Project Summary
Spectrum is a networking platform designed to help the neurodivergent community find and apply for opportunities that align with their strengths while fostering community connections with others on the spectrum. Built over 4 days as part of the General Assembly and Adobe Creative Jam, the project placed 27th out of approximately 100 teams with a score of 80 out of 100.
Key Challenges »Narrowing a broad brief about underrepresented creatives to a focused and defensible problem space; Designing an accessible mobile experience under significant time constraints; Balancing the needs of neurodivergent users with the expectations of employers and the broader job market
Role » UX/UI Designer
Methods » Secondary Research, Competitive Analysis, Sketching, Hi-Fi Prototyping
the Challenge
Challenge Statement
Networking and job search platforms were not designed with the neurodivergent community in mind. Cognitive overload from inaccessible interfaces and a hiring process that rewards masking over authenticity makes finding meaningful work and building genuine connections significantly harder for neurodiverse users than it needs to be.
Research Snapshot
Insight #1
Accessibility Gap
Existing platforms were not built with accessibility in mind for neurodivergent users. Without accommodations built into the experience, users are left to navigate interfaces that were never designed for how they process information.
Insight #2
Comfort from Transparency
Transparency about neurodivergence helps candidates avoid unconscious bias upfront. Recruiters on the platform would be aware they are engaging with a neurodivergent community, creating a space where users never have to disclose or mask who they are enabling them to highlight their strengths.
Insight #3
Isolation and Authenticity
The job search process can be isolating for anyone, but for neurodivergent users that isolation is magnified when the spaces available to them are built for and dominated by neurotypical users. Shared experiences and genuine connection create a space where showing up authentically is the default.
Key Design Principles
Simplified Navigation and Clear hierarchy
Neurodivergent users are more susceptible to cognitive overload than neurotypical users. A consistent layout with a clear visual hierarchy reduces the mental effort required to navigate the app, allowing users to focus on finding opportunities rather than figuring out how to use the platform
Accessible Colors and Typography
Color sensitivity and reading difficulties can present differently across the neurodivergent spectrum. Simple colors with strong contrast, clean fonts, and plain language create an experience that works across a range of needs rather than designing for one.
Inclusive Interaction Design
Ambiguity creates friction. Descriptive buttons, simple icons, and visual cues that directly correlate with their function give neurodivergent users the predictability they need to navigate confidently.
Iterations
With 4 days to design and prototype, most major design decisions were made during the sketch phase before moving into Adobe XD.
Final Designs
Design Decisions in Practice
Neurodivergent users can experience heightened sensitivity to certain colors. While the interface was designed with a neurodivergent friendly palette, a color switch was built in to give users full control over their visual experience allowing for change to a black and white colored interface.
Cognitive overload involves more than navigation and content. By limiting users to five job applications per day, it helps to prevent overwhelm and keeps the experience focused and manageable.
Throughout the design, text and icons are kept simple and directly correlate with what the user is looking for. Every element serves a clear and direct purpose.
Outcomes
Community First Design
Designed a community platform centered on the lived experiences of the neurodivergent community, highlighting their strengths and promoting empathy from others.
Evidence Based Design
Applied evidence-based accessibility principles to create an experience tailored to the specific needs of our target user base.
Belonging Over Masking
Designed an inclusive space that fosters belonging and authentic self expression rather than masking or adaptation.
Key Takeaway
Accessibility Begins With Empathy
Accessibility is not a feature. It is a foundation. The findings from this project revealed that neurodivergent and neurotypical users share many of the same frustrations. What separated them was the intensity with which each user experiences it. This brought to light the need to remove biases from design decisions and redirect focus to a person's abilities in spite of any challenges they may face.
Next Steps
Test feasibility of concept
Testing the concept with neurodivergent users would be the most critical next step in taking Spectrum from concept to reality, validating where the design hits the mark and where it needs to go further.
Project Summary
Spectrum is a networking platform designed to help the neurodivergent community find and apply for opportunities that align with their strengths while fostering community connections with others on the spectrum. Built over 4 days as part of the General Assembly and Adobe Creative Jam, the project placed 27th out of approximately 100 teams with a score of 80 out of 100.
Key Challenges »Narrowing a broad brief about underrepresented creatives to a focused and defensible problem space; Designing an accessible mobile experience under significant time constraints; Balancing the needs of neurodivergent users with the expectations of employers and the broader job market
Role » UX/UI Designer
Methods » Secondary Research, Competitive Analysis, Sketching, Hi-Fi Prototyping
the Challenge
Challenge Statement
Networking and job search platforms were not designed with the neurodivergent community in mind. Cognitive overload from inaccessible interfaces and a hiring process that rewards masking over authenticity makes finding meaningful work and building genuine connections significantly harder for neurodiverse users than it needs to be.
Research Snapshot
Insight #1
Accessibility Gap
Existing platforms were not built with accessibility in mind for neurodivergent users. Without accommodations built into the experience, users are left to navigate interfaces that were never designed for how they process information.
Insight #2
Comfort from Transparency
Transparency about neurodivergence helps candidates avoid unconscious bias upfront. Recruiters on the platform would be aware they are engaging with a neurodivergent community, creating a space where users never have to disclose or mask who they are enabling them to highlight their strengths.
Insight #3
Isolation and Authenticity
The job search process can be isolating for anyone, but for neurodivergent users that isolation is magnified when the spaces available to them are built for and dominated by neurotypical users. Shared experiences and genuine connection create a space where showing up authentically is the default.
Key Design Principles
Simplified Navigation and Clear hierarchy
Neurodivergent users are more susceptible to cognitive overload than neurotypical users. A consistent layout with a clear visual hierarchy reduces the mental effort required to navigate the app, allowing users to focus on finding opportunities rather than figuring out how to use the platform
Accessible Colors and Typography
Color sensitivity and reading difficulties can present differently across the neurodivergent spectrum. Simple colors with strong contrast, clean fonts, and plain language create an experience that works across a range of needs rather than designing for one.
Inclusive Interaction Design
Ambiguity creates friction. Descriptive buttons, simple icons, and visual cues that directly correlate with their function give neurodivergent users the predictability they need to navigate confidently.
Iterations
With 4 days to design and prototype, most major design decisions were made during the sketch phase before moving into Adobe XD.
Final Designs
Design Decisions in Practice
Neurodivergent users can experience heightened sensitivity to certain colors. While the interface was designed with a neurodivergent friendly palette, a color switch was built in to give users full control over their visual experience allowing for change to a black and white colored interface.
Cognitive overload involves more than navigation and content. By limiting users to five job applications per day, it helps to prevent overwhelm and keeps the experience focused and manageable.
Throughout the design, text and icons are kept simple and directly correlate with what the user is looking for. Every element serves a clear and direct purpose.
Outcomes
Community First Design
Designed a community platform centered on the lived experiences of the neurodivergent community, highlighting their strengths and promoting empathy from others.
Evidence Based Design
Applied evidence-based accessibility principles to create an experience tailored to the specific needs of our target user base.
Belonging Over Masking
Designed an inclusive space that fosters belonging and authentic self expression rather than masking or adaptation.
Key Takeaway
Accessibility Begins With Empathy
Accessibility is not a feature. It is a foundation. The findings from this project revealed that neurodivergent and neurotypical users share many of the same frustrations. What separated them was the intensity with which each user experiences it. This brought to light the need to remove biases from design decisions and redirect focus to a person's abilities in spite of any challenges they may face.
Next Steps
Test feasibility of concept
Testing the concept with neurodivergent users would be the most critical next step in taking Spectrum from concept to reality, validating where the design hits the mark and where it needs to go further.
Project Summary
Spectrum is a networking platform designed to help the neurodivergent community find and apply for opportunities that align with their strengths while fostering community connections with others on the spectrum. Built over 4 days as part of the General Assembly and Adobe Creative Jam, the project placed 27th out of approximately 100 teams with a score of 80 out of 100.
Key Challenges »Narrowing a broad brief about underrepresented creatives to a focused and defensible problem space; Designing an accessible mobile experience under significant time constraints; Balancing the needs of neurodivergent users with the expectations of employers and the broader job market
Role » UX/UI Designer
Methods » Secondary Research, Competitive Analysis, Sketching, Hi-Fi Prototyping
the Challenge
Challenge Statement
Networking and job search platforms were not designed with the neurodivergent community in mind. Cognitive overload from inaccessible interfaces and a hiring process that rewards masking over authenticity makes finding meaningful work and building genuine connections significantly harder for neurodiverse users than it needs to be.
Research Snapshot
Insight #1
Accessibility Gap
Existing platforms were not built with accessibility in mind for neurodivergent users. Without accommodations built into the experience, users are left to navigate interfaces that were never designed for how they process information.
Insight #2
Comfort from Transparency
Transparency about neurodivergence helps candidates avoid unconscious bias upfront. Recruiters on the platform would be aware they are engaging with a neurodivergent community, creating a space where users never have to disclose or mask who they are enabling them to highlight their strengths.
Insight #3
Isolation and Authenticity
The job search process can be isolating for anyone, but for neurodivergent users that isolation is magnified when the spaces available to them are built for and dominated by neurotypical users. Shared experiences and genuine connection create a space where showing up authentically is the default.
Key Design Principles
Simplified Navigation and Clear hierarchy
Neurodivergent users are more susceptible to cognitive overload than neurotypical users. A consistent layout with a clear visual hierarchy reduces the mental effort required to navigate the app, allowing users to focus on finding opportunities rather than figuring out how to use the platform
Accessible Colors and Typography
Color sensitivity and reading difficulties can present differently across the neurodivergent spectrum. Simple colors with strong contrast, clean fonts, and plain language create an experience that works across a range of needs rather than designing for one.
Inclusive Interaction Design
Ambiguity creates friction. Descriptive buttons, simple icons, and visual cues that directly correlate with their function give neurodivergent users the predictability they need to navigate confidently.
Iterations
With 4 days to design and prototype, most major design decisions were made during the sketch phase before moving into Adobe XD.
Final Designs
Design Decisions in Practice
Neurodivergent users can experience heightened sensitivity to certain colors. While the interface was designed with a neurodivergent friendly palette, a color switch was built in to give users full control over their visual experience allowing for change to a black and white colored interface.
Cognitive overload involves more than navigation and content. By limiting users to five job applications per day, it helps to prevent overwhelm and keeps the experience focused and manageable.
Throughout the design, text and icons are kept simple and directly correlate with what the user is looking for. Every element serves a clear and direct purpose.
Outcomes
Community First Design
Designed a community platform centered on the lived experiences of the neurodivergent community, highlighting their strengths and promoting empathy from others.
Evidence Based Design
Applied evidence-based accessibility principles to create an experience tailored to the specific needs of our target user base.
Belonging Over Masking
Designed an inclusive space that fosters belonging and authentic self expression rather than masking or adaptation.
Key Takeaway
Accessibility Begins With Empathy
Accessibility is not a feature. It is a foundation. The findings from this project revealed that neurodivergent and neurotypical users share many of the same frustrations. What separated them was the intensity with which each user experiences it. This brought to light the need to remove biases from design decisions and redirect focus to a person's abilities in spite of any challenges they may face.
Next Steps
Test feasibility of concept
Testing the concept with neurodivergent users would be the most critical next step in taking Spectrum from concept to reality, validating where the design hits the mark and where it needs to go further.
Outcomes
Community First Design
Designed a community platform centered on the lived experiences of the neurodivergent community, highlighting their strengths and promoting empathy from others.
Evidence Based Design
Applied evidence-based accessibility principles to create an experience tailored to the specific needs of our target user base.
Belonging Over Masking
Designed an inclusive space that fosters belonging and authentic self expression rather than masking or adaptation.
Key Takeaway
Accessibility Begins With Empathy
Accessibility is not a feature. It is a foundation. The findings from this project revealed that neurodivergent and neurotypical users share many of the same frustrations. What separated them was the intensity with which each user experiences it. This brought to light the need to remove biases from design decisions and redirect focus to a person's abilities in spite of any challenges they may face.
Next Steps
Test feasibility of concept
Testing the concept with neurodivergent users would be the most critical next step in taking Spectrum from concept to reality, validating where the design hits the mark and where it needs to go further.
