StormBrain is a platform that allows researchers and industry partners to easily find each other. It solves the problem of spending countless hours searching for suitable candidates to collaborate with. My role was to research, design, and test the full UX and UI activities related to the project. I collaborated with two UX Designers to design this product.
Client
StormBrain
Duration
3 Weeks
PLATFORMS
Web Application (Desktop, Mobile)
Team Members
UX Designers: Joseph Lee (me), McKenzie Eggers, Ying Deng
Responsibilities
Verify the business idea and create a platform for researchers and industry partners to easily find each other and collaborate.
DESIGN TOOLS & METHODS USED
User Interviews, Customer Journey Map, Competitive & Comparative Analysis, Affinity Diagram, User Personas, Scenario, User Flow, Information Architecture, Feature Prioritization, Design Studio, User Testing, A/B Testing, Mood Board, Logo Design, Paper & Digital Wireframes (Sketch), Clickable Prototype (InVision)
Design Process Highlights
User Interviews
We interviewed potential users who have already signed up for StormBrain as well as our personal networks that are working in the research-related field. As it was crucial to identify our user’s motives to validate our client’s business, we interviewed a total of 12 users in three days. We asked questions such as how they found their collaborators, their biggest obstacles in finding collaborators, and their criteria for choosing a collaborator.
Competitive Analysis
As our client’s idea of StormBrain was to provide a matchmaking service, we analyzed how platforms gather and suggest matches. We found that there weren’t many competitors in the market that was targeting researchers and industry partners. However, there was a well-established provider in the market called ResarchGate. Our team carefully analyzed the platform to differentiate StormBrain by providing a solution that ResearchGate was lacking.
User Testing
We tested our prototypes early on and throughout every stage of the design. It helped us to refine the information architecture that was easy to navigate despite the large scope of the project. We followed up with our interview participants to test and received feedbacks. It helped us to strengthen our iteration process as researchers had a specific pattern of behaviours when seeking for information.
