Creative Shift - Calendar Map
Fostering community for underrepresented students at the University of the Arts London (UAL)
The Creative Shift initiative excels at connecting students with industry leaders, but faced a critical unmet need: facilitating connections among the students themselves. In a hybrid learning world, students expressed that the program "feels more like an event organizer than a social community". The goal was to design a digital space to foster social connections and creative exchange.
The Platform Concept
We designed a new online community space integrated seamlessly into the existing Creative Shift website. By organizing information into intuitive "List" and "Map" views, the platform helps members effortlessly discover events, navigate specific areas, and connect over shared passions.
Iterative Refinement
The interface was directly shaped by student usability testing. To minimize cognitive load and aid users with language barriers, we integrated distinct visual icons into the navigation. Additionally, we introduced a dedicated map search box to provide psychological comfort, assuring users they can confidently locate events in specific areas. The final product utilizes UAL’s familiar branding for a consistent, trusted user experience.
Conclusion & Learnings
This project reinforced the importance of creating solutions with people in mind and constantly adapting to direct user feedback. By working closely together as a team to understand the root of the problem, we were able to turn user insights into an inclusive and accessible community space for Creative Shift. Ultimately, this shared team effort made the project not just productive, but a deeply rewarding experience.
This project is designed using Figma.