Overview

My UI/UX internship at S&C was an incredible journey of growth and learning. Over the summer, I collaborated with a talented team and honed my design skills. From user research to prototyping, I gained hands-on experience in creating user-centered designs.
As an art enthusiast and artist myself, it led me to choose this project. I was curious to discover more about how in today's digital age, some traditional galleries fall short of offering unrestricted, global access to art. There's a significant need for a platform blending traditional arts allure with technological reach, especially for those facing accessibility challenges.
My role
Methods
Comparative analysis, User Stories, Wire framing, Prototyping
Design Toolkit
Pencil & Paper, Figma, Balsamiq, Confluence
Duration
May 2023 - August 2023
UX/UI Design Intern (2023 Summer Intership)
gOAL
    Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua.
    CHALLENGE
    Recognizing obstacles hindering user support within our existing example mobile app.
    problem
    How might we address how users seek and receive assistance across all out mobile apps?
    introduction

    S&C Electric, around since 1911, leads the way in smart grid solutions. They specialize in advanced power systems, grid automation, and energy storage to make power delivery safer, more reliable, and resilient. This mobile app is for line workers who check and verify information on electrical servers in the field on site.

    Target Users: Line Workers

    dESIGN Process
    What was the process?
    Research
    Research Methods
    By doing a comparative analysis, I learnt a lot about what works well and what doesn't in terms of user experience. By looking at how platforms like LinkedIn, YouTube, and TikTok performed, next I gathered key insights in order to provide the best possible experience for the users.
    Let’s take a look a each app and work well when addressing how user seek and receive assistance in their app’s.
    Comparative analysis
    The LinkedIn Help page's primary goal is to be a valuable user resource, offering support and guidance for effective platform use. This is accomplished through a comprehensive knowledge base, intuitive search, clear categorization, troubleshooting guides, community support, various contact options, accessibility features, and frequent updates.
    The YouTube mobile help page empowers users to enhance their mobile experience and resolve issues. It equips them with tools and assistance for maximum enjoyment and effective problem-solving.
    The TikTok support page enhances user experience by offering FAQs, easy search, reporting tools, safety resources, technical support, and accessibility features. It aims to address queries, provide guidance, and ensure a positive platform experience.
    Analyzing the performance of platforms such as LinkedIn, YouTube, and TikTok, we extracted essential insights to ensure an optimal user experience for our users.
    user research
    User journeys were vital to our research because they provided a holistic view of how users sought and received help within a mobile app. They helped me understand the entire experience, uncover pain points, and guided improvements by visualizing the user’s path, including goals, actions, and opportunities—from the initial identification of a need through to resolution and follow-up.
    This helped me understand the user’s path from start to finish, illustrating the sequence of steps, decisions, and interactions when seeking help in the mobile app after a device failure. Creating a user flow was vital because it visually outlined the path users took as they interacted with the product.
    This research helped me understand how users would seek and receive help, from identifying the need to resolving the issue. Experimenting with various user journeys, flows, and maps led us to make improvements and build upon our existing mobile app.
    After conducting in-depth research their were some exciting key findings that were produced:
    Ease of Access: Users value accessible help
    Quick Solutions: Users seek fast answers
    Clear Information: Users seek concise answers
    Effective Search: Robust search is crucial
    Multichannel Support: Offer varied assistance options
    Self-Service Preference: Users favor independent solutions
    Contextual Help: Users appreciate in-app assistance
    Personalization: Tailored help is valued
    Feedback Loop: User input drives improvement
    loW FIDELITY Design
    After researching and gathering insights, the next step was to enhance the app’s help process with low-fidelity designs.
    I began with simple sketches and wireframes, using Balsamiq to create straightforward representations of our design concepts that emphasized functionality over visual details. This approach allowed me to quickly test and refine ideas, focus on core concepts, and gather early feedback. These designs visually presented suggested enhancements, like assistance features, context-based help materials, and support channels, all aimed at guiding the integration of improved user support.
    MID FIDELITY Design
    Now, I moved into mid-fidelity designs using Figma, where I began adding more detail and clarity to our concepts—essentially giving the initial sketches more shape and structure.
    At this stage, I incorporated realistic elements like content, buttons, and basic colors, all guided by research and feedback from design reviews. Many of these concepts and features were refined further, leading me to high-fidelity designs that effectively solve the user’s problem of seeking and receiving help within the app.
    After creating low-fidelity & mid-fidelity designs, the next step was to develop high-fidelity screens to match the app's design guidelines.
    HIGH FIDELITY Design & pROTOTYPE
    Using components from the Design System, I developed detailed mockups that highlighted the enhanced help features, bringing our improvements to life in a polished, user-ready format.
    Onboarding
    A key part of the help process was creating an onboarding experience for new users. During onboarding, essential user information is gathered while users are introduced to the app’s benefits and guided through its core functions. Interactive tutorials provide helpful tips, ensuring users are comfortable with the interface and ready to get the most out of the app.



    1.  Gathers profile information
    2. Introduces app benefits
    3. Educates on functions
    4. Users navigate tutorials with helpful tips for interface usage
    Search Bar
    Now lets get into the second help feature. Users can quickly and effectively find answers to their questions using the search bar, which allows them to locate specific topics or pages with ease. The results are tailored based off the issues the user is seeking help with.



    1. Quickly and efficiently
    2. find answers
    3. Tailored results
    4. Locates specific topics with ease via help icons
    Support Channels
    Support Channels are essential for users. Users easily access the help center via settings. Inside, they find an intuitive layout for quick solutions and support that includes a search bar, FAQs, and helpful guides.




    1. Users access help center via settings
    2. Intuitive layout inside
    3. Offers quick solutions and support
    4. Includes search, FAQs, and helpful guides
    The Final Screens

    Final Product

    Reflection
    Lesson Learned + What I'd do differently next time.

    Learned about design systems
    Throughout my internship, I delved into the realm of design systems, understanding how they streamline and unify the design process. I learned to create consistent and scalable designs by leveraging design patterns, components, and guidelines.

    ​Communication and Collaboration
    Secondly, Working closely with the team has taught me the art of effective communication and collaboration. Design reviews with the team have reinforced the importance of clear and concise communication in translating design ideas into tangible outcomes. I’m grateful to have had the opportunity to improve and learn more about communication.
    ‍
    Gained skills in storytelling/presentation
    I found storytelling and presenting challenging, and I learned how to present my work in clear and compelling ways. I embraced the art of crafting narratives to showcase the design journey, decisions, and outcomes. Learning and continuing improving this skill through the summer not only fosters better engagement during design reviews but also communicates the rationale behind design choices to team members.

    Thank you for reading!

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