OVERVIEW
ROLE
UX Designer
UX Researcher
TIME
3 days
March 2024
TEAM
2 UI Designers
2 UX Designers
THE CLIENT
UX Was Here: The LinkedIn for UX Enthusiasts
UX Was Here (UwH) is an online community platform for UX designers to share, learn, and connect. Its goal is to create a space where designers can find inspiration, reflect on their work, and build meaningful connections with peers.
THE PROBLEM
Users were joining, but not staying.
UX Was Here was struggling with low engagement and retention. Designers often signed up, looked around once or twice, and left.
Content felt generic and overwhelming, posting felt intimidating, and navigation was confusing — making it hard for users to find their place and contribute.
UwH’s Original Site Design
THE SOLUTION
The Inspiration Page: Keeping users inspired, engaged, and connected.
We created an Inspiration Page to help users connect and share ideas, encouraging more interaction and keeping them engaged.
Our Redesign: Inspiration Page
NEED 01 - USER
Keeping the content relevant to creative interests
Users needed fresh, inspiring content tailored to their interests to stay engaged.
SOLUTION 01
The Top Shelf
Daily updated collection of most-liked works, providing fresh inspiration.
NEED 02 - CLIENT
Having a unique feature that engages their target users.
Client wanted a unique way to honour their founding story for leaving an impact in world using UX strategies.
SOLUTION 02
UX Was Here Moments
Users reflect and share moments in life where their UX skills made an impact.
NEED 03 - USER
Visual content that encourages making connections
Users needed subtle cues to start conversations and interact with peers.
SOLUTION 03
Visual Nudges
Recurring message icons prompt users to start conversations with designers.
THE PROCESS
Problem Validation — Research Insights
We conducted user surveys & competitive analysis to grasp how individuals interested in UX, engaged with online communities; observing their needs and motivations within those platforms.
Ideation — Finalising features
We kicked off ideation with fast-paced workshops, sketching through Crazy 8’s and storyboards to explore how inspiration, recognition, and nudges could take shape. From dozens of concepts, we narrowed down to our 3 high-impact features.
APPENDIX
Extra Details
A peek at research persona, early flows, and supporting components that shaped the final direction.
REFLECTION
Takeaways & Next Steps
This project showed me how to balance user needs with business goals — using research to uncover why users disengaged and designing features that not only inspired and connected them but also supported the client’s goal of increasing retention.
01
Make it matter
Understanding why users disengaged helped us design features that truly resonated with their needs.
02
Little things go a long way
Subtle design prompts, like visual nudges, had an outsized impact on sparking interaction.
03
Better together
Fast-paced collaboration with teammates and stakeholders made sure our ideas were both creative and doable.