PROJECT 01
THE Mapt APP
OVERVIEW / 01
Mapt is a college planning app that aims to empower disadvantaged or undecided students to pursue a college education. Private college admissions advisors can cost upwards of $300 an hour, which is not feasible for the average American family. Mapt aims to provide cost-effective, high quality college advisement through educational modules, application trackers, and more.
PROBLEM / 02
As the first designer at Mapt, I had a lot of work to do! I sat down with the company's CEO to discuss pain points and goals for the app. We noticed a few core issues that were impeding Mapt's growth.
Weak Branding
Mapt was previously called "Undecided", which we agreed wasn't an accurate representation of Mapt's brand and mission.
No Onboarding
The app lacked an onboarding experience, which left users feeling lost.
Hidden Content
Mapt's main value is in its educational content, but these modules were unorganized and hard to find.
SOLUTION / 03
To address these problems, we began by focusing on setting a foundation for our brand. We created a brand charter and design system to guide our future design decisions. Along with the name change came a new logo, as well as a refined illustration style.
ONBOARDING
Starting with wireframes, I began to lay the foundation for Mapt's onboarding sequence. My goal was to present our value propositions to users in order to increase long term engagement. Below are the wireframes and first iteration, followed by the final version live in the app.
DISCOVERY
In order to organize educational content and make it easier for users to find, I created a new section of the app called the "Discovery" tab. Here, users can take crash courses on common college concerns and take assessments to get personalized recommendations for things like types of colleges, potential majors, and career paths.
TAKEAWAY
One of my biggest takeaways from working on this project is a strong sense of what it takes to work in a startup environment. Things like efficiency, communication, and dedication are of upmost importance. I learned what it's like to work on a professional team across multiple disciplines, and how to effectively design in this environment.
