CollEdge
Elevating the transfer experience
Freelance · Web App · UX/UI Designer
Overview
CollEdge hired me as a freelance designer to support the product’s high-fidelity designs.
The pre-seed startup was part of UC Berkeley's StEP accelerator in Spring 2021.
I had 3 weeks to redesign the startup’s grayscale wireframes to high-fidelity for a VC pitch.
Challenge
The team needs to be ranked as a top 5 startup on VC Pitch Week to earn funding from investors.
My Role
To align stakeholders on design goals and concept development
Deliverables; a style guide and hi-fi mockups
Business Impact
Won 3rd place out of 30 startups
Advisors and VCs reached out to share how my new designs helped the startup place 3rd
Next steps - user test mockups on Transfer Alliance Project (TAP) students
Branding Decisions
Design around the competition
CollEdge launched their company with a light blue and white theme, however, they asked me to adjust their branding in order to differentiate them from a competitor who had selected similar colors for their brand. This was a challenge in the first week of the project, and it was up to me to make the appropriate changes.
Inspiration from the UC System
Given CollEdge's roots as a UC Berkeley startup, I felt that it was important to incorporate the blue and yellow of the UC System into the new brand colors -- so I tested out different color combinations and arrived at the following palette, grid & spacing, and typography for the high-fidelity designs.
Hi-Fi Designs
Upon signing in, students will have an overview of progress and features.
Personalized academic plans that fulfill requirements and are easy to customize.
Real-time progress tracking to ensure students are on the right path.
Explore majors and transfer universities by area of interest.
Connect with peers for support and to exchange advice.
Actionable content that simplifies the complexities of the transfer process.
Results & Reflection
Results
My high-fidelity designs helped the team earn recognition as one of the top three startups in the UC Berkeley StEP program.
Testimonial
“Thank you so much for your designs. The team wouldn’t have won without your collaboration and insight.”
Abby, CollEdge (EdTech) Advisor
Let’s Reflect
What went well
Great design brings in $ - the other startups didn’t have a designer, so I saw an opportunity for my work to outshine the competition’s low-mid fidelity designs
Handling timeline - understanding the deadline was fast approaching, the team and I decided to focus on completing all the platform’s pages visually without interaction
What could’ve been improved
UX Research & Testing - most research had already been done on the wireframes and the timeframe + budget wouldn’t allow for further testing on the high-fidelity designs
Limit amount of revisions - final deliverables kept changing due to advisor/user feedback