Kinetic is an online platform that provides students with the opportunity to learn about entrepreneurship through practical, hands-on experience. The platform offers a variety of resources, including case studies, fireside chats with global leaders, and a pitch competition.
I led the UI and branding design of Kinetic.
CHALLENGE
01
In today's fast-paced world, having an entrepreneurial mindset is more important than ever. However, many students do not have the opportunity to develop these skills in a traditional school setting. The education system in many regions, especially in Africa, lacks in providing practical entrepreneurial skills. As a result, many students graduate and face high unemployment rates (35%) and a lack of employability skills.
RESEARCH
02
In the early stages of this project, research was primarily conducted by product leads and engineers, as there were no dedicated designers or UX researchers involved. The product leads took an active role in facilitating entrepreneurship sessions and directly gathering feedback from students, ensuring firsthand insights to inform the development. Project mentors also played a key role, offering valuable guidance that helped shape the platform's direction.
Our design process was further influenced by the first iteration of the product, Systematic Entrepreneurship, which had been developed for an adult audience. This earlier version, created by a team of engineers, provided crucial insights and direction for the current platform. Since the platform was initially designed by developers, much of the guidance on design and structure originated from them.
Old interface, Systematic Entrepreneurship platform
IDEATION
03
Collaborative Wireframing with an Engineering Focus
Given that this project was primarily engineering-driven, most of the wireframes were created by the engineers. However, it was a collaborative effort with design input as well. The process involved frequent brainstorming sessions, where both teams would jump on calls to discuss and refine key features and design flows. Together, we also worked on mood boards to guide the visual direction and ensure the design was aligned with the overall vision of the platform.
Some of the screens we used for ideation
We designed an interactive and immersive platform where students could engage with the content, collaborate with peers, and receive guidance from educators. Our process involved setting weekly design plans with flows that should be completed each week.
SOLUTION
04
Account Creation
To accommodate diverse users, I prioritised user type selection during account creation.
Project Set-up
For the students to begin their lessons, they needed to initiate their projects on the platform, focusing on a specific issue to be addressed within the 17 SDGs and adding team members to work on the project.
Lessons and Quiz
The lessons page is a section where students can access all their learning materials and assignments. The lessons are divided into weeks to enhance the user experience and make the information easily digestible in small chunks.
League
To encourage consistency and lesson completion, we introduced gamification through a league to motivate the learners.
LESSONS
05
The developer-led nature of the project presented a challenge: limited opportunity for user testing before development. Ideally, I would have taken time in the design phase and followed the design thinking process to problem-solve and understand the target audience.