Study Spaces

Overview

Students face a lot of stress which are often caused by procrastination and being overwhelmed with the amount of school work given to them. During the pandemic, it was also hard for students to meet with their classmates and receive feedback and help from their peers. One way to combat this is by finding a good area free from distractions that can help students focus and concentrate better while also meeting other students.

Problem Space

How might we help students find the best locations for studying and doing their homework while also getting the opportunity to meet other students?

Students can find it difficult to concentrate in crowded and places with a lot of distractions. It can also be difficult to find seating in cafes and libraries during midterm and finals season. How might we help students find the best environment for concentrating/studying?

I also wanted to know how I could help students meet with other students in similar programs. After the pandemic, many students missed a lot of the university/college experience and were not able to meet people in their classes. Making friends is also an issue a lot of students face.

Solution

Study Spaces App

My solution was to design an app prototype called Study Spaces that would help them find a place to study and work such as a cafe or library. This app would allow them to create a profile and make friends in similar programs and classes.

Research

User Survey

  1. Do you prefer studying at home or outside? Why?

  1. What factors affect where you choose to study/work on homework?

  1. Would you be willing to study in cafe’s/libraries or other study spaces?

  1. If yes, where are some of your favourite places to study at?

  1. Are there any websites you use to find study spots?

  1. What are some ways to help yourself concentrate better?

  1. Do you find it distracting working with other people or in crowded places?

  1. How would you feel about meeting other people through these study spaces?

For my user research I conducted a survey on 7 university students and 1 short interview to follow up from the survey. I asked them questions to get to know how they study, where they study and how they feel about studying with other people.

Mapping

After analyzing my research materials I found that the common user is the studious student that takes school seriously but can also be stressed and overwhelmed. I made an empathy map to represent this type of user and to understand what they want in a prototype. I put down what the student says, thinks, does and feels based on the answers from my survey

Concept

Wireframe Sketches

Moodboard

The main concept of this app is to help students find study locations near them and to meet other students in similar fields.

I wanted to include:

  • Include filters to find the best possible location

  • Include a home page with all favourites locations

  • Have a live forum so that people can know if the location is currently busy

Why:

  • To meet friends and new people

  • Hard to find good study spots that are not too crowded, small, have slow wifi, etc.

  • To allow students to concentrate/focus better

Final Prototype