Elsa Sinuhaji
UX
WAS
HERE
An updated, community oriented UX platform
This redesign of UXwasHere focuses on building a community-driven platform that connects UX advocates to foster collaboration and drive positive change in the design ecosystem.
THE TEAM
Elsa Sinuhaji
Erika Hance
Kobe Stimpson
Linda Jolly
MY ROLE
Experience design
Product manager
Interface design
TOOLS USED
Figma
Adobe Creative Suite
TIMELINE + CONTEXT
2024 — 3 Days
Eunoia Design Competition
1. PROJECT OVERVIEW
✲ Project Context
Matt Karakilic founded UXwasHere with a bold vision: to bring UX professionals together in a collaborative, solution-focused space where creativity could thrive. However, as the platform evolved, its inclusion of social media and job-search functions pulled attention away from its core purpose, creating a fragmented experience. The result was clear: 96.46% of visitors stuck to the landing page, while engagement with the platform's community-driven features—events and feedback—remained shockingly low at just 0.39% and 0.19%.
→
From February 15 to March 13, 2024, 96.46% of visitors only viewed the landing page.
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1.61% checked the jobs page, and even fewer engaged with the events (0.39%) or feedback (0.19%) pages.
(Eunoia Design Brief, 2024)
✲ My Role
As the lead UX designer and product manager, I was inspired by Karakilic’s original vision of creating a space for UX professionals to connect and collaborate. I recognized that we could broaden the platform’s scope to include experience advocates of all levels, not just professionals. Our goal was to address high user turnover and low retention by refocusing on fostering genuine connections and prioritizing community over competition.
✲ Our Approach
By emphasizing collaboration and the sharing of ideas, we sought to demonstrate how UX design can solve real-world problems across various contexts, just as Karakilic had done with his own community challenges. This shift allowed us to create a more impactful and sustainable platform that would drive meaningful change within the UX ecosystem.
2. FRAMING THE PROBLEM
✲ Narrowing Down The User: Experience Design Advocates
We chose the user group experience design advocatess because our research showed a need for a space where individuals with a passion for UX design can solve creative problems and connect outside of corporate or career driven contexts.
✲ User Pain Points + Desires
Experience design advocates often struggle with finding a space that fosters collaboration and idea-sharing without the pressure of competition or career advancement. They desire a community where they can explore UX design creatively, gain feedback, and collaborate with like-minded individuals. However, existing platforms are too focused on professional growth, leaving their need for creative connection unmet.
✲ Problem Insights
We started by conducting user testing and surveying the existing platform with creative problem solvers as our target users. Here are the three key insights gathered:
INSIGHT 1
There's an oversaturation of platforms that blend social media and job-searching features, leaving users seeking spaces focused on meaningful connections and collaboration.
INSIGHT 2
Users are frustrated by the UXwasHere's lack of focus, outdated tools, and broken functionality, which hinder meaningful engagement.
INSIGHT 3
Users struggle to find a niche, impactful community that aligns with their mission to create positive change through UX and supports long-term collaboration.
✲ The Driving Question
How might we empower UX advocates in Vancouver to nurture community, meaningful connections, collaboration, and long-term growth in order to amplify their personal and professional impact?
3. HOW WE BUILT THIS
✲ Key Challenges
The key challenge when working on this project was striking the balance between the client’s vision and the actual needs of the users. Leading the effort, I synthesized insights from user testing, which showed that users craved a platform centred on meaningful connections and collaboration — not a scattered mix of social media and job-search features. The platform’s ambitious scope, outdated tools, and broken functionality led to frustration and disengagement. I led the decision to prioritize user needs and brand value over the client’s existing vision, opting to simplify the platform and remove unfocused elements in order to create a more meaningful and lasting experience.
✲ Limiting Platform to Vancouver
Though previously global, we limited the platform to Vancouver, the starting ground of where UXwasHere started, to foster a tight-knit, mission-driven community where local experience design advocates could collaborate more effectively. By focusing on this specific area, we could create a more impactful, sustainable network and drive meaningful change within the city's design ecosystem.
✲ Competitor Analysis
User feedback in our competitor analysis showed a clear preference for platforms like ADPList, Design Buddies, and IterateUX for job-searching and networking, citing their established, diverse content. Concerns about UXwasHere’s trustworthiness also emerged, with one participant pointing out that much of the content was created by Matt Karakilic. This highlighted the need for a more focused approach, as UXwasHere’s broad scope lacked the niche appeal and trust that competitors successfully leveraged. We concluded that the platform needed to refine its focus to differentiate itself.
✲ Experience Design Principles
Through secondary research, we explored how to build a community-driven social enterprise that could transform UXwasHere into a virtual third space. Here are the three principles that guided our approach:
ESTABLISH IDENTITY TO DRIVE ENGAGEMENT
Frame networking and digital connections as an extension of identity, both personally and professionally, to boost participation and engagement.
CREATE SHARED PURPOSE
Foster emotional connections in digital spaces by enabling relationship-building and shared activities, while letting users engage at their own pace or depth.
DISTRIBUTE THE ABILITY TO SOLVE
Social platforms for good connect people, enabling collaboration and innovation by providing diverse voices and essential tools to solve problems together.
5. INTRODUCING UXWASHERE - REDESIGNED
✲ Onboard with Identity
✲ Landing Page
✲ Hurdles: Community Problem Solving
✲ Vault
✲ Profiles Page
4. REFLECTION
HAPPINESS
Measure user satisfaction through feedback on Hurdles and Vault contributions to ensure a strong community.
ENGAGEMENT
Track participation in Hurdles through problem submissions, collaboration, and Vault contributions.
ADOPTION
Measure how many new users complete onboarding and post their first Hurdle, marking their entry into the community.
RETENTION
Analyze sustained participation by tracking recurring problem-solving contributions and repeated resource-sharing in the Vault.
TASK SUCCESS
Measured by engagement on Hurdle collaboration through community solutions.
✲ We Took A Bold Risk, Did It Pay Off?
During the 3-day design competition, I led the team in taking a bold risk, fully aware of the potential consequences. We aimed to push the boundaries of what UXwasHere could be, prioritizing innovation and creativity above all else. While our solution was unique and impactful, it diverged from Karakilic’s original vision, particularly with the introduction of a location-based approach. The judges commended our boldness but raised concerns about its practicality in relation to the platform’s core goals.
✲ Here's What I Learned Most
Looking back, I see that while bold innovation is essential, we could have improved by considering the feasibility of our ideas in terms of business implementation. Understanding the client’s constraints and platform functions would have helped us create solutions that were not only innovative but also sustainable. This experience taught me the importance of balancing creativity with the practicalities of execution.
✲ Time Management Skills Go Crazyyy
I’m proud of our team's time management and my project management skills; despite the competition lasting only three days, I spent weeks preparing by gathering assets, creating a detailed schedule, reading design books, and sharing key insights with my team to keep us on track. We were extremely prepared and organized, and that made the process more fun.
✲ :)
Read the judge's feedback here