Project Overview
Problem
As science and technology increasingly shape our everyday lives, understanding basic scientific concepts and staying informed about new developments is more important than ever. Yet, traditional media often presents scientific information in ways that feel dense, jargon-heavy, or disconnected from daily life—making it challenging for the general public to engage. This gap contributes to low science literacy, limiting people’s ability to make informed decisions, participate in meaningful discussions, and fully appreciate the role of science in society.
Solution
I designed SciQuel, a science news media app, that makes scientific content accessible, engaging, and relevant. The platform curates trustworthy sources, simplifies complex concepts, and uses clear visuals to enhance comprehension. By delivering context-rich, visually engaging, and easy-to-digest content, the app aims to foster curiosity, improve science literacy, and encourage users to explore the world of science with confidence.
Product
SciQuel delivers curated articles, short explainers, and interactive visuals that break down complex topics into clear, digestible insights. Users can browse by categories such as Biology, Computer Science, and Physics, or explore trending topics through a personalized feed. The design emphasizes readability, visual storytelling, and seamless navigation, enabling users to easily discover, understand, and share science content.
Project Goals
Enhance Science Literacy: Provide accurate, accessible scientific information to improve understanding of concepts and developments.
Facilitate Informed Decision-Making: Offer relevant, comprehensible science content that users can apply in real-life contexts.
Foster Engagement and Discussion: Build a platform for meaningful interactions and community participation around science topics.
My Roles
Conducted UX research via interviews, usability tests, and A/B testing.
Designed wireframes and interactive prototypes.
Developed user flow diagrams and information architecture for intuitive navigation.
Created user personas and journey maps to guide design decisions and support a user-centered approach.
Performed competitive analysis and market research to identify opportunities and find an edge.
Analyzed research data and presented insights to cross-functional teams to inform design strategy.
Collaborated with cross-functional teams to drive innovative solutions.
Coordinated weekly team meetings to track progress and resolve blockers.
Project Overview
Problem
As science and technology increasingly shape our everyday lives, understanding basic scientific concepts and staying informed about new developments is more important than ever. Yet, traditional media often presents scientific information in ways that feel dense, jargon-heavy, or disconnected from daily life—making it challenging for the general public to engage. This gap contributes to low science literacy, limiting people’s ability to make informed decisions, participate in meaningful discussions, and fully appreciate the role of science in society.
Solution
I designed SciQuel, a science news media app, that makes scientific content accessible, engaging, and relevant. The platform curates trustworthy sources, simplifies complex concepts, and uses clear visuals to enhance comprehension. By delivering context-rich, visually engaging, and easy-to-digest content, the app aims to foster curiosity, improve science literacy, and encourage users to explore the world of science with confidence.
Product
SciQuel delivers curated articles, short explainers, and interactive visuals that break down complex topics into clear, digestible insights. Users can browse by categories such as Biology, Computer Science, and Physics, or explore trending topics through a personalized feed. The design emphasizes readability, visual storytelling, and seamless navigation, enabling users to easily discover, understand, and share science content.
Project Goals
Enhance Science Literacy: Provide accurate, accessible scientific information to improve understanding of concepts and developments.
Facilitate Informed Decision-Making: Offer relevant, comprehensible science content that users can apply in real-life contexts.
Foster Engagement and Discussion: Build a platform for meaningful interactions and community participation around science topics.
My Roles
Conducted UX research via interviews, usability tests, and A/B testing.
Designed wireframes and interactive prototypes.
Developed user flow diagrams and information architecture for intuitive navigation.
Created user personas and journey maps to guide design decisions and support a user-centered approach.
Performed competitive analysis and market research to identify opportunities and find an edge.
Analyzed research data and presented insights to cross-functional teams to inform design strategy.
Collaborated with cross-functional teams to drive innovative solutions.
Coordinated weekly team meetings to track progress and resolve blockers.
Project Details
Process
Stage 1. Empathize
Competitive Analysis: Identified key players in the science news space, evaluated strengths and weaknesses, and gathered best practices.
User Interviews: Conducted interviews to uncover desired features and usability preferences.
Key Insights
Design Preferences: Clean, modern UI with features like dark mode and consistent styling enhances usability.
Navigation: Users want intuitive navigation with advanced search, personalized dashboards, and clear categorization.
Content Format: Visual and multimedia elements help simplify complex topics.
Engagement: Quizzes, comment sections, and sharing options strengthen community interaction
Stage 2. Define
User Personas: Created two personas to guide design priorities and ensure relevance to target users.
Journey Maps: Mapped end-to-end user interactions to identify pain points and align the team around a user-centered experience.
Stage 3. Ideate
Design Concepts for SciQuel
Clean & Modern Interface: Minimalist design that keeps content in focus.
Accessibility Features: Dark mode, adjustable fonts, and video subtitles.
Customizable Content Feed: Personalized recommendations by topic or interest.
Engagement Tools: Quizzes, discussion threads, highlights, and social sharing.
Rich Multimedia Integration: Articles, videos, audio, and photo galleries.
Information Architecture: Organized content for logical navigation and discoverability.
User Flow Diagram: Illustrated the complete journey for common user tasks.
Design System
Logo Design
Typography & Color Palette
Design Assets
Stage 4. Prototype
Wireframes: Created sketches and digital wireframes to visualize layout and functionality, identifying usability issues early.
Prototypes: Built and refined interactive prototypes for testing core features and navigation flows.
Stage 5. Test
Usability Tests & Results: We conducted two rounds of usability tests to identify issues and validate design decisions, ensuring the product effectively meets user needs. Each round involved five participants. After the first round, we analyzed the usability issues, developed new design solutions, and refined the prototypes. With the updated prototypes, we proceeded with the second round of testing.
First Round
⚠️ Issue 1: Users could not easily find their previous comments.
🛠️ Solution: Added a filter for locating past comments.
⚠️ Issue 2: Users wanted to search by author name.
🛠️ Solution: Introduced the author name filter in search
⚠️ Issue 3: Account creation required full names, raising privacy concerns.
🛠️ Solution: Allowed usernames instead.
⚠️ Issue 4: Managing notifications was cumbersome.
🛠️ Solution: Added master toggle to enable/disable all notifications at once.
Second Round
⚠️ Issue 1: Active filters were not visible without reopening the filter menu.
🛠️ Solution: Displayed active filters prominently on results pages.
⚠️ Issue 2: Author bios were at the bottom of articles, making it hard to find related works.
🛠️ Solution: Added "More from Author" button to bio section.
Updated Prototypes
