Bee-Long (UX/UI)

Mentorship Tool

Problem

Loneliness is observed amongst young adults during transitive periods in their life. Events such as: going from high school to college, moving cities, and entering a job. Without access to their support system during this transitive period of their life, students experience anxiety and loneliness. This leads to lower academic performance, increased dropout rates, and mental health issues.

Solution

Our solution is a suite of products that help incoming freshmen connect and foster a real relationship with mentors to help support them throughout their academic journey.

Research Findings

64% of students in college said that they felt “very lonely” in the previous 12 months. Similarly, 62% reported feeling ”overwhelming anxiety” and 53% said that “things were hopeless”.

1) Lack of support from people
  • Lack of empathy
  • Feeling lost due to little to no guidance
  • Previous support system might not be the most appropriate for their current situation
2) Social needs not being met
  • Not having an established social circle
  • Not having real and in-depth relationships with people in their environment
  • Cultural differences causing communication barriers
  • Evolving social needs

User Persona (Callie)

Callie's Journey Map

HMW  Questions

1) Encourage constructive attainable behaviors in an individual's daily life?

2) Help individuals be more vulnerable and create new in-depth relationships with others?

3) Make students feel a sense of belonging in the transitive phase of their life?

4) Make students feel guided and supported through their college journey?

5) Create an opportunity for people to build a support system and expand their community?

Our Goals

1) To help fostering real in-depth relationships in colleges.

2) To help creating relationships across different backgrounds without hesitation.

3) To help students feel a sense of belonging within a community.

4) To reinforce healthy communication habits amongst individuals early on in life.

5) To not make students feel as though they're lonely while trying to help them.

6) To remove the stigma associated with loneliness and allow people to overcome them.

Vision Video

Opportunity Area

When considering what is available to a freshman, we realized that there aren’t a lot of readily available and consistent resources provided by the school that encourage students to meet peers and gain guidance outside of class.

Bee-Long | Mentorship Tool

A platform that provides students with the opportunities and resources to connect with supportive and helpful mentors that will help them progress along their academic and professional journey.

Product Objectives:
  • Connecting mentees with mentors through the app
  • Having mentees grow and maintain their relationship with mentors
  • Having potential opportunities of relationship building between the mentor and mentee
  • Offering existing networking opportunities through secondary connections

How do we want all students to feel every day?
  • A sense of belonging
  • Supported and guided
  • Inspired
  • Fulfilled

Digital Product (Features)

Physical Product (Features)

Bee-Long Buddy is a tool to enhance the connection and communication between mentors and mentees.

Physical Product (Screens)

Physical Product (Packaging)

Impact for Mentors and Mentees

Mentees:
  1. Platform helps students to build relationships that not only help with networking but also foster strong relationships outside of school
  2. Students feel supported and guided through their academic and professional journey
  3. The app’s services promote confidence and communication with speaking to peers through its AI pairing and guidelines features
  4. Helps students feel a sense of belonging

Mentors:
  1. Mentors will be more likely to have more impactful and meaningful interactions with mentees encouraging them to continue mentoring
  2. Being provided new perspectives
  3. Having a new method of fulfillment with regards to their professional field
  4. Recognition and resume opportunity

Target Audience

School and Colleges:

They're a trusted source of resources by both mentors and mentees who would be needing this product. Schools benefit from a product that leads to the improvement of the academic performance and holistic growth of their students.

Value Proposition

1) Having a tailored mentorship shows that the school’s values are focused on health and success.

2) Schools have a direct connection to the people who need this product the most.

3) Adaptability and personalization that suit both the school and the students.

4) Allowing mentors to enhance their leadership skills and become guides in their careers.

User Testing (Digital Product)

Our group conducted two rounds of usability testing with six different people who were students and mentors in school. Some of the tests were done through online communication platforms such as Zoom and Google Meet while the rest were conducted in person.

User Testing (Physical Product)

Our group conducted two rounds of usability testing with six different people who were students and mentors in school. Some of the tests were done through online communication platforms such as Zoom and Google Meet while the rest were conducted in person.

What worked?
  • Effective Labelling
  • Seamless Navigation

Rendering Changes:
  • The colors weren't very inviting
  • It wasn't cohesive with our current branding
  • The renderings didn't match the materials
Users were confused about how to use it

Users preferred having an instruction manual to figure out how the game has to be played.

More info regarding the product

Information such as: what the game is about, and how it can be played and connected to another device.

User Interface Changes:
  • The “Category & Level” button was redundant as users only used the restart button to change the category
  • One button dedicated to two key tasks became cumbersome for the users

Final Deliverables

Executive Summary, Look Book, and Poster.

Our Team

What’s next?

Let me know if you want to talk about a potential collaboration. I’m available
for freelance work.

Let’s design your app
Arrow IconArrow Icon