As the world becomes increasingly interconnected, the demand for flexible work arrangements continues to rise.

At-a-Glance

This is a concept for a platform designed for remote workers and digital nomads. It offers a range of features, including advanced job search filters, micro job listings for quick income opportunities, and a free courses section exclusively for Nomad website members. In this case study, I will walk you through the various stages of the design process, from conducting user research to prototyping and testing, highlighting key insights, design decisions, and project outcomes.

Timeline

Five weeks

My role

UX/UI Designer, UX Researcher (My responsibilities encompassed all stages of the design process. While my solo role was on prototyping from mid-fidelity to high-fidelity, I also played a key role in research, ideation, testing, iteration, and collaboration with my team)

Collaboration

One team member

Platforms used

Google (Docs, Sheets, and Forms), Miro, Figma, Ballpark.

Business Goals

• Improve search functionality to make job discovery easier and more efficient

• Encourage job seekers to create accounts and build comprehensive profiles by offering incentives, such as free courses

• Enhance the platform's mobile experience to cater to users on the go

• Increase the number of successful job placements through ongoing refinement and optimization

• Partnerships with companies, recruiters, and educational institutions

• Empower users to enhance their skills, increase their employability, and navigate the challenges of a nomadic lifestyle

• Use continuous platform improvements and user feedback to foster long-term loyalty

Process

The design thinking process for the Nomad job-seeking platform was dynamic and non-linear, involving constant improvement. Our team began with in-depth research and defining user needs, followed by ideation and initial prototyping. This iterative approach ensured we continuously improved the platform to better meet user expectations and enhance the overall experience.

Research Goals

• Who is the Digital Nomad?

• What are job job-seeking challenges Digital Nomads face?

• How can we help them to overcome those challenges?

• What are their job-seeking preferences?

• What will motivate digital nomads to interact with our platform?

• Where do potential employers get in touch with Digital Nomads?

• What kind of expectations would digital nomads have in terms of functionality from a job-seeking platform like ours?

User Research Summary

• Market:

There is a large growth in freelance work offered as well as a growth in people living as digital nomads. The typical nomad is below 35 years of age and stays in one place for no less than 3 months.

• The typical user:

Many nomads specifically choose types of work or modes of employment that allow them to be on the move while they work. They switch employers more often than regular people as they often go for freelance, project-based, or gig economy type of jobs. This means they need job platforms more often than people who will stay in one position for a longer amount of time.

• User challenges:

Inefficient plattforms.

Digital nomads become exposed to a large number of irrelevant job listings, unserious employers or offers, scammers, spam, and other things that demand their attention and cause them to spend too much time in the job-seeking process. A part of the reason is unsatisfactory filters or vetting on the platforms they use. Nomads want a smooth and effective job-seeking process that would eliminate unnecessary clutter and allow specific filter options like timezone, duration, salary, and other work criteria that will allow them to organize their lives as nomads.

Planning.

The typical nomads' short-term work engagements and desire to travel often means their life situation is subject to frequent changes. Research shows many nomads worry about financial instability, but are willing to take different types of jobs outside of their career path if it means they can continue to work while traveling. The digital nomad user group wishes they had access to more such jobs.

Problem vs Solution

Problem

Digital Nomads encounter numerous job advertisements that may not align with their preferences, forcing them to sift through various job details to determine suitability. This process becomes burdensome, resulting in a significant cognitive load for users. Nomads also suffer from financial instability due to the often temporary nature of their work.

Solution

Designing a job-seeking platform that allows users to discover job opportunities tailored to their preferences. By implementing various filters, the platform ensures that users only see relevant job offers aligned with their specified criteria. Additionally, the Nomad website introduces a Micro Jobs section, offering users quick and accessible income-generating tasks for those in need.

Persona and User Scenarios

Through comprehensive research, including surveys and interviews, we developed a detailed persona that represented our primary user type. This persona encapsulated key aspects such as goals, frustrations, and preferences of remote job seekers. Additionally, we crafted user scenarios to illustrate how our persona would interact with the platform in various situations, helping us better understand their needs and behaviors.

Information Architecture

We carefully structured the content to ensure users could easily navigate and find relevant job opportunities. By organizing information logically and intuitively, we created a clear and user-friendly layout.

User Flows

Mapping out the path a user takes to complete a task within a platform.

Paper First

Sketching the solution helped us to quickly visualize and test ideas, making it easier to refine and improve concepts. It's an essential step for creating effective, user-friendly designs, it's also budget-friendly and fun!

From Paper to Digital

We then brought our concept to life with an interactive digital low-fidelity prototype and presented it to thirteen potential users to gather feedback.

Next, we designed our high-fidelity prototype. By integrating user feedback from our earlier tests, we ensured that the design was not only aesthetically pleasing but also highly functional and user-friendly. The design system was prepared to ensure consistency, scalability, and efficiency across the entire platform.

Usability Testing

Our team conducted scripted, remote usability testing using the Ballpark platform. We aimed to measure completion rate, satisfaction rate, and duration metrics. The prototype has been tested with thirteen participants to ensure a diverse range of feedback.

Purpose and Scope By observing user interactions with the platform, we aimed to identify and address usability issues, gain insights into user behaviors and preferences, and collect valuable feedback for guiding design improvements. The testing focused on these areas:

• Is the Nomad platform intuitive?

• Can users easily find and use the main features?

• Have users encountered any challenges while completing tasks?

• What aspects of the platform could be improved?

• Can we add any additional functionalities to enhance the user experience?

• Is the overall user experience of the platform positive?

I did manage to elevate my Figma skills amidst the chaos! It's safe to say it was the best "spaghetti" I've ever crafted!

Design Successes

The third round of usability testing with an iterated high-fi design showed users' satisfaction levels increased to 100%. Quoting one of the early user testing participants "It was very easy and clear. I wouldn't add anything more".

What I Learned

For this particular project, we dedicated a significant amount of time to conducting research. Despite the stress of completing the entire project after investing so much time in research, I'm grateful that we prioritized this phase. The ideation stage became much smoother because of the thorough research we conducted—it's truly the only way to gain a deep understanding of our target audience. As you can see, I showcase very little from a high-fidelity design here as I was pressed for time towards the end of the project. Five weeks proved to be quite a tight timeframe, I must say! Moreover, this project allowed me to discover something about myself — I aspire to become a digital nomad one day. I have a little dream of continuing to build on this project in the future and bringing this vision into reality.

I did manage to elevate my Figma skills amidst the chaos! It's safe to say it was the best "spaghetti" I've ever crafted!

Thank you for taking the time to review my portfolio!

If you have any questions, feedback, or suggestions, or if you would like to explore the possibility of working together, please don't hesitate to contact me at paulina.malinski@gmail.com.