Beyond
Bridging career gaps with empathy
A holistic career and education app for underrepresented individuals. Won the honorable mention out of 87 participants at the CreateSC Designathon 2024.
Team
3x UX Designers
Background
Catalyst is a 2-day digital designathon hosted by Boston University.
The Prompt from catalyst
"Through digital tools, how can we aim to make experiences and services more accessible to others?"
"Accessibility can take many shapes and forms: at its core, it's the practice of making information, activities, and/or environments more meaningful and usable for as many people as possible. As the world continues to expand in digital innovations that make experiences more accessible for wider audiences, we should consider how we can use digital tools to share experiences with those around us."
The Problem
Many underrepresented individuals struggle to access user-friendly tools that connect them to valuable career and educational opportunities.
With an overwhelming amount of information available online, they often face difficulties finding resources tailored to their needs. Without guidance or a centralized platform, they may feel lost and unable to unlock their full potential in pursuing long-term success.
The Solution
Beyond, a social platform for education and careers that is inclusive, connects users by interests and skills, and welcomes all ages and backgrounds.
Video demo
The Process
Brainstorming
We brainstormed ideas for the three different prompts we were provided. After reflecting on our own tumultuous journeys to find a career path that was right for us, we decided on an education/career app geared towards people still finding their way.
Market Research
How would this app be different than the many competitors out there? We reviewed eleven apps in similar spaces. We wanted to build an app combining the best parts of career, education, community, and event apps.
Career Apps
Education Apps
Community/Event Apps
Market research takeaway
While these apps excel in their niches, there's a gap in providing a unified platform that offers personalized, holistic support for underrepresented individuals by combining networking, learning, and event discovery tailored to their unique backgrounds and needs.
Survey
To learn more about our users' specific needs, we sent out a survey with 7 demographic questions, 9 multiple-choice questions, and 1 free response.
We gathered 128 responses from students.
User Personas
After looking at the survey demographics and insights, we decided to cater the app towards 4 main groups of users.
Final Frames
