Case Study - Support Bridge Mobile App

Project Overview

SupportBridge is a mobile app designed to empower marginalized and first-generation college students. It offers four key features: Mentorship, Check-In, Family Portal, and Resources. The app aims to connect students with mentors, provide mental health support, engage family members, and offer academic and career resources.

I created SupportBridge to tackle the unique challenges faced by underrepresented students in higher education. My target audience includes first-generation college students and those from marginalized backgrounds who often lack the support systems and resources needed to thrive in college. The app addresses issues like isolation, academic struggles, and mental health concerns that disproportionately affect these students.

During the initial brainstorming sessions, I used mind mapping to explore the various needs of my target audience. This process helped me identify the four core features that would best support these students throughout their college journey. By combining mentorship, mental health check-ins, family engagement, and academic support in one easy-to-use platform, I aimed to level the playing field and boost success rates for students who might otherwise fall through the cracks.

Project Research

In developing SupportBridge, I conducted a competitive analysis of existing educational support apps to better understand the landscape and identify gaps in services for marginalized and first-generation college students. I examined platforms like Khan Academy, Coursera, EdX, and OpenLearn, noting their strengths in providing academic resources but also recognizing their limitations in addressing the unique needs of underrepresented students. This analysis highlighted the lack of features specifically catering to mentorship and family engagement, which are crucial for my target audience.

My research revealed that while many apps offer valuable educational content and some support features, none really provided a comprehensive solution tailored to marginalized students seeking higher education access. Most competitors offered online courses, mobile accessibility, and some financial aid options or free content. However, they lacked integrated mentorship programs and family accessibility. This insight led me to refine SupportBridge's focus, emphasizing features like a customized mentorship matching system, a Family Portal for engagement, and a comprehensive Resources section. My app's unique value proposition lies in its ability to provide tailored support that goes beyond traditional academic assistance.

App Design

The visual design of Support Bridge evolved to prioritize accessibility and simplicity. I focused on creating an intuitive interface that would feel welcoming to students from diverse backgrounds, using a color palette and typography that feels approachable and supportive.

Initially, I had a fairly vague color palette combined with very oval-like elements. Here is definitely where user feedback was needed as I ended up changing a good amount of my interface design according to the feedback I received. The interface elements gained a more squarish form with curvature still applied. The color palette also completely changed, still a linear gradient, but more diverse in color.

Below are some revisions:

Welcome Page
(left is V1 // right is V2)

Home Page
(left is V1 // right is V2)

Tasks For Users

Support Bridge offers users multiple ways to engage with the app and access support. The tasks are designed to be intuitive and meaningful, addressing the specific needs of first-generation and marginalized college students.

Key Tasks for Users

Mentorship Matching: Take a personalized test to find the best mentor match based on background, goals, and challenges.
Mental Health Check-In: Access emotional state, write a journal entry, and receive coping strategies tailored to individual needs (powered by AI).
Family Portal Engagement: Invite family members to participate in the student's academic journey, providing a bridge between home and higher education.
Resource Access: Explore a library of academic and career support tools, including financial aid information and other acadamic tools.

These tasks are carefully crafted to help students navigate their college experience more effectively. The mentorship matching process considers cultural backgrounds and specific challenges, while the mental health check-in provides tailored emotional support. The Family Portal addresses the unique needs of first-generation students by involving their families in the educational process. Lastly, the resource access feature ensures students have the tools they need to succeed academically and professionally.

By offering these targeted tasks, Support Bridge aims to create a holistic support system that goes beyond traditional educational assistance.

Below are some tasks (with the addition of the sign in & create account tasks):

Usability Testing & Further Development

While formal usability testing was not conducted, the app concept was refined through feedback from peers and potential users. This process helped identify potential challenges and opportunities for improvement, such as making sure the app's interface was inviting and felt up-to-date.

The most common comment I recieved was that my initial app interface felt "old" or it felt like an app that was used in the early 2000's. As you can imagine, that was pretty unique to hear and it instantly made me want to revise my interface design. The main issues causing this understanding was my blue to white gradient as well as my oval-like elements for my headings and buttons. They were very similar design patterns to how applications typically looked in the early 2000's, hence my feedback comments.

Beyond that, I ended up changing certain text to different fonts to help with my typography, I changed the colors within my gradient to similar colors found within my company logo, and I changed the shape of my buttons to a rounded rectangle rather than an oval to get rid of that "old" feeling.

Below is one example of a design change from V1 to V2 (V1 really did feel oldish):

Summary

Overall, this project taught me about the complexities involved in designing for a specific target audience. Unlike a general audience, it's essential to consider the unique needs and challenges of marginalized students. This requires thorough research to identify the specific elements that should be incorporated into the app to effectively meet their needs and fulfill its intended purpose.

I am most proud of creating an app concept that addresses real barriers to educational success. That was an aspect I appreciated since we first started this project; it tackled actual equity issues within the world which we got to pick which one to focus on. I found that to be a very "cool" aspect and it also allowed my peers and I to be a bit more personal with what we were going to work on.

What I found most challenging in this project was actually defining the user's tasks. I really had to think on it for a good while because they needed to be tailored tasks towards my target group. The most rewarding aspect was exploring how design can be a powerful tool for creating more "fair" educational experiences.