The project itself :
Project Overview
StudySync is a mobile-first time management tool designed to transform the academic experience by simplifying how students track assignment and plan study sessions. Developed as a collaborative final project for an iterative design course, the app utilizes a high-contrast, motivational interface to reduce cognitive load and help students regain control over their weekly schedules. Through a rigorous cycle of prototyping and usability testing, the project demonstrates a data-driven approach to solving the real-world organizational challenges faced by modern college students.
Problem:
College students are often overwhelmed by the volume of overlapping classes, assignments, and deadlines, leading to significant stress and poor time management. Existing tools frequently lack a simple, high-visibility interface that combines task tracking with a centralized calendar, forcing students to 'pogo-stick' between multiple apps to understand their daily priorities.
Goal:
To design and develop a functional high-fidelity prototype that empowers students to organize their weekly academic life through a streamlined, easy-to-use interface. The objective was to create a motivational environment that provides immediate feedback on task completion, helping users develop consistent and effective study habits.
My role:
Lead UX Designer
I acted as the primary architect for the interface logic and visual design, spearheading the transition from initial wireframes to the functional high-fidelity prototype in Adalo.
Responsibilities:
Collaborating on multi-phase wireframes and paper prototypes.
Designing motivational branding and a custom visual identity.
Developing a functional high-fidelity prototype using Adalo.
Conducting usability testing and documenting qualitative research.
Iterating on UI elements based on data-driven user feedback.
All about the user :
User Research
The research phase involved a stakeholder kickoff and a competitive audit of existing organizational tools, eventually utilizing a Jotform template for structural inspiration. To validate the design, I conducted qualitative usability testing with representative college students to evaluate the prototype's effectiveness in managing dense academic schedules. These conversations revealed that while the professional aesthetic was well-received, the primary barrier to a seamless experience was a lack of clear feedback loops and accessibility within the onboarding and calendar interfaces.
The project schematically :
Starting the Design
To bridge the space between thought and form, I began by mapping the complex interplay between Aether's wearable hardware and the digital interface. I developed structural schemes and storyboards to define the sensory feedback loop, followed by low-fidelity prototypes to validate the architectural logic of the Live Sync loop before moving into high-fidelity design.
Digital Wireframes
Establishing a high-fidelity blueprint to define the visual hierarchy and placement of core organizational tools before moving into final prototype development.
At this stage, I focused on the structural layout of the weekly planner and study list views. The goal was to ensure that the most critical assignment data—such as due dates and task durations—remained the primary focal point. By mapping the interface into these digital wireframes, I could validate that the navigation was simple enough for students who need quick and efficient time management support.
Usability Studies
A qualitative validation of user needs, utilizing testing with representative college students to ground the StudySync concept in real-world academic experiences.
Throughout the iterative design process, I conducted rapid testing to validate the core logic of StudySync
Managing Sensory Overload
The Insight: Healthcare experts and survivors cautioned that sensory noise is a major barrier in early recovery.
The Design Intervention: This feedback led to the creation of the calibration page. It ensures the conceptual haptic and auditory feedback is adjustable, allowing users to dial down the intensity to match their daily energy and comfort levels.
The Requirement of Data Sovereignty
The Insight: Veterans and those in long-term recovery expressed a strong desire for privacy. They were hesitant about any system that automatically reported their daily struggles to an external database or case team.
The Design Intervention: I prioritized a local-first data model. The architecture ensures that all recovery metrics stay on the user's device by default, with any sharing being a deliberate, multi-step choice made by the user.
Visual-to-Tactile Reinforcement
The Insight: Participants noted that the most difficult part of recovery is the silent nature of proprioception loss. They liked the idea of an app showing them what their body is supposed to be feeling.
The Design Intervention: This validated the need for the Live Sync visualization. By seeing a visual representation of joint symmetry on the screen, users felt it would help facilitate neuroplasticity by grounding conceptual haptic feedback in tangible visual data.
The clear version :
Refining Design
Moving from low-fidelity skeletons to a functional high-fidelity prototype, I focused on resolving the specific friction points discovered during student usability testing. This transition allowed me to implement targeted UI improvements—such as calendar contrast and clearer sign-in feedback—to ensure the app remained accessible for students balancing heavy academic workloads. By prioritizing functional clarity over complexity, the final design streamlines the path from viewing an assignment to confirming its completion.
Mockups
A structured visual system designed to improve student time management by translating academic schedules into a motivational, high-fidelity mobile environment.
The StudySync design system centers on a high-energy palette of orange, yellow, and teal to foster a sense of motivation and focus for the user. By integrating a rewarding accomplishment system and a unique textbook-calendar identity, the final UI transforms a standard planning tool into an engaging workspace that reduces the cognitive burden of tracking deadlines. Features like the "Nothing Due" empty state and celebratory task pop-ups provide the positive reinforcement necessary to sustain long-term student engagement.
High-fidelity prototype
A high-fidelity motion study of the Aether interface, designed to bridge the gap between intent and movement for stroke survivors, combat-injured veterans, and those recovering from traumatic neural injury.
This walkthrough demonstrates the transitions between Lumen and Obsidian modes, while showcasing real-time gait symmetry and thermal-haptic calibration.
The project schematically :
Outcome
The final phase of the Aether project involved distilling my rapid-prototyping insights into a roadmap for future development, focusing on how synthetic proprioception can bridge the gap between neurological intent and physical form.
Takeways
Aether demonstrates that neuro-rehabilitation interfaces must prioritize sensory grounding and cognitive load management to effectively serve users with complex neural trauma.
Impact:
By integrating thermal haptics and real-time symmetry tracking, Aether establishes a new paradigm for non-invasive recovery tools that empower veterans and stroke survivors to reclaim autonomy over their movements.
What I learned:
I learned that designing for invisible senses like proprioception and kinesthesia requires a departure from traditional UX. Success isn't just about visual clarity—it's about creating a neural conversation between the user and the device.
Next Steps
Moving forward, the focus shifts toward refining the haptic feedback loops and validating the interface through clinical usability testing with our target demographics.
High-Fidelity Haptic Integration
Develop and test physical prototypes of the Thermal Haptic Patches to determine the most effective temperature thresholds for "Muscle Intent" vs. "Spatial Boundaries".
Clinical Co-Design Sessions
Partner with physical therapists and neurology specialists to conduct guided walkthroughs, ensuring the data visualizations align with established rehabilitation protocols.