StudyCrew
Student community to stay motivated & engaged
ROLE
UX Designer
EXPERTISE
UX/UI Design
YEAR
2024
Overview
StudyCrew is a community-driven platform designed to boost motivation and engagement in IT-related studies. The platform allows students to connect, collaborate, and track their study progress in an interactive and supportive environment.
To enhance learning consistency, StudyCrew incorporates virtual study rooms, customizable avatars, and gamification elements that encourage students to stay engaged. The goal is to create a space where students support each other, track progress effortlessly, and build long-term study habits.
To create an immersive experience, I designed custom top-down pixel art that represents the virtual study room environment with a game-like feel, making the interface visually engaging and aligned with the interactive study concept.
Discovery & Research
To build StudyCrew as a motivational and engaging platform for students in IT-related fields, I conducted user interviews, surveys, and desk research to gather both qualitative and quantitative data. This phase helped uncover key pain points, user needs, and opportunities for improvement..
User Insights
Through research, I identified that many students struggle with staying motivated, finding structured study communities, and overcoming language barriers in online learning platforms.
Based on the findings, we decided to focus on these key points:
Self-Motivation
Many students lose motivation when studying alone and seek external encouragement to stay consistent.
Social Engagement
Existing platforms like LinkedIn feel too professional or distracting for study-focused discussions.
Safe Learning Environment
Students hesitate to ask questions due to fear of judgment or negative interactions.
Defining the MVP
Based on these insights, the initial MVP focuses on three core pillars to create an engaging and supportive study community:
1. Self-Motivation Mechanisms
Encourage consistent engagement with lightweight motivation tools.
Study Streaks – Track progress and maintain momentum with streak-based motivation.
Minimal gamification – Instead of complex reward systems, users can earn simple badges or recognition highlights for consistent engagement.
2. Social Media-Like Engagement
A familiar, intuitive space designed for IT students to interact and share.
Post & Share Feature – Users can share study updates, achievements, and insights, similar to social media platforms.
Simple comment & discussion threads – Keep interactions focused on study topics.
3. Safe & Accountable Learning Environment
A secure space where students feel comfortable sharing and learning.
Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA) – Ensures a secure community by verifying user identities while maintaining privacy.
Supportive Interaction System – Encourages positive engagement by rewarding users for helpful and respectful contributions.
By integrating these measures, StudyCrew creates a safe space where students can confidently engage, ask questions, and support each other without fear of negativity.
This streamlined MVP ensures a safe, interactive, and motivating environment while keeping the development scope manageable.
Ideation
To define the best structure for StudyCrew, I explored 5-6 different design patterns, focusing on key flows such as the home feed, question flow, profile, and sign-up process. Rather than conducting user testing at this stage, I evaluated each pattern by considering technology limitations, user needs, and business goals.
I created low-fidelity wireframes to to analyze different solutions:
Home Feed Variations – Compared list and card-based layouts to determine the most effective way to present user-generated content.
Question Posting Flow – Explored different approaches to ensure a seamless and engaging way for users to ask questions.
Profile – Examined multiple layouts to effectively showcase user contributions and activity.
Sign Up – Simplified the authentication process while incorporating Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA) for security.
By assessing each pattern against technical feasibility, usability, and business requirements, I selected the most scalable and intuitive structure for the MVP. This approach ensured that StudyCrew could provide a smooth user experience while keeping development efficient and focused.
Solution
The MVP integrates engaging and interactive features to enhance motivation, build community, and ensure a safe learning environment. These design solutions reflect the core principles of StudyCrew, making studying more interactive and enjoyable.
Highlight Features:
Post & Share Feature
Virtual room
Profile
Study Streaks
UI Components
Building a scalable UI system with Atomic Design, I structured the components into Atoms, Molecules, and Organisms—starting with foundational elements like icons and buttons, combining them into reusable components such as cards and filters, and finally assembling them into complex UI structures like modals and content sections for a seamless and consistent user experience.
Key benefits of using the atomic approach to create components:
Scalability – Easily expand and adapt components as the product grows.
Consistency – Maintain a unified design system with structured UI elements.
Efficiency – Speed up development by reusing pre-built components.
Thank You for Reading!
I appreciate you taking the time to explore this case study. Whether you’re an interviewer, a fellow designer, or someone looking for inspiration, I hope this provided valuable insights into my design process and approach.
If you’d like to connect, discuss design, or collaborate, feel free to reach out on LinkedIn. I’d love to chat!