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About

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About

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UINIVERSITY OF TORONTO

Helping New University Students in Toronto Make Real Friends & Feel at Home

Helping New University Students in Toronto Make Real Friends & Feel at Home

ROLE

UI Designer

UX Researcher

SKILLS

Experience Design
User Research

TIMELINE

Sept - Nov 2024

TEAM

Rishi Ashar (Me)
Harshita Verma ( UXD Student)
Landuo Wei ( UXD Student)
Elsie Dong ( UXD Student)

OVERVIEW

A University Project Focused on Building Belonging Through Design

This project was part of my master’s-level Fundamentals of UX course at the University of Toronto. Students were grouped based on chosen topics, which led to the formation of our four-member team focused on helping new and international students form meaningful connections. The goal was to design a digital platform that lets students find events, meet like-minded peers, and feel more included on campus.

PERSONAL WINS

UI Design & Mentored Team mates

Guided two teammates through Figma, helping them learn interface design and prototyping during the early design phase & Designed UI

Conducted User Testing

Designed and facilitated usability tests with students, translating their feedback into refined layouts and smoother interactions.

Improved Team Coordination

Resolved workflow and communication issues within the group, ensuring smooth collaboration and timely project delivery.

THE PROBLEM(S)

Students Are Lonelier Than Ever

Nearly 70% of university students report feeling isolated on campus, with many struggling to find spaces where social interaction happens naturally. The absence of a dedicated social platform leaves new and international students disconnected from their peers.

THE PROBLEM(S)

Students Are Lonelier Than Ever

Nearly 70% of university students report feeling isolated on campus, with many struggling to find spaces where social interaction happens naturally. The absence of a dedicated social platform leaves new and international students disconnected from their peers.

THE PROBLEM(S)

Students Are Lonelier Than Ever

Nearly 70% of university students report feeling isolated on campus, with many struggling to find spaces where social interaction happens naturally. The absence of a dedicated social platform leaves new and international students disconnected from their peers.

Cultural and Social Barriers Limit Interaction

Students from diverse backgrounds often hesitate to initiate conversations, unsure of shared interests or social norms. This barrier prevents potential friendships from turning into real connections.

Cultural and Social Barriers Limit Interaction

Students from diverse backgrounds often hesitate to initiate conversations, unsure of shared interests or social norms. This barrier prevents potential friendships from turning into real connections.

Cultural and Social Barriers Limit Interaction

Students from diverse backgrounds often hesitate to initiate conversations, unsure of shared interests or social norms. This barrier prevents potential friendships from turning into real connections.

My Secondary (Desk Research)

OUR APPROACH

5 Step design Process

The traditional Double Diamond gave us a structure for diverging and converging. We adapted it into a 5-step process that fit our course workflow and team maturity. We spent more time understanding students and testing early ideas, because connection-forming is a behavior problem, not just a UI problem.

OUR APPROACH

5 Step design Process

The traditional Double Diamond gave us a structure for diverging and converging. We adapted it into a 5-step process that fit our course workflow and team maturity. We spent more time understanding students and testing early ideas, because connection-forming is a behavior problem, not just a UI problem.

OUR APPROACH

5 Step design Process

The traditional Double Diamond gave us a structure for diverging and converging. We adapted it into a 5-step process that fit our course workflow and team maturity. We spent more time understanding students and testing early ideas, because connection-forming is a behavior problem, not just a UI problem.

DISCOVERY

Understanding How Students Try to Make Friends Today

As a team, we created a research plan focusing on three areas:

DISCOVERY

Understanding How Students Try to Make Friends Today

As a team, we created a research plan focusing on three areas:

DISCOVERY

Understanding How Students Try to Make Friends Today

As a team, we created a research plan focusing on three areas:

Major challenges students face when trying to make friends
What they look for when building new connections
How they use social media to socialize
How they use social media to socialize with Friends

I proposed starting with the struggle itself to understand why forming friendships is difficult in the first place. I also suggested exploring the role social media currently plays in helping students meet people, so we could identify where it falls short.

I proposed starting with the struggle itself to understand why forming friendships is difficult in the first place. I also suggested exploring the role social media currently plays in helping students meet people, so we could identify where it falls short.

I proposed starting with the struggle itself to understand why forming friendships is difficult in the first place. I also suggested exploring the role social media currently plays in helping students meet people, so we could identify where it falls short.

We Spoke to Students About Their Real Experiences

We conducted 10 semi-structured interviews with international students aged between 18 - 26 who had recently moved to Canada and were studying at universities in Toronto.

My Contribution

Conducted 2 interviews with first-year international students to understand their early social challenges.

Some quotes from Participant 1

“How do I make friends in class when everyone is in hurry to get to the subway to avoid rush hour”

“I am really comfortable with someone who has same interests like me”

Some quotes from Participant 2

“I cannot find any events other than the ones hosted by the university”

“I want to make meaningful connections not just small talk”

What We Learned from Talking to Students

7 out of 10 participants struggled to break the ice during face to face interactions

8 out of 10 participants made friends and meaningful connections through past events

8 out of 10 participants struggled to break the ice during face to face interactions

Connected What Students Said to What They Needed

After completing secondary research, user interviews, and platform analysis, we gathered every insight and observation on one board. Using affinity mapping, we grouped similar thoughts, quotes, and challenges to uncover the bigger picture. This helped us see how scattered experiences connected and revealed the key themes that guided our design direction.

Connected What Students Said to What They Needed

After completing secondary research, user interviews, and platform analysis, we gathered every insight and observation on one board. Using affinity mapping, we grouped similar thoughts, quotes, and challenges to uncover the bigger picture. This helped us see how scattered experiences connected and revealed the key themes that guided our design direction.

Connected What Students Said to What They Needed

After completing secondary research, user interviews, and platform analysis, we gathered every insight and observation on one board. Using affinity mapping, we grouped similar thoughts, quotes, and challenges to uncover the bigger picture. This helped us see how scattered experiences connected and revealed the key themes that guided our design direction.

Affinity Mapping

Three Truths That Shaped Our Design Direction

From the affinity mapping, three major insights emerged that shaped how we approached the design:

Three Truths That Shaped Our Design Direction

From the affinity mapping, three major insights emerged that shaped how we approached the design:

Three Truths That Shaped Our Design Direction

From the affinity mapping, three major insights emerged that shaped how we approached the design:

  1. Forming new friendships can feel overwhelming.

People relocating to new cities or joining UofT from outside Toronto often struggle to initiate conversations. This isn’t limited to introverts , even extroverts find it difficult in unfamiliar environments.

  1. Finding people with similar interests makes connection easier

Students feel more confident and open when they meet others who share their passions or academic interests. Shared interests act as an easy bridge to start conversations.

  1. Events play a crucial role in building new connections

Events create natural settings for interaction, helping students meet people in a relaxed environment where conversations happen more organically.

DEFINE

Who We Designed For , meet Emily!!

After identifying the key insights, we wanted to see the research through a real person’s story. We pictured what it feels like to arrive in a new city, surrounded by people but unsure how to start a conversation. That became Emily, a first-year international student who reflects what many go through at UofT. She’s curious, hopeful, and trying to find her place. Her goals and frustrations helped us design with empathy and stay focused on what students genuinely need.

DEFINE

Who We Designed For , meet Emily!!

After identifying the key insights, we wanted to see the research through a real person’s story. We pictured what it feels like to arrive in a new city, surrounded by people but unsure how to start a conversation. That became Emily, a first-year international student who reflects what many go through at UofT. She’s curious, hopeful, and trying to find her place. Her goals and frustrations helped us design with empathy and stay focused on what students genuinely need.

DEFINE

Who We Designed For , meet Emily!!

After identifying the key insights, we wanted to see the research through a real person’s story. We pictured what it feels like to arrive in a new city, surrounded by people but unsure how to start a conversation. That became Emily, a first-year international student who reflects what many go through at UofT. She’s curious, hopeful, and trying to find her place. Her goals and frustrations helped us design with empathy and stay focused on what students genuinely need.

Emily Chen

23 Year old 1st Year PhD Scholar
Goals

Make new friends and build meaningful connections.
Find structured ways to meet people instead of relying on small talk.
Explore social events and city hotspots to feel more connected

Barriers

Feels uncertain about initiating conversations due to a different cultural background.
Struggles to navigate scattered event listings
Notices other students already forming groups, making it harder to break in

What Emily’s Experience Revealed

We mapped Emily’s experience to understand how her feelings and challenges changed from the moment she arrived on campus to when she started feeling disconnected. Each stage showed what students like her go through while trying to find friends and settle into a new place.

What Emily’s Experience Revealed

We mapped Emily’s experience to understand how her feelings and challenges changed from the moment she arrived on campus to when she started feeling disconnected. Each stage showed what students like her go through while trying to find friends and settle into a new place.

What Emily’s Experience Revealed

We mapped Emily’s experience to understand how her feelings and challenges changed from the moment she arrived on campus to when she started feeling disconnected. Each stage showed what students like her go through while trying to find friends and settle into a new place.

The journey moved from excitement during orientation to frustration when connections did not come easily. It helped us see where design could support her better by reducing social anxiety, creating easier ways to meet people, and encouraging her to keep engaging with her community.

The journey moved from excitement during orientation to frustration when connections did not come easily. It helped us see where design could support her better by reducing social anxiety, creating easier ways to meet people, and encouraging her to keep engaging with her community.

The journey moved from excitement during orientation to frustration when connections did not come easily. It helped us see where design could support her better by reducing social anxiety, creating easier ways to meet people, and encouraging her to keep engaging with her community.

Framing the Challenge

After uncovering what students were struggling with, we framed the core problem our design aimed to solve.

Framing the Challenge

After uncovering what students were struggling with, we framed the core problem our design aimed to solve.

Framing the Challenge

After uncovering what students were struggling with, we framed the core problem our design aimed to solve.

How might we create a digital platform that empowers new university students to make new connections with like-minded people within the university?

How might we create a digital platform that empowers new university students to make new connections with like-minded people within the university?

DESIGN

Explored Ideas Through Crazy 8s

After defining the problem, we moved into ideation. Each team member took part in a Crazy 8s exercise to quickly sketch different ways students could discover events and connect with others. This rapid process helped us generate diverse ideas before deciding which ones to take forward into prototyping.

DESIGN

Explored Ideas Through Crazy 8s

After defining the problem, we moved into ideation. Each team member took part in a Crazy 8s exercise to quickly sketch different ways students could discover events and connect with others. This rapid process helped us generate diverse ideas before deciding which ones to take forward into prototyping.

DESIGN

Explored Ideas Through Crazy 8s

After defining the problem, we moved into ideation. Each team member took part in a Crazy 8s exercise to quickly sketch different ways students could discover events and connect with others. This rapid process helped us generate diverse ideas before deciding which ones to take forward into prototyping.

Prioritized Ideas Using a Feasibility–Impact Grid

After generating multiple ideas from the Crazy 8s session, we plotted them on a priority grid to evaluate each concept’s impact and feasibility. This helped us focus on ideas that balanced value for students with realistic implementation.

Prioritized Ideas Using a Feasibility–Impact Grid

After generating multiple ideas from the Crazy 8s session, we plotted them on a priority grid to evaluate each concept’s impact and feasibility. This helped us focus on ideas that balanced value for students with realistic implementation.

Prioritized Ideas Using a Feasibility–Impact Grid

After generating multiple ideas from the Crazy 8s session, we plotted them on a priority grid to evaluate each concept’s impact and feasibility. This helped us focus on ideas that balanced value for students with realistic implementation.

Features like Event discovery, user-created events, and community features emerged as high-priority directions to explore further, as they directly addressed students’ social needs while remaining practical to design and test.

Created Wireframes to Visualize the Experience

Once we finalized our ideas, we sketched low and mid-fidelity wireframes to see how the app would actually look and work. This helped us map out the main screens, test the flow, and fix any confusing parts before moving to detailed design.

Created Wireframes to Visualize the Experience

Once we finalized our ideas, we sketched low and mid-fidelity wireframes to see how the app would actually look and work. This helped us map out the main screens, test the flow, and fix any confusing parts before moving to detailed design.

Created Wireframes to Visualize the Experience

Once we finalized our ideas, we sketched low and mid-fidelity wireframes to see how the app would actually look and work. This helped us map out the main screens, test the flow, and fix any confusing parts before moving to detailed design.

I Planned User Testing to Validate the Ideas

After creating the wireframes, I wanted to see how real students would interact with them. I designed a user testing plan to observe how easily they could navigate the flow, whether the features felt helpful, and where they faced confusion while using the app.

I Planned User Testing to Validate the Ideas

After creating the wireframes, I wanted to see how real students would interact with them. I designed a user testing plan to observe how easily they could navigate the flow, whether the features felt helpful, and where they faced confusion while using the app.

I Planned User Testing to Validate the Ideas

After creating the wireframes, I wanted to see how real students would interact with them. I designed a user testing plan to observe how easily they could navigate the flow, whether the features felt helpful, and where they faced confusion while using the app.

Refined the Design Through User Feedback

Refined the Design Through User Feedback

Refined the Design Through User Feedback

One student pointed out that the “Contact Us” button was confusing, asking, “I am not sure who I will be contacting, is it the event organiser or you guys?” To fix this, I removed the extra button and kept only the main action, “Attend,” to make the flow clear and focused.

One participant asked, “But where can I specify photography?” This showed that users wanted more control over event details. To fix this, I added a “Choose Categories” field so they could label their events clearly and make them easier to find.

Two out of three students ignored the event categories and directly scrolled through all events. This showed that the section wasn’t drawing enough attention, so I made it more visually distinct to encourage interaction.

I also had an expert interaction during the testing phase. The expert highlighted that button labels should clearly describe the user’s next action. Based on this, I changed vague text like “Next” to “Go to your profile” to make navigation more intuitive.

DELIVER

We Designed a Moodboard to Define the Visual Direction

After finalizing our wireframes, we created a moodboard to establish the visual tone of the product. I led this phase by defining key vision words that captured the feel we wanted to evoke. Each teammate contributed images reflecting those themes, and together we refined them into a unified visual direction that guided our final UI design.

I Defined the Color Palette to Capture the Right Energy

I took the lead in developing the color palette for our design. I used a simple technique where I squinted at the moodboard to spot which colors stood out the most. That helped me identify yellow as the primary color on a dark background. This choice reflected the bright and energetic vibe of campus events while keeping the design clean and modern.

#FFC100

#FFC100

#272727

#272727

#0E0E0E

#0E0E0E

#FEFEFE

#FEFEFE

This palette represents
This palette represents
Happiness
Happiness
Warmth
Warmth
Confidence
Confidence
Belonging
Belonging

AaBbCcDd123!@#

Nunito Bold 24 Px

Nunito Semibold 20 Px

Nunito Medium 16 Px

Nunito Regular 14 Px

Nunito Regular 12 Px

Effortless Event Participation and Social Connection

Makes it easy to join events and connect with like-minded people.

  1. Detailed Event profiles- Provide detailed information, helping users decide which events to attend.

  2. Pre-Event Socializing- Users can see who else is attending, allowing them to interact and socialize even before the event.

  3. A streamlined signup process-  Eliminates the need to repeatedly enter the same information, ensuring a hassle-free experience.

Create Events

Makes it easy to create events by allowing users to:


  1. Find on-campus venues: Discover free locations, ensuring no extra cost and more opportunities to connect.

  2. Streamlined process: Enjoy an easy two-step event creation process. Invite friends: Quickly invite friends to join the event.

Communities

Simplifies joining communities by centralizing discussions from platforms like Reddit. Users can easily:


  1. Discover and join: Find communities that align with their interests. Attend events: Participate in community-hosted events.

  2. Engage and share: Share thoughts and interact with like-minded individuals.

Connect with like Minded People

Makes it easy to discover and connect with individuals who share your interests. You can:


Send Connection Requests: Reach out to people who match your vibe.

Chat and Get Acquainted: Start conversations to build deeper connections.

Invite Friends: Bring your friends along by inviting them to join events.