESEARCH ROUND 2
OLD IMAGERY VS CUSTOMER PREFERENCE IMAGERY
NEW SCS IMAGERY (CUSTOMER PREFERRED)
SCS BEFORE OUR HELP (PRICE-DRIVEN)
SCS AFTER OUR HELP (EMOTIONAL)
WIREFRAMES
INSIGHTS
USABIILITY TESTING
RESEARCH METHODS
PRIMARY RESEARCH ROUND 2
OLD IMAGERY VS CUSTOMER PREFERENCE IMAGERY
NEW SCS IMAGERY (CUSTOMER PREFERRED)
SCS BEFORE OUR HELP (PRICE-DRIVEN)
SCS AFTER OUR HELP (EMOTIONAL)
WIREFRAMES
INSIGHTS
USABIILITY TESTING
RESEARCH METHODS
PRIMARY RESEARCH ROUND 2
OLD SCS IMAGERY
NEW SCS IMAGERY
SCS BEFORE OUR HELP (PRICE-DRIVEN)
SCS AFTER OUR HELP (EMOTIONAL)
WIREFRAMES
INSIGHTS
USABIILITY TESTING
RESEARCH METHODS
PRIMARY RESEARCH ROUND 2
OLD SCS IMAGERY
NEW SCS IMAGERY
SCS BEFORE OUR HELP (PRICE-DRIVEN)
SCS AFTER OUR HELP (EMOTIONAL)
WIREFRAMES
INSIGHTS
USABIILITY TESTING
RESEARCH METHODS
PRIMARY RESEARCH ROUND 2
OLD SCS IMAGERY
NEW SCS IMAGERY
SCS BEFORE OUR HELP (PRICE-DRIVEN)
SCS AFTER OUR HELP (EMOTIONAL)
WIREFRAMES
INSIGHTS
USABIILITY TESTING
RESEARCH METHODS
PRIMARY RESEARCH ROUND 2
PRIMARY RESEARCH
AFFINITY MAP
IMMERSIVE EXPERIENCE CONCEPT
AEIOU, PERSONA & USER JOURNEY
KWLAQ
PERSONA & STORYBOARD
IDEATION
IDEATION
Caption text
PRIMARY RESEARCH
AFFINITY MAP
IMMERSIVE EXPERIENCE CONCEPT
AEIOU, PERSONA & USER JOURNEY
KWLAQ
PERSONA & STORYBOARD
IDEATION
IDEATION
Caption text
PRIMARY RESEARCH
AFFINITY MAP
IMMERSIVE EXPERIENCE CONCEPT
AEIOU, PERSONA & USER JOURNEY
KWLAQ
PERSONA & STORYBOARD
IDEATION
IDEATION
Caption text
PRIMARY RESEARCH
AFFINITY MAP
AEIOU, PERSONA & USER JOURNEY
KWLAQ
PERSONA & STORYBOARD
IDEATION
IDEATION
PRIMARY RESEARCH
AFFINITY MAP
AEIOU, PERSONA & USER JOURNEY
KWLAQ
PERSONA & STORYBOARD
IDEATION
IDEATION
PRIMARY RESEARCH
AFFINITY MAP
AEIOU, PERSONA & USER JOURNEY
KWLAQ
PERSONA & STORYBOARD
IDEATION
IDEATION
OLD BRANDING ACCESSIBILITY ISSUES
WIREFRAMES
MARKETING AFTER MY HELP REBRANDING
WCAG ACCESSIBILITY ISSUES
CARD SORTING
NEW BRANIDING
GRID SYSTEM & BREAKPOINTS
USABILITY TESTING
NEW BRANDING WCAG
OLD BRANDING ACCESSIBILITY ISSUES
WIREFRAMES
MARKETING AFTER MY HELP REBRANDING
WCAG ACCESSIBILITY ISSUES
CARD SORTING
NEW BRANIDING
GRID SYSTEM & BREAKPOINTS
USABILITY TESTING
NEW BRANDING WCAG
OLD BRANDING ACCESSIBILITY ISSUES
WIREFRAMES
MARKETING AFTER MY HELP REBRANDING
WCAG ACCESSIBILITY ISSUES
CARD SORTING
NEW BRANIDING
GRID SYSTEM & BREAKPOINTS
USABILITY TESTING
NEW BRANDING WCAG
OLD BRANDING ACCESSIBILITY ISSUES
WIREFRAMES
MARKETING AFTER MY HELP REBRANDING
WCAG ACCESSIBILITY ISSUES
CARD SORTING
NEW BRANIDING AFTER MY HELP
GRID SYSTEM & BREAKPOINTS
USABILITY TESTING
NEW BRANDING WCAG
OLD BRANDING ACCESSIBILITY ISSUES
WIREFRAMES
MARKETING AFTER MY HELP REBRANDING
WCAG ACCESSIBILITY ISSUES
CARD SORTING
NEW BRANIDING AFTER MY HELP
GRID SYSTEM & BREAKPOINTS
USABILITY TESTING
NEW BRANDING WCAG
OLD BRANDING ACCESSIBILITY ISSUES
WIREFRAMES
MARKETING AFTER MY HELP REBRANDING
WCAG ACCESSIBILITY ISSUES
CARD SORTING
NEW BRANIDING AFTER MY HELP
GRID SYSTEM & BREAKPOINTS
USABILITY TESTING
NEW BRANDING WCAG
The problem
TOP CHALLENGES
In the UK, Chinese students are driven by a dual purpose: they want to experience and adopt elements of the new culture while simultaneously ensuring that the process fully respects and preserves their own heritage.
Cultural Sensitivity & Trust: The design must be culturally sensitive, building a safe environment that encourages users to connect with local strangers. A key challenge is establishing trust and ensuring user safety in social interactions.
Cultural Sensitivity & Trust: The design must be culturally sensitive, building a safe environment that encourages users to connect with local strangers. A key challenge is establishing trust and ensuring user safety in social interactions.
Cultural Safekeeping: The biggest challenge is to find a way for Chinese students to embrace British culture while implementing their own.
Arising Challenges
SOLUTIONS
Cultural Sensitivity & Trust: The design must be culturally sensitive, building a safe environment that encourages users to connect with local strangers. A key challenge is establishing trust and ensuring user safety in social interactions.
The app serves as a dedicated cultural and social support system. It directly addresses the pain points of isolation and a cultural differences by providing a secure platform for social connections, British recipes and local sustainable living tutorials for daily life in the UK. To ensure users are interacting with Brits seeking to support and embrace Chinese students' journey and culture, they can connect with British users seeking a language exchange.
Cultural Sensitivity & Trust: The design must be culturally sensitive, building a safe environment that encourages users to connect with local strangers. A key challenge is establishing trust and ensuring user safety in social interactions.
GRID SYSTEM
THUMB ZONE
WCAG
COLOR PALETTE
GRID SYSTEM
THUMB ZONE
WCAG
COLOR PALETTE
GRID SYSTEM
THUMB ZONE
WCAG
COLOR PALETTE
GRID SYSTEM
THUMB ZONE
WCAG
COLOR PALETTE
GRID SYSTEM
THUMB ZONE
WCAG
COLOR PALETTE
GRID SYSTEM
THUMB ZONE
WCAG
COLOR PALETTE
GRID SYSTEM
THUMB ZONE
WCAG
COLOR PALETTE
GRID SYSTEM
THUMB ZONE
WCAG
COLOR PALETTE
GRID SYSTEM
THUMB ZONE
WCAG
COLOR PALETTE
GRID SYSTEM
THUMB ZONE
WCAG
COLOR PALETTE
GRID SYSTEM
THUMB ZONE
WCAG
COLOR PALETTE
GRID SYSTEM
THUMB ZONE
WCAG
COLOR PALETTE
The sOLUTION
THE RESULTS
In the UK, Chinese students are driven by a dual purpose: they want to experience and adopt elements of the new culture while simultaneously ensuring that the process fully respects and preserves their own heritage.
Launch Performance: After a 3-month MVP period, the app has seen an average of 5,000 active users per week. The social matching feature has led to the creation of over 10,000 new connections.
Cultural Sensitivity & Trust: The design must be culturally sensitive, building a safe environment that encourages users to connect with local strangers. A key challenge is establishing trust and ensuring user safety in social interactions.
User Engagement: The "Mastering UK Cuisine" video series had the highest engagement, with an average watch time of 7 minutes per session. The language exchange feature has shown a direct correlation with improved user confidence in speaking English, based on self-reported surveys.
AR ZONE USER TESTING
AR ZONE USER TESTING
AR ZONE TESTING
WIZARD OF OZ (USER TESTING)
T-STONE DEVICE
T-STONE DEVICE PARTS
AR ZONE USER TESTING
AR ZONE USER TESTING
AR ZONE TESTING
WIZARD OF OZ (USER TESTING)
T-STONE DEVICE
T-STONE DEVICE PARTS
AR ZONE USER TESTING
AR ZONE USER TESTING
AR ZONE TESTING
WIZARD OF OZ (USER TESTING)
T-STONE DEVICE
T-STONE DEVICE PARTS
T-STONE DEVICE
T-STONE DEVICE PARTS
GRYROSCOPIC EFFECT SPINNER
AR ZONE USER TESTING
AR ZONE USER TESTING
AR ZONE TESTING
WIZARD OF OZ (USER TESTING)
T-STONE DEVICE
T-STONE DEVICE PARTS
GRYROSCOPIC EFFECT SPINNER
AR ZONE USER TESTING
AR ZONE USER TESTING
AR ZONE TESTING
WIZARD OF OZ (USER TESTING)
T-STONE DEVICE
T-STONE DEVICE PARTS
GRYROSCOPIC EFFECT SPINNER
AR ZONE USER TESTING
AR ZONE USER TESTING
AR ZONE TESTING
WIZARD OF OZ (USER TESTING)
Events Tab
Recipes Tab
User Profile
Sustainability Learning
top Pain points
Chinese students often waste money at grocery stores because they are not familiar with English food and unintentionally buy things they don't like
Chinese students want to find ways to participate in all aspects of British culture but don't know how and also don't want to feel they are abandoning their own culture.
The majority of Chinese students struggle to speak English, making it hard to interactive with British locals and adjust to the new culture
top Insights
In the UK, Chinese students are driven by a dual purpose: they want to experience and adopt elements of the new culture while simultaneously ensuring that the process fully respects and preserves their own heritage.
In the UK, Chinese students are driven by a dual purpose: they want to experience and adopt elements of the new culture while simultaneously ensuring that the process fully respects and preserves their own heritage.
The lack of familiarity with local food culture and English product labeling leads to a high frequency of wasteful, low-satisfaction purchases. This creates a significant, recurring financial and emotional friction point that requires a solution for instant, contextual product education.
Language difficulty is less about academic competence and more about social confidence. The struggle to speak English hinders casual interaction with locals, creating a social isolation loop that actively prevents the cultural adjustments necessary for comfortable daily life.
CLIENT
GLOBAL GATEWAY
Contribution
Product Developer
UX Designer
Brief
Design a user-friendly mobile-only app that helps Chinese students studying in the UK adjust to the cultural shock and adapt to their new home, fostering a sense of belonging and community.
My process
Explore my design thinking process in detail on my research-focused portfolio (link below).
CLIENT
GLOBAL GATEWAY
Contribution
Product Developer
UX Designer
Brief
Design a user-friendly mobile-only app that helps Chinese students studying in the UK adjust to the cultural shock and adapt to their new home, fostering a sense of belonging and community.
My process
Explore my design thinking process in detail on my research-focused portfolio (link below).
RESEARCH METHODS
USER TESTING
INSIGHTS
ROUND 2: USER TESTING
USABILITY TESTING
RESEARCH METHODS
USER TESTING
INSIGHTS
ROUND 2: USER TESTING
USABILITY TESTING
RESEARCH METHODS
USER TESTING
INSIGHTS
ROUND 2: USER TESTING
USABILITY TESTING
PRIMARY RESEARCH
AFFINITY MAP
IMMERSIVE EXPERIENCE CONCEPT
PROCESSING PRIMARY RESEARCH
TARGET GROUP
PAIN POINTS
KWLAQ
PERSONA & STORYBOARD
IDEATION
IDEATION
IMMERSIVE EXPERIENCE
PRIMARY RESEARCH
AFFINITY MAP
IMMERSIVE EXPERIENCE CONCEPT
PROCESSING PRIMARY RESEARCH
TARGET GROUP
PAIN POINTS
KWLAQ
PERSONA & STORYBOARD
IDEATION
IDEATION
IMMERSIVE EXPERIENCE
PRIMARY RESEARCH
AFFINITY MAP
IMMERSIVE EXPERIENCE CONCEPT
PROCESSING PRIMARY RESEARCH
TARGET GROUP
PAIN POINTS
KWLAQ
PERSONA & STORYBOARD
IDEATION
IDEATION
IMMERSIVE EXPERIENCE
PRIMARY RESEARCH
AFFINITY MAP
AEIOU, PERSONA & USER JOURNEY
KWLAQ
PERSONA & STORYBOARD
IDEATION
IDEATION
PRIMARY RESEARCH
AFFINITY MAP
AEIOU, PERSONA & USER JOURNEY
KWLAQ
PERSONA & STORYBOARD
IDEATION
IDEATION
PRIMARY RESEARCH
AFFINITY MAP
AEIOU, PERSONA & USER JOURNEY
KWLAQ
PERSONA & STORYBOARD
IDEATION
IDEATION
OLD BRANDING ACCESSIBILITY ISSUES
WIREFRAMES
MARKETING AFTER MY HELP REBRANDING
WCAG ACCESSIBILITY ISSUES
CARD SORTING
NEW BRANIDING
GRID SYSTEM & BREAKPOINTS
USABILITY TESTING
NEW BRANDING WCAG
OLD BRANDING ACCESSIBILITY ISSUES
WIREFRAMES
MARKETING AFTER MY HELP REBRANDING
WCAG ACCESSIBILITY ISSUES
CARD SORTING
NEW BRANIDING
GRID SYSTEM & BREAKPOINTS
USABILITY TESTING
NEW BRANDING WCAG
OLD BRANDING ACCESSIBILITY ISSUES
WIREFRAMES
MARKETING AFTER MY HELP REBRANDING
WCAG ACCESSIBILITY ISSUES
CARD SORTING
NEW BRANIDING
GRID SYSTEM & BREAKPOINTS
USABILITY TESTING
NEW BRANDING WCAG
OLD IMAGERY VS CUSTOMER PREFERENCE IMAGERY
SCS BEFORE OUR HELP (PRICE-DRIVEN)
SCS AFTER OUR HELP (EMOTIONAL)
WIREFRAMES
REOCURRING THEMES
INSIGHTS
USABIILITY TESTING
RESEARCH METHODS
OLD IMAGERY VS CUSTOMER PREFERENCE IMAGERY
SCS BEFORE OUR HELP (PRICE-DRIVEN)
SCS AFTER OUR HELP (EMOTIONAL)
WIREFRAMES
REOCURRING THEMES
INSIGHTS
USABIILITY TESTING
RESEARCH METHODS
OLD IMAGERY VS CUSTOMER PREFERENCE IMAGERY
SCS BEFORE OUR HELP (PRICE-DRIVEN)
SCS AFTER OUR HELP (EMOTIONAL)
WIREFRAMES
REOCURRING THEMES
INSIGHTS
USABIILITY TESTING
RESEARCH METHODS
INSIGHTS
USABIILITY TESTING
RESEARCH METHODS
PRIMARY RESEARCH ROUND 2
INSIGHTS
USABIILITY TESTING
RESEARCH METHODS
PRIMARY RESEARCH ROUND 2
INSIGHTS
USABIILITY TESTING
RESEARCH METHODS
PRIMARY RESEARCH ROUND 2
INSIGHTS
USABIILITY TESTING
RESEARCH METHODS
PRIMARY RESEARCH ROUND 2
INSIGHTS
USABIILITY TESTING
RESEARCH METHODS
PRIMARY RESEARCH ROUND 2
INSIGHTS
USABIILITY TESTING
RESEARCH METHODS
PRIMARY RESEARCH ROUND 2
RESEARCH METHODS
ROUND 2: USER TESTING
PRIMARY RESEARCH
INSIGHTS
RESEARCH METHODS
ROUND 2: USER TESTING
PRIMARY RESEARCH
INSIGHTS
RESEARCH METHODS
ROUND 2: USER TESTING
PRIMARY RESEARCH
INSIGHTS
RESEARCH METHODS
ROUND 2: USER TESTING
PRIMARY RESEARCH
INSIGHTS
RESEARCH METHODS
ROUND 2: USER TESTING
PRIMARY RESEARCH
INSIGHTS
RESEARCH METHODS
ROUND 2: USER TESTING
PRIMARY RESEARCH
INSIGHTS
RESEARCH METHODS
ROUND 2: USER TESTING
PRIMARY RESEARCH
INSIGHTS
RESEARCH METHODS
ROUND 2: USER TESTING
PRIMARY RESEARCH
INSIGHTS
RESEARCH METHODS
ROUND 2: USER TESTING
PRIMARY RESEARCH
INSIGHTS
RESEARCH METHODS
ROUND 2: USER TESTING
PRIMARY RESEARCH
INSIGHTS
RESEARCH METHODS
ROUND 2: USER TESTING
PRIMARY RESEARCH
INSIGHTS
RESEARCH METHODS
ROUND 2: USER TESTING
PRIMARY RESEARCH
INSIGHTS
GRID SYSTEM
Thumb Zone
WCAG
COLOR PALETTE
GRID SYSTEM
Thumb Zone
WCAG
COLOR PALETTE
GRID SYSTEM
Thumb Zone
WCAG
COLOR PALETTE
GRID SYSTEM
Thumb Zone
WCAG
COLOR PALETTE
GRID SYSTEM
Thumb Zone
WCAG
COLOR PALETTE
GRID SYSTEM
Thumb Zone
WCAG
COLOR PALETTE
GRID SYSTEM
THUMB ZONE
WCAG
COLOR PALETTE
GRID SYSTEM
THUMB ZONE
WCAG
COLOR PALETTE
GRID SYSTEM
THUMB ZONE
WCAG
COLOR PALETTE
GRID SYSTEM
THUMB ZONE
WCAG
COLOR PALETTE
GRID SYSTEM
THUMB ZONE
WCAG
COLOR PALETTE
GRID SYSTEM
THUMB ZONE
WCAG
COLOR PALETTE
OLD IMAGERY VS CUSTOMER PREFERENCE IMAGERY
SCS BEFORE OUR HELP (PRICE-DRIVEN)
SCS AFTER OUR HELP (EMOTIONAL)
WIREFRAMES
REOCURRING THEMES
INSIGHTS
USABIILITY TESTING
RESEARCH METHODS
OLD IMAGERY VS CUSTOMER PREFERENCE IMAGERY
SCS BEFORE OUR HELP (PRICE-DRIVEN)
SCS AFTER OUR HELP (EMOTIONAL)
WIREFRAMES
REOCURRING THEMES
INSIGHTS
USABIILITY TESTING
RESEARCH METHODS
OLD IMAGERY VS CUSTOMER PREFERENCE IMAGERY
SCS BEFORE OUR HELP (PRICE-DRIVEN)
SCS AFTER OUR HELP (EMOTIONAL)
WIREFRAMES
REOCURRING THEMES
INSIGHTS
USABIILITY TESTING
RESEARCH METHODS
top insights
In the UK, Chinese students are driven by a dual purpose: they want to experience and adopt elements of the new culture while simultaneously ensuring that the process fully respects and preserves their own heritage.
The lack of familiarity with local food culture and English product labeling leads to a high frequency of wasteful, low-satisfaction purchases. This creates a significant, recurring financial and emotional friction point that requires a solution for instant, contextual product education.
Language difficulty is less about academic competence and more about social confidence. The struggle to speak English hinders casual interaction with locals, creating a social isolation loop that actively prevents the cultural adjustments necessary for comfortable daily life.
Language difficulty is less about academic competence and more about social confidence. The struggle to speak English hinders casual interaction with locals, creating a social isolation loop that actively prevents the cultural adjustments necessary for comfortable daily life.
TOP CHALLENGES
Cultural Sensitivity & Trust: The design must be culturally sensitive, building a safe environment that encourages users to connect with local strangers. A key challenge is establishing trust and ensuring user safety in social interactions.
Cultural Safekeeping: The biggest challenge is to find a way for Chinese students to embrace British culture while implementing their own.
Language difficulty is less about academic competence and more about social confidence. The struggle to speak English hinders casual interaction with locals, creating a social isolation loop that actively prevents the cultural adjustments necessary for comfortable daily life.
SOLUTIONS
The app serves as a dedicated cultural and social support system. It directly addresses the pain points of isolation and a cultural differences by providing a secure platform for social connections, British recipes and local sustainable living tutorials for daily life in the UK. To ensure users are interacting with Brits seeking to support and embrace Chinese students' journey and culture, they can connect with British users seeking a language exchange.
results
Launch Performance: After a 3-month MVP period, the app has seen an average of 5,000 active users per week. The social matching feature has led to the creation of over 10,000 new connections.
User Engagement: The "Mastering UK Cuisine" video series had the highest engagement, with an average watch time of 7 minutes per session. The language exchange feature has shown a direct correlation with improved user confidence in speaking English, based on self-reported surveys.
Events Tab
User Profile
Recipes Tab
Sustainability Learning
AR ZONE USER TESTING
AR ZONE USER TESTING
AR ZONE TESTING
WIZARD OF OZ (USER TESTING)
T-STONE DEVICE
T-STONE DEVICE PARTS
T-STONES
AR ZONE USER TESTING
AR ZONE USER TESTING
AR ZONE TESTING
WIZARD OF OZ (USER TESTING)
T-STONE DEVICE
T-STONE DEVICE PARTS
T-STONES
AR ZONE USER TESTING
AR ZONE USER TESTING
AR ZONE TESTING
WIZARD OF OZ (USER TESTING)
T-STONE DEVICE
T-STONE DEVICE PARTS
T-STONES
T-STONE DEVICE
T-STONE DEVICE PARTS
GYROSCOPIC EFFECT SPINNER
AR ZONE USER TESTING
AR ZONE USER TESTING
AR ZONE TESTING
WIZARD OF OZ (USER TESTING)
T-STONE DEVICE
T-STONE DEVICE PARTS
GYROSCOPIC EFFECT SPINNER
AR ZONE USER TESTING
AR ZONE USER TESTING
AR ZONE TESTING
WIZARD OF OZ (USER TESTING)
T-STONE DEVICE
T-STONE DEVICE PARTS
GYROSCOPIC EFFECT SPINNER
AR ZONE USER TESTING
AR ZONE USER TESTING
AR ZONE TESTING
WIZARD OF OZ (USER TESTING)
tHE bRIEF
Design a user-friendly mobile-only app that helps Chinese students studying in the UK adjust to the cultural shock and adapt to their new home, fostering a sense of belonging and community.
My process
Explore my design thinking process in detail on my research-focused portfolio (link below).
My process
Explore my design thinking process in detail on my research-focused portfolio (link below).
top pain points
Chinese students often waste money at grocery stores because they are not familiar with English food and unintentionally buy things they don't like
Chinese students want to find ways to participate in all aspects of British culture but don't know how and also don't want to feel they are abandoning their own culture.
The majority of Chinese students struggle to speak English, making it hard to interactive with British locals and adjust to the new culture