Project Timeline
September 2024 - October 2024
Team Size
4
Role
Product Designer
Tools
Figma, Figma Jam
PROJECT OVERVIEW
Tutor.Me is a pre-seed startup participating in the Techstars accelerator program. I have the privilege of collaborating closely with the Head Designer to develop a comprehensive design system and user flow. This foundational work is crucial in creating a seamless interface and user experience, supporting both scalability and consistency as the product matures.
One of the primary challenges I tackled was refining the Essay Doctor Tool, which initially lacked alignment with both user needs and product objectives. By conducting thorough user research and applying strategic design thinking, we redefined the tool’s features to better meet the expectations and goals of its users, ultimately enhancing the overall functionality and effectiveness of the product.
DISCUSSION WITH STAKEHOLDERS
Feedback from the Techstars program led us to reframe Tutor.Me’s positioning, shifting the focus from students to parents. Instead of implementing AI as a tool to completely finish a student's work, we wanted to focus on the entire learning experience of the writing and research portion of IB, making it a seamless and stressfree writing process. Recognizing that students approach writing differently and enter the process at varying stages, we designed a more adaptive experience that accommodates diverse workflows while maintaining pedagogical effectiveness with the
assistance of AI.
USER RESEARCH
I first collected data by conducting a survey with 15 responses to assess writing habits, struggles, and workflow inefficiencies. The survey revealed key insights about how students approach essay writing and where they encounter friction.
To gain deeper insight, I conducted 8 one-on-one interviews with high school and college students who have completed or are currently enrolled in the IB program. The participants varied in writing proficiency, with some struggling with essay structure and others needing quick grammar adjustments.
I identified three major pain points in the writing process:
Lack of Structure
Users struggle with organizing their thoughts into a structured outline.
Inefficient Workflow
Switching between multiple tools (Google Docs, grammar checkers, and online research) disrupts the writing flow.
Time-Consuming Edits
Students want quick and actionable grammar and sentence structure suggestions without manually revising every sentence.
USER FLOWS
To adapt to the writing process of the students, we divided our user flows into 3 sections and completely overhauled the existing Essay Doctor flow, which allows them to jump to different features of the available product. To adapt to the student's writing process, we divided the user flows into
3 sections, which are accessible in no particular order.
Prewriting chatbox phase / Writing phase / Grading phase
UI CONTRIBUTIONS
The final UI was developed in close collaboration with another designer on the team, ensuring a cohesive and user-centered design. I played a key role in addressing critical usability issues within the Essay Doctor Tool, leveraging user research and data insights to align its features with actual student and parent needs. Additionally, I contributed to the strategic shift in Tutor.Me’s positioning, helping reframe the product to emphasize a structured writing process that provides students with flexible AI support. Through iterative testing and collaboration, we delivered a final design that is both intuitive and adaptable to different writing workflows.
OUTCOMES
As an early-stage product, TutorMe has successfully completed the Techstars accelerator program, where we built a solid foundation for a scalable and user-focused tool tailored to IB students. While our design system and user interface have been developed, we are eager to enter the next phase of growth with rigorous user testing and iterative improvements.