Blue Note's Logo
​
​
Summary: A tutor finding app/webpage for creative writers.
​
Roles and Responsibilities: I worked on this project as a UX/UI Researcher, visual designer, and as a frontend developer for the prototype.
Tools used include: Adobe XD, Figma, Google Slides, Zoom, Paint, Office Sute
Deliverables included: Wireframes, Journey Map, Persona, Paper prototype, Clickable prototype
Problem: Creative writers need an easy to way to find tutors to mentor them, and creative writing tutors need an easy way to advertise themselves.
​
Audience: Creative writers/tutors.
​
Solution: To create a platform for both web and mobile where creative writers of all skill levels can seek tutoring and/or promote themselves as available tutors for pay.
Process
Discovery and research
As a longtime creative writer myself, I wanted to better understand the needs, desires, and frustrations of my fellow creatives. I spent time interviewing people who creatively write, and also issued a survey. In it, I asked how writers went about improving their skills. Most cited practice and research, but when I asked about mentorship, the answers surprised me.
​
Most was open to the idea of having a writing tutor/mentor, but either didn't know how to go about getting one, or felt the process of doing so was too tedious. Following up on this, I spoke with tutors with creative writing backgrounds and quickly realized many of them exist and just need platform where their passion to teach could be visible. During my research, what stuck out most for me was what Kiana Williams, a writer who I interviewed, said.
​
​
​
​
Taking into the account the thoughts and feelings I gathered from Jazz fans, I developed two persona: Bianca and Trevor. Bianaca represents a young creative writer seeking tutelage, while Trevor represents a creative writing tutor.
​
Information Architecture
​
To begin I drew out a sitemap. My goal with the IA was for most of the site's features to be accessible directly from the home page, limiting the amount of steps needed to do what you are there for: search for a tutor, create an advertisement, or check your messages.
Sitemap for project
With the site map in place, I began sketching out my wireframes, then when satisfied with how they looked, digitzed them.
Gallery of paper and digital wireframes
Prototyping
I completed a low fidelity, clickable prototype to test navigating, which can be found here. Usability testing results showed that the click-ability and flow of the prototype was fine, but lacking in details such as words and images to make the flow easier to follow.
​
With this in mind, I began to iterate, which eventually lead to high fidelity mock ups. It is during this time that I came up with a name for the creative writing tutoring platform - Elev8(aka Elevate).
​
I chose the name Elev8 to represent the enhancement of one's skill in their craft - to elevate to a higher level. The 8 in the name refers to the symbol of infinity, which represents that both knowledge and creativity are limitless.
​
I wanted a colorful, exciting visual presentation for Elev8, so I went with the primary colors of blue, green, pink, and red, with black as textual base.
​
The primary features of Elev8 are as follows.
​
1. Tutor Search Engine - By inputting their location, users can find tutor near them.
​
2. Tutor Reservation - After finding a tutor you like, you can read more about them, then reserve them by telling them a little about yourself before paying with your credit card/PayPal/Google Pay
​
3. Create Advertisement - By putting in the necessary information, you can quickly create an ad promoting your availability as a tutor.
​
4. Favorites Page - By clicking the heart icon on a tutor you like, they will be added to your favorites page.
​
5. Dashboards - This operates as a hub where you can check notifications/messages, see how your advertisements are doing, and more.
​
These features are all accessible in the high fidelity prototype.
Quote from creative writer I interviewed during research
Results page version #1
Results page version #2
I then began usability testing for the high fidelity prototype of Elev8, which can be found here. Users commented positively on the layout, enjoyed the features provided and cited them as being simple and intuitive to use. Tasks such as "Create an ad", and "Reserve a tutor" were done quickly and with no visible frustration.
Tutor Request Page
Payment Page (mobile version)
Final Thoughts
​
I believe that creativity is the ultimate spice of life. Creative writers come in so many forms: they create the novels that ignite our imaginations, they pen the scripts to the sitcoms that make us last, and they fill the text bubbles of our favorite comic books and manga.
​
Creative should have platforms where their skills are nourished and "Elev8-ed", and I'm proud to contribute to that with this project.
​
For next steps, I would like to investigate add an option for users to highlight the type of creative writer they are (comic book? Playwright? Novelist?). I also want to brainstorm ways to best incorporate connectivity with popular social media apps.
​
​