Arkaive
As a Product Designer and Usability Analyst at the tech startup, Arkaive Inc., from January 2016 to present, I worked on a wide number of tasks related to redesigning the Arkaive website and web application, as well as brainstorming features and ideas for the future. Arkaive is an attendance management tool for college professors, that allows them to take attendance by having their students check in on their smartphones using a geolocation-based app. This page will feature a variety of projects that I worked on during my time at Arkaive Inc.
Featured Skills: Research, Design
NOTE: Much of the work on this site and web application are confidential, so I am unable to share some details and work samples.
Featured Skills: Research, Design
NOTE: Much of the work on this site and web application are confidential, so I am unable to share some details and work samples.
Research
Usability Reviews
The first thing that I did when I joined the Arkaive team was conduct usability reviews of both the website and the web application. With a fresh eye, having never used or looked in depth at the site before, I was able to really get in the mindset of the user. I went through every page of the site and pinpointed things that were unintuitive and potentially confusing for users. Many of the changes I suggested were agreed upon by the team and quickly implemented.
For example, one of the biggest downsides of the web application was that it had no real home page. After logging on, the user was immediately taken to one of the deeper navigation pages, potentially leaving them disoriented. Clicking on the logo, which usually redirects to the home page of a site, redirected them to this page as well. After pointing this out in my usability reviews, we immediately began thinking of a way to fix the problem. We are now working on implementing a new homepage for the application, that will act as a dashboard, tying together the important information from many other pages and giving the users the most important information right when they log in.
The first thing that I did when I joined the Arkaive team was conduct usability reviews of both the website and the web application. With a fresh eye, having never used or looked in depth at the site before, I was able to really get in the mindset of the user. I went through every page of the site and pinpointed things that were unintuitive and potentially confusing for users. Many of the changes I suggested were agreed upon by the team and quickly implemented.
For example, one of the biggest downsides of the web application was that it had no real home page. After logging on, the user was immediately taken to one of the deeper navigation pages, potentially leaving them disoriented. Clicking on the logo, which usually redirects to the home page of a site, redirected them to this page as well. After pointing this out in my usability reviews, we immediately began thinking of a way to fix the problem. We are now working on implementing a new homepage for the application, that will act as a dashboard, tying together the important information from many other pages and giving the users the most important information right when they log in.
- Usability Review Sample (Only the first page, due to confidentiality)
Design
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Main Site Landing Page
In my usability reviews, another thing that I noticed was that based on the main landing page of the site, it was really hard to figure out what Arkaive actually did. The information on the application was unclear, scattered, and did not do much to motivate a potential new user to sign up. To fix this problem, I began working on a new landing page for the main site that was more clear, modern, and exciting. I gathered inspiration from websites for a variety of web applications and determined what worked and didn't work. Our team talked through the ideas and came up with a sketch of what we wanted to include. We then began to iterate through many design mockups, which I created on Sketch, consistently stepping back and reevaluating our design choices. We are still in the process of finalizing the design for implementation, but the current mockup is to the right! |
Current design mockup for the new main site landing page.
Final design is still in progress. |
Academic Calendar & GPA Calculator
When I joined the Arkaive team, one of the strong focuses was making the application more useful for students, as previously the app had been aimed towards teachers, and students were just forced to use it by their teachers. We wanted to ensure that student experiences on Arkaive were just as positive as teachers', so that even after their teachers stopped requiring them to use it, students would want to continue. One feature of Arkaive that worked towards this goal and I played an integral part in, was the design of an academic calendar and GPA calculator for students to use, with pre-loaded school schedules and deadlines.
The first thing that I did was a competitive analysis. I looked through many examples of both desktop and mobile versions of calendar features and GPA calculators on other sites and pinpointed what worked and didn't work. Through this, I gained inspiration and was ready to start working on a design. I sketched out versions of the features, keeping in mind some informal personas that I had created encompassing the many different types of students that may want to use them. For example, a student who is very punctual and organized may want room for notes about each event so that the calendar can contain all of the details about an event in one place, or a goal-setting feature in the GPA calculator to plan out exactly what grades they need in order to reach their goal. On the other hand, a student who is more busy and forgetful may want an event reminder feature or a great mobile interface for on-the-go use. Once I was happy with the sketches of my design, I presented them to the team.
After some changes based on team feedback, I moved forward with mocking up the features using Photoshop. I started with low-fi, greyscale mockups, and then iterated through, adding details and colors. In the end, I presented the team with a full set of mockups for both desktop and mobile. The developers are now working on implementing the designs and pushing them to the main site. Once this is done, I hope to follow up with research (potentially surveys or focus testing) to evaluate how the designs are working and start thinking about future iterations..
When I joined the Arkaive team, one of the strong focuses was making the application more useful for students, as previously the app had been aimed towards teachers, and students were just forced to use it by their teachers. We wanted to ensure that student experiences on Arkaive were just as positive as teachers', so that even after their teachers stopped requiring them to use it, students would want to continue. One feature of Arkaive that worked towards this goal and I played an integral part in, was the design of an academic calendar and GPA calculator for students to use, with pre-loaded school schedules and deadlines.
The first thing that I did was a competitive analysis. I looked through many examples of both desktop and mobile versions of calendar features and GPA calculators on other sites and pinpointed what worked and didn't work. Through this, I gained inspiration and was ready to start working on a design. I sketched out versions of the features, keeping in mind some informal personas that I had created encompassing the many different types of students that may want to use them. For example, a student who is very punctual and organized may want room for notes about each event so that the calendar can contain all of the details about an event in one place, or a goal-setting feature in the GPA calculator to plan out exactly what grades they need in order to reach their goal. On the other hand, a student who is more busy and forgetful may want an event reminder feature or a great mobile interface for on-the-go use. Once I was happy with the sketches of my design, I presented them to the team.
After some changes based on team feedback, I moved forward with mocking up the features using Photoshop. I started with low-fi, greyscale mockups, and then iterated through, adding details and colors. In the end, I presented the team with a full set of mockups for both desktop and mobile. The developers are now working on implementing the designs and pushing them to the main site. Once this is done, I hope to follow up with research (potentially surveys or focus testing) to evaluate how the designs are working and start thinking about future iterations..
Academic Calendar and GPA Calculator Mockups
Newsletters
In order to help new users adapt quickly to the site, Arkaive sends out quick tip newsletters to new members with easy instructions and tips for getting started. When I joined Arkaive, these newsletters were sent as text-only emails, lacking effortlessness and visual appeal. They were also not standardized, so every one looked different - a disorienting feeling for users. I created new, visually appealing newsletters with standardized headers and footers that laid out the information in a much easier and more user-friendly way.
In order to help new users adapt quickly to the site, Arkaive sends out quick tip newsletters to new members with easy instructions and tips for getting started. When I joined Arkaive, these newsletters were sent as text-only emails, lacking effortlessness and visual appeal. They were also not standardized, so every one looked different - a disorienting feeling for users. I created new, visually appealing newsletters with standardized headers and footers that laid out the information in a much easier and more user-friendly way.
  Arkaive Newsletters
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Logo & Graphics
I also worked on a number of small logo and graphics projects while at Arkaive. The logo was low-resolution and did not have a registered trademark symbol next to it, so I revamped the logo to help with these things. I also created icons for social media posts, as well as infographics for the site. Below is a small collection of some of these graphics, all created using Photoshop.
I also worked on a number of small logo and graphics projects while at Arkaive. The logo was low-resolution and did not have a registered trademark symbol next to it, so I revamped the logo to help with these things. I also created icons for social media posts, as well as infographics for the site. Below is a small collection of some of these graphics, all created using Photoshop.
A collection of Arkaive Logos and Graphics
Brochure
Arkaive offers a summer internship program for high school students, and I was tasked with creating a brochure to distribute at high schools, outlining the program. It needed to be aesthetically pleasing to draw people in, but also hold a large amount of information and present the information in a clear and organized manner. Our team worked on coming up with content for the newsletter that would be detailed and informational, but also appeal to high school students, so we tried to highlight especially the benefits of working at the company.
I created the brochure design in Photoshop. It was ultimately printed, emailed, and distributed to high schools around the county.
Arkaive offers a summer internship program for high school students, and I was tasked with creating a brochure to distribute at high schools, outlining the program. It needed to be aesthetically pleasing to draw people in, but also hold a large amount of information and present the information in a clear and organized manner. Our team worked on coming up with content for the newsletter that would be detailed and informational, but also appeal to high school students, so we tried to highlight especially the benefits of working at the company.
I created the brochure design in Photoshop. It was ultimately printed, emailed, and distributed to high schools around the county.
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High School Summer Internship Program Brochure
