Background

The intersection of education and career development is crucial in a rapidly evolving world.

Tallo, a groundbreaking web application, aims to bridge the gap between students, educators, and employers. Over six months, our dedicated design team at OneSpring embarked on a transformative journey, crafting a user-centric experience that would redefine how individuals pursue their educational and career aspirations.

OneSpring successfully immersed itself in the challenge of designing Tallo from the ground up, collaborating with in-house researchers and product managers, and employing design processes to complete this innovative project.

The challenge, a six month timeline

Tallo entrusted OneSpring with the immense assignment of delivering a complete product in under six months. This case study explores how OneSpring tackled this challenge, focusing on user experience (UX) design for two distinct user groups: Talent (students) and Talent Seekers (educators, recruiters, and employers).

Understanding the User Groups

The primary goal was to create a seamless experience for both user groups, with a specific focus on appealing to the Gen Z target audience within the Talent user group. The application needed to include fully developed features for each user type and was based primarily on unfinished requirements, doubling the strain to complete designs for the application within the challenging allotted timeframe.

Balancing Needs and Expectations

Developing the application required OneSpring to devise strategies for balancing the needs, expectations, and pain points of both user groups, ensuring that Tallo would serve as a valuable resource for both.

Key Features for Students (Talent)

Students require a mobile-friendly experience to:

• Create a profile showcasing their education and experience

• Generate resumes based on their profiles

• Explore career paths

• Access online courses

• Discover work opportunities

• Connect with colleges and companies

• Engage with a vibrant online community of users

Key Features for Educators and Employers (Talent Seekers)

Educators and employers needed a responsive web application to connect with students through:

• Events

• Scholarships

• Mentorships

• Job postings

• Company or college profiles

• Digital badges

This complex project demanded a strategic approach to UX design, ensuring that Tallo met the needs of both students and talent seekers within a tight deadline. OneSpring's expertise in understanding user needs and creating intuitive interfaces proved critical to the project's success.

Solution

Our goal was to design the application to be intuitive and appealing to both user groups. To shape our design strategy, we drew insights from existing user-centric research, including user interviews, surveys, and competitive analysis.

These insights led us to create robust user personas for both user groups. These personas acted as a guiding light for the rest of the design process to ensure the needs of the two target audiences were prioritized in each design decision.

Frequently referenced and relied upon during this product creation, these personas provided clear insights that guided our design decisions, laying the foundation for a more intuitive and impactful Tallo.

Our team deployed Requirements Visualization workshops to quickly and accurately address incomplete feature requirements with the Product team.

Iterative Design Process

We deployed an iterative design process in one-week sprints using a Human-Centered Design and Agile approach. With this approach, we could swiftly validate designs through prototypes or user surveys, making the platform more user-friendly and efficient while staying on schedule to complete the designs within the allocated six-month deadline.

Design and Prototyping Tools

The designs and prototypes for this application were crafted using Figma. Utilizing Figma for both aspects facilitated a seamless transition from design to handoff for development.

Handoff and Development

The meticulous design files and detailed annotations streamlined the handoff process, ensuring a smooth transition for the Tallo development team.

Elevating Tallo: The results of good design

Ensuring Vision Through Quality Assurance

Following OneSpring's strategic handoff to Tallo's development team, the client recognized the value of our continued involvement. They requested our active participation in quality assurance (QA) testing. This crucial step ensured that the original vision for Tallo was realized without compromise, resulting in a user-centric platform.

Successful Launch and Ongoing UX Support

Tallo successfully launched within the ambitious six-month deadline. OneSpring continues to partner with Tallo, providing ongoing user experience (UX) design support. We focus on ensuring optimal usability, envisioning future possibilities, and developing enhancements that further elevate this transformative platform.

Bridging the Gap: OneSpring's Impact on Tallo's Success

Through its strategic partnership with OneSpring, Tallo effectively bridged the gap between students, educators, and employers, achieving key objectives:

• Intuitive Connection: Created an intuitive platform connecting students with relevant educational and career opportunities.

• Responsive Design: Developed a responsive web app for seamless functionality across different devices, ensuring accessibility for all users.

• Dynamic Personalization: Implemented dynamic search capabilities and personalized suggestions, enhancing user engagement and discovery.