Design Process & Principles
Key Design Principles
Simplified Navigation & Clear Hierarchy
• Simple and consistent layout design
• Clear visual hierarchy that avoids things like walls of text
Accessible Color & Typography Choices
• Simple colors with good contrast. Avoid the use of bright colors.
• Clean, readable fonts such as Helvetica, Verdana, or Arial
• Use plain English in place of complex, indirect language
Inclusive Interaction Design
• Descriptive buttons with clear call to actions
• Visual cues and icons that are simple and easy to decipher
Limitation
There are limits placed on certain features, such as applying for jobs, to help prevent cognitive overload for users. In the above example, it indicates that users can only apply to five jobs per day.
Simple Icons and Fonts
Throughout the design, text and icons are kept simple. They directly correlate with what the user is looking for and help to avoid visual overwhelm.
Color Switch
One of our findings while researching involved color sensitivity. While our interface is designed with a neurodiverse friendly color palette, we wanted to ensure that the option to turn off all colors was available.
Simplified Navigation & Clear Hierarchy
• Simple and consistent layout design
• Clear visual hierarchy that avoids things like walls of text
Accessible Color & Typography Choices
• Simple colors with good contrast. Avoid the use of bright colors.
• Clean, readable fonts such as Helvetica, Verdana, or Arial
• Use plain English in place of complex, indirect language
Inclusive Interaction Design
• Descriptive buttons with clear call to actions
• Visual cues and icons that are simple and easy to decipher
Limitation
There are limits placed on certain features, such as applying for jobs, to help prevent cognitive overload for users. In the above example, it indicates that users can only apply to five jobs per day.
Keep it Simple
Throughout the design, text and icons are kept simple. They directly correlate with what the user is looking for and help to avoid visual overwhelm.
Color Switch
One of our findings while researching involved color sensitivity. While our interface is designed with a neurodiverse friendly color palette, we wanted to ensure that the option to turn off all colors was available.
Design Process & Principles
Key Design Principles
Simplified Navigation & Clear Hierarchy
• Simple and consistent layout design
• Clear visual hierarchy that avoids things like walls of text
Accessible Color & Typography Choices
• Simple colors with good contrast. Avoid the use of bright colors.
• Clean, readable fonts such as Helvetica, Verdana, or Arial
• Use plain English in place of complex, indirect language
Inclusive Interaction Design
• Descriptive buttons with clear call to actions
• Visual cues and icons that are simple and easy to decipher
Limitation
There are limits placed on certain features, such as applying for jobs, to help prevent cognitive overload for users. In the above example, it indicates that users can only apply to five jobs per day.
Simple Icons and Fonts
Throughout the design, text and icons are kept simple. They directly correlate with what the user is looking for and help to avoid visual overwhelm.
Color Switch
One of our findings while researching involved color sensitivity. While our interface is designed with a neurodiverse friendly color palette, we wanted to ensure that the option to turn off all colors was available.
Simplified Navigation & Clear Hierarchy
• Simple and consistent layout design
• Clear visual hierarchy that avoids things like walls of text
Accessible Color & Typography Choices
• Simple colors with good contrast. Avoid the use of bright colors.
• Clean, readable fonts such as Helvetica, Verdana, or Arial
• Use plain English in place of complex, indirect language
Inclusive Interaction Design
• Descriptive buttons with clear call to actions
• Visual cues and icons that are simple and easy to decipher
Limitation
There are limits placed on certain features, such as applying for jobs, to help prevent cognitive overload for users. In the above example, it indicates that users can only apply to five jobs per day.
Keep it Simple
Throughout the design, text and icons are kept simple. They directly correlate with what the user is looking for and help to avoid visual overwhelm.
Color Switch
One of our findings while researching involved color sensitivity. While our interface is designed with a neurodiverse friendly color palette, we wanted to ensure that the option to turn off all colors was available.
Design Process & Principles
Key Design Principles
Simplified Navigation & Clear Hierarchy
• Simple and consistent layout design
• Clear visual hierarchy that avoids things like walls of text
Accessible Color & Typography Choices
• Simple colors with good contrast. Avoid the use of bright colors.
• Clean, readable fonts such as Helvetica, Verdana, or Arial
• Use plain English in place of complex, indirect language
Inclusive Interaction Design
• Descriptive buttons with clear call to actions
• Visual cues and icons that are simple and easy to decipher
Limitation
There are limits placed on certain features, such as applying for jobs, to help prevent cognitive overload for users. In the above example, it indicates that users can only apply to five jobs per day.
Simple Icons and Fonts
Throughout the design, text and icons are kept simple. They directly correlate with what the user is looking for and help to avoid visual overwhelm.
Color Switch
One of our findings while researching involved color sensitivity. While our interface is designed with a neurodiverse friendly color palette, we wanted to ensure that the option to turn off all colors was available.
Simplified Navigation & Clear Hierarchy
• Simple and consistent layout design
• Clear visual hierarchy that avoids things like walls of text
Accessible Color & Typography Choices
• Simple colors with good contrast. Avoid the use of bright colors.
• Clean, readable fonts such as Helvetica, Verdana, or Arial
• Use plain English in place of complex, indirect language
Inclusive Interaction Design
• Descriptive buttons with clear call to actions
• Visual cues and icons that are simple and easy to decipher
Limitation
There are limits placed on certain features, such as applying for jobs, to help prevent cognitive overload for users. In the above example, it indicates that users can only apply to five jobs per day.
Keep it Simple
Throughout the design, text and icons are kept simple. They directly correlate with what the user is looking for and help to avoid visual overwhelm.
Color Switch
One of our findings while researching involved color sensitivity. While our interface is designed with a neurodiverse friendly color palette, we wanted to ensure that the option to turn off all colors was available.
Research & Discovery
Through user research, we identified the neurodivergent community as our target user group. The key insights we found when learning about their job search experience include:
• Existing platforms lack accessibility features tailored to neurodivergent needs
• Transparency about being neurodivergent helps candidates to avoid unconscious biases upfront
• Community connection is crucial when it comes to a job search for establishing a support network
• Clear, structured interfaces that help to reduce cognitive load, prevent overwhelm, and improve usability
Hiki showed itself to be a great example to follow for building a community based app tailored towards the neurodivergent community
Persona
Persona
Research & Discovery
Through user research, we identified the neurodivergent community as our target user group. The key insights we found when learning about their job search experience include:
• Existing platforms lack accessibility features tailored to neurodivergent needs
• Transparency about being neurodivergent helps candidates to avoid unconscious biases upfront
• Community connection is crucial when it comes to a job search for establishing a support network
• Clear, structured interfaces that help to reduce cognitive load, prevent overwhelm, and improve usability
Hiki showed itself to be a great example to follow for building a community based app tailored towards the neurodivergent community
Persona
Research & Discovery
Through user research, we identified the neurodivergent community as our target user group. The key insights we found when learning about their job search experience include:
• Existing platforms lack accessibility features tailored to neurodivergent needs
• Transparency about being neurodivergent helps candidates to avoid unconscious biases upfront
• Community connection is crucial when it comes to a job search for establishing a support network
• Clear, structured interfaces that help to reduce cognitive load, prevent overwhelm, and improve usability
Hiki showed itself to be a great example to follow for building a community based app tailored towards the neurodivergent community
Persona
Final Design
achievements
• Designed a community platform experience that focused on the lived experiences of the neurodivergent to highlight their strengths and promote empathy from others
• Applied evidence-based accessibility principles to cater the experience to our target user base
• Designed an inclusive space that fosters belonging rather than masking or adaptation
Final Design
achievements
• Designed a community platform experience that focused on the lived experiences of the neurodivergent to highlight their strengths and promote empathy from others
• Applied evidence-based accessibility principles to cater the experience to our target user base
• Designed an inclusive space that fosters belonging rather than masking or adaptation
Final Design
achievements
• Designed a community platform experience that focused on the lived experiences of the neurodivergent to highlight their strengths and promote empathy from others
• Applied evidence-based accessibility principles to cater the experience to our target user base
• Designed an inclusive space that fosters belonging rather than masking or adaptation
Project Summary
Spectrum is a mobile app designed to provide an accessible job search platform for the neurodivergent community, helping users find and apply for opportunities that align with their interests and career goals while fostering community connections with others on the spectrum.
Key Challenges » Designing a mobile app that empowers underrepresented communities (BIPOC, neurodiverse, and people with disabilities) by providing access to opportunities and professional communities focused on allowing them to thrive. The design needed to level the playing field while encouraging sustained engagement and fostering inclusivity.
Role » UX Designer
Next Steps
Test feasibility of concept » The best next step for our design would be to test it with our target user group. Time was a major factor in completing this challenge, so we relied on secondary research from sources that provided high-level information. Getting the perspective of those who can tell us where our concept hits the mark and where we might have gone astray will be vital to any updates we make. By doing this, we can take our idea from concept to reality.
Project takeaway
the importance of accessibility in design » Many of the findings related to user problems for the neurodiverse overlapped with user problems for the neurotypical, i.e. cognitive overload. What separated them was the intensity with which each user experiences it. This project also brought to light the need to remove biases from decisions and redirect focus to a person's abilities in spite of any challenges they may face.
Next Steps
Test feasibility of concept » The best next step for our design would be to test it with our target user group. Time was a major factor in completing this challenge, so we relied on secondary research from sources that provided high-level information. Getting the perspective of those who can tell us where our concept hits the mark and where we might have gone astray will be vital to any updates we make. By doing this, we can take our idea from concept to reality.
Project takeaway
the importance of accessibility in design » Many of the findings related to user problems for the neurodiverse overlapped with user problems for the neurotypical, i.e. cognitive overload. What separated them was the intensity with which each user experiences it. This project also brought to light the need to remove biases from decisions and redirect focus to a person's abilities in spite of any challenges they may face.
Next Steps
Test feasibility of concept » The best next step for our design would be to test it with our target user group. Time was a major factor in completing this challenge, so we relied on secondary research from sources that provided high-level information. Getting the perspective of those who can tell us where our concept hits the mark and where we might have gone astray will be vital to any updates we make. By doing this, we can take our idea from concept to reality.
Project takeaway
The biggest takeaway from this project is the importance of accessibility in design » Many of the findings related to user problems for the neurodiverse overlapped with user problems for the neurotypical, i.e. cognitive overload. What separated them was the intensity with which each user experiences it. This project also brought to light the need to remove biases from decisions and redirect focus to a person's abilities in spite of any challenges they may face.
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