Client
The One Academy
Role
Product Designer
Year
2024
Background
The One Career Centre is a job portal designed to support alumni and final year students in finding creative job opportunities. It also serves employers by helping them connect with suitable candidates in the creative industry.
As the sole UX designer at the company, I led a full revamp of the site’s user experience and visual design.
Problem
The previous job portal was outdated, unintuitive, and visually unappealing. Although it was accessible to both alumni and students, users consistently reported difficulty navigating the platform and understanding its functionalities. This led to low engagement and underutilization.
Solution
01
Discovery
Heuristic Evaluation
I performed an audit of the existing job portal to uncover usability and visual issues:
Aesthetic and Minimalist Design
The black gradient header and footer looks dated. It lacks imagery or icons aside from a single stock image.
The use of colours is unappealing, the contrast between the black header and white background is jarring.
Flexibility and Efficiency of Use
The portal lacks filters and shortcuts making it hard to navigate.
Match Between System and the Real World
The portal lacks human-centered visuals, such as alumni photos, portfolios, or testimonials, making the experience feel disconnected and transactional.
User & Stakeholder Insights
To better understand these usability challenges, I conducted informal interviews with 5 TOA students and 2 members of the Student Services Department. Though not a formal research study, these conversations provided actionable insights.
Student Quotes
'I didn’t even know this portal existed until someone told me in class.'
'I had no idea where to start. There were too many listings, but no way to filter them.'
'It felt more like a school bulletin board than a career portal.'
Student Services Quotes
'We often get complaints that students don’t use the portal, but when we ask why, they say it’s hard to navigate.'
'We need the portal to reflect the quality of our graduates and the TOA brand.'
Competitor Research
Personalized recommendations and filters to streamline job discovery.
Integrated portfolios to highlight creative work.
A simple straightforward application process keeps the experience user-friendly.
02
Ideation
Sitemap
I started by reviewing the existing sitemap, adding annotations and refining it. I created a revised version by incorporating new UX ideas and additional features, then pitching it to stakeholders.
Defining the MVP (Minimum Viable Product)
I identified key features to ensure the platform addressed both employer and alumni needs:
Employers
Discover Page to let employers to browse a curated list of candidates tailored to specific creative fields and job requirements.
Seamless Hiring Workflow to let employers track candidates through each stage: discover, shortlisted, interviewed, accepted and rejected.
Easy Job Posting to let employers create and publish detailed job listings in just a few quick steps.
Alumni
Portfolio Showcase to let alumni add artworks and projects to stand out to potential employers.
Search and Filter to help alumni narrow down jobs based on industry.
Job Tracker to let alumni keep track of all applied jobs.
Wireframes
After defining the MVP, I created wireframes to present to stakeholders and developers. By visualizing features early on, we were able to align quickly on functionality and user flows.
Stakeholders highlighted the need to track the alumni hiring journey to support MOE reporting and demonstrate the platform’s impact.
03
Design
I built a design system that aligns with the college’s official website, resulting in a clean and cohesive interface.
Login
Users may toggle between Employer and TOA-ian (Alumni) login. This is a standard single step login process.
Jobs (Alumni Portal)
'New Jobs' enables personalized job discovery based on creative disciplines, while 'Applied Jobs' tracks application history.
Manage Candidates (Employer Portal)
The portal supports a structured hiring flow, from 'Discover' to 'Accepted', ensuring a clear and organized workflow.
Each alumni profile showcases their portfolio, helping them stand out and make a strong first impression.
Manage Jobs (Employer Portal)
'Manage Jobs' allows employers to monitor all 'Active' and 'Expired' job listings in one place and provides insights on performance metrics.
General Pages
Essential pages that provides unregistered visitors with key information about the platform.
04
Next Step
Front-end Development
I plan to collaborate closely with the front-end developer to ensure the final product reflects the intended user experience. This includes providing responsive layout specifications, clarifying interaction behaviors like hover and error states, preparing accessible, developer-friendly UI documentation.
Admin Portal
Another crucial part of the journey is to revamp the admin portal to streamline backend operations and ensure efficient, accurate data collection that supports long-term platform performance and reporting.
Achievements
As the sole designer at TOA, I spearheaded UI/UX across the platform, collaborating closely with 6 backend and 2 frontend engineers. Over the past 6 months, I’ve built a scalable design system to ensure consistency. A key part of my role is to educate non-designers on best practices, fostering a more design-aware culture within the team.
Previous Project
