Project Type:
Web Platform, Education
My Role:
Product Design Lead
Project Timeline:
Sep 2023 - present
Lost on how to enter the real world as a high schooler?
ExploreCareers is a web platform that lets students explore and discover their career paths scientifically while collecting valuable research on teen behavior. Imagine a tool that truly understands you, offering personalized career advice based on your unique interests and goals.
That’s what ExploreCareers does.
(MY ROLE)
My approach to this project was all about connecting with the teen audience, making sure every design decision was laser-focused on their needs.
As the design lead, I guided an 8-person team to create a user interface that wasn’t just functional— it was engaging and easy to use. I led the team to synthesize insights from over 20 research papers, ensuring every design choice was backed by solid data and information was delivered based on proven models.
(VISION & INNOVATION)
Our vision? To empower students to confidently explore their career options and make informed decisions that align with their personal goals. What sets us apart is our information architecture that is based on the identity status theory, helping students pinpoint exactly where they stand and what they need to succeed.
Our platform is not just offering advice— we’re offering personalized advice that meets students right where they are.
(CHALLENGES)
Before I started designing, our team conducted general need findings into the challenges of current high school career resources: high costs, an overwhelming student-to-counselor ratio, and a lack of personalized advice.
My biggest design challenge? Integrating AI to enhance, not disrupt, the user experience. The result was a bot that felt like a natural extension of the platform, guiding students without getting in the way.
(PROBLEMS)
We faced bumps— initial designs didn’t resonate with our teen users, leading to disengagement after 3-5 clicks. But with a bit of AI automation and some prompt engineering, I transformed complex career data into bite-sized, easy-to-digest pieces.
The AI chatbot, powered by SerpAPI, became a reliable, accurate source of information with minimal hallucinations.
(USER-CENTRIC DESIGN)
AI boosted our efficiency. The design team went from taking 3 months for our first prototype to creating 100 functional pages with just 1 click— thanks to AI’s flexibility (after training the AI, fine-tuning the information, and spending a week ensuring accuracy and making necessary adjustments; still faster nonetheless).
This experience showed me how much more our designs could offer, catering to the diverse backgrounds and personalities of our users at a larger scale and efficiency.
(USER NEEDS)
After rounds of testing, we found that 80% of students wanted a simple, personalized career exploration experience.
The flashy AI chatbot? Cool, but the real value was in delivering the right information quickly and easily.
I made sure the platform was effective and straightforward to navigate through the large complex career database.
(SOLUTION & CONCLUSION)
This project wasn’t my first with AI, but it was the first with a full UX research team. The challenges were real, but the rewards were too— increased student engagement and clearer career guidance.
As the design lead, I streamlined the process, fostered team collaboration, and delivered a polished final product. Moving forward, I’m excited to refine these processes and elevate user experiences in career exploration even further.
