Research
Understanding the problem
International students studying master’s degree at Monash University often get stressed when they have to recruit participants for their unit’s research projects because they have small connections.
What did they say?
To listen to users' pain points, I conducted user interview on 5 participants. Here are what they said:
“I think I could ask them to share my survey as well to their friends, in case they have another friend.”
Participant 2
International student
“it's very stressful”
Participant 1
International student
“..But here, because I don't have a big circle of people around me”
Participant 5
International student
“when your circle friend is not that much, it's so hard to find other person”
Participant 3
International student
Meet Nadine!
From the user interview, I created a detailed user persona to represent the users.
“It's so hard to find someone, especially with the small circle of friend that I have”
Nadine
25
International student studying Master of DesignMonash University
About
Nadine is an Indonesian student pursuing Master of Design at Monash University. She studied environmental engineering in her previous degree.
She is very busy with her assignments, specifically her UX research projects. She is passionate about talking to her target participants.
During her free times, she likes to hangout with her close friends to eat outside.
Behaviours
She puts a full effort to do her research project.
She loves talking to people who are interested in her research project.
She prefers face-to-face interview.
She values her friendship.
Attitude
Detail oriented
Motivated
Anxious
Perfectionist
Pain points
Doesn’t have much experience in interviewing participants.
Recruiting participants from social media is frustrating
Small circle of friends in Melbourne.
Has to rely so much on her friends in recruiting participants.
Goals
Has a trusted platform to post find recruitment participants.
Talks to participants who genuinely interested in her research.
Feels less stress when recruiting participants.
Hangs out with friends on the weekend.
The 3 keywords of ResearchConnect
ResearchConnect was created for Nadine and her friends with 3 keywords:
Reliable
Being the platform students rely on to recruit participants for their research projects.
Friendly
Extending students’ networks to connect with peers who can support their research projects.
Fun
Encourages curiosity and enjoyment in learning and participation throughout the journey of research projects.
Development
Sketch and low-fidelity wireframe
With the 3 keywords in mind, I started to sketch and create low-fidelity wireframing
Sketch and low-fidelity wireframe
Mid-fidelity wireframes
UI design
Neobrutalism
After a thoughtful visual research process, Neobrutalism was chosen to represent ResearchConnect as a fun platform for students. However, to balance fun with trustworthiness, the application of Neobrutalism is limited to a minimal style.
Selection of colours
The primary colour was inspired by Monash’s signature blue, but instead of strictly following the formal palette, I chose a more ‘funky’ shade to highlight the neobrutalist concept. I also introduced ten colour codes representing different Monash faculties. This colour system helps users — especially participants — easily sort through thousands of research projects based on their interests.
Illustration
To complement the friendly and fun concept, I created illustrations in Procreate that can be used as project headers, so users won’t feel confused about choosing the right image. The illustrations are also used to grab users’ attention for certain instructions.
Components
Testing
Early stage user testing
This user testing helped me refine the final flow for research participants.
High-fidelity user testing
This user testing helped me notice small details about how users wanted to interact with specific elements.
Early stage user testing
High-fidelity user testing
Final product
ResearchConnect accommodates two main types of users: researchers and participants. Therefore, it provides three key features designed to support both groups:
Recruit participants
This is the main feature where users can find their target participants by posting their projects to all Monash students.
Smart search
AI personalises research recommendations for participants by using their consented information and preferred topics.
Reward for participants
Participants earn one point for each completed interview, which can later be redeemed for rewards after collecting a certain number of points.