The concept for the app appeared as a result of the vast number of posters I have encountered on the walls of the university. Students were looking for people from different art fields to collaborate with. There was a visible demand for a space that would bring all of these students together and grant them a possibility to connect and cooperate. This is where the idea of Kingston University London students exclusive collaboration app was born.

1. Pre-production (competitors analysis, secondary research, looking for inspiration, creating mood board, user personas, user journeys, logo & name brainstorming, wireframes, diagrams).

2. Production (logo and color palette, hi-fi wireframes and designs, prototype)

3. Distribution (promotional video, presentation, website)

Competitor Analysis: I only found one app on the market that served a similar purpose. The primary contrast between it and my project is the focus on the local society of Kingston University students rather than the global market. This application lacked proper segregation of projects based on their creative area, which resulted in an overwhelming amount of information not adjusted to the user's expectations.

Interviews: Conversations with students as well as tutors of Kingston University confirmed that there is lack of an app that could connect students from different fields. The defined main goals they would like to receive from such an app: - being a part of the community, - staying inspired and motivated, - working on portfolio, -meeting new people, - having easy access to it wherever they are.

User stories: I have created user stories of university students with different needs to better understand their expectations.

Core features:

• projects focused - the young generation has experienced too many applications in which popular users are placed on the pedestal and less popular ones are blurred in comparison with others. This does not affect well involvement of users, which is the key success factor of Kollab Space app. To make sure that everyone, regardless of their level of experience, can be fully engaged, the emphasis of the app sits on the projects and not individuals. For a better navigation, projects are divided within nine art fields.

• contribution measurement data - data stored in the application would be displayed on the user profile, showing the importance and impact the student’s activities can have on the various art departments and thus highlighting the value of the app.

• areas of expertise divided - students will be able to create an account using their Kingston University credentials. During pre- registration, they will be asked to choose up to three areas of specialization, created largely based on the faculties offered by the university.

• chat - when students come across a project in which they would like to get involved, they must contact the creator of the project via message. Establishing the first form of contact as a direct message was the best solution because it will allow all students at different skill levels to demonstrate themselves and express their willingness to get involved in the project, giving them all equal opportunities.

Sitemap: Diagram showing customer journey from launching the app through to all possible actions was made using Diagrams.net website. In the final design, several modifications were made, which proved to be a better solution for a smoother flow and more user friendly experience.

Low fidelity wireframes: Wirefreame's came up in two versions, which mainly differed in navigation elements. One of them proposed an application with popular navigation in the footer. The second one, was based on navigation in a hamburger bar and it was chosen by students focused group to be the most functional and tailored to the user’s behavior. This form of navigation has been gaining popularity recently as it is most suitable for responsive designs.

Mood board: The visible mood board represents the vibe and feel I was trying to achieve with Kollab Space app.

Font: Font used in the app was extracted from Kingston University London logo.

Colour palette: I decided to focus on orange because according to research it is considered to represent creativity and joy and can create physical effects such as increased socialization and boost in aspiration. In combination with black and white it creates a bold and modern message.

Logo: The final name of application resulted from combining the name Kingston University and the word “collaboration”. The most characteristic feature of the logo is the placement of two “l’s” in the word kollab, their placement represents two people who have an object between them that they can work together on.

Click here to read my evaluation based on this project.

Challenges: It was my first real UX project, so the biggest challenge was to research and learn everything from scratch. My main source of knowledge and inspiration was the Experience Design book written by Nathan Schedroff that I highly recommend every ux designer to read. The aspect of design specifics was also keeping me awake at night as I knew that this app was tailored to art students who have a really good knowledge of design so I wanted to make sure that my design is simple enough but also not boring at the same time.

What can be improved? I have interviewed mainly people I already knew, although they were students from various fields, I should have consulted someone who does not know me personally in order to gather real feedback. With knowledge and practice I have now I would also create better working interactive prototypes.

What’s next? I am planning to submit this project to the Kingston Bright Ideas Competition - an annual competition designed to give Kingston University students the opportunity to develop an idea, have it evaluated and win a prize of up to £1,000.