Enriching University Life Together.
Enriching University Life Together.
A community app connecting students on campus
through valued voices and genuine stories.
A community app connecting
students on campus through
valued voices and
genuine stories.
Ca.me reimagines university life, creating a vibrant, inclusive space where students from diverse backgrounds connect and share freely, maintaining privacy with anonymity features. This platform fosters open dialogue, understanding, and a deep sense of belonging, enriching the campus experience through community building, content sharing, and peer connections.
7 months
Grad Project
Figma, Svelte, Photoshop, Illustrator, AfterEffect, InDesign, Cinema4D
In the synergy of community, I find the strength to chase our dreams and the courage to continue when alone we might falter. It’s in the collective spirit of support, empathy, and shared aspirations that our individual journeys gain meaning and momentum.
In today's diverse academic landscape, universities are hubs of global diversity, welcoming students from various backgrounds. However, this diversity, while enriching, can also create communication challenges due to differences in language, culture, and experiences. To address this, there is a need for a unique and trustworthy space where students can share their stories and thoughts without fear of judgment, fostering inclusive dialogue and understanding.
How might we create a unique and trustworthy space for students to share their stories and thoughts without fear of judgment, overcoming the communication barriers posed by diverse language, culture, and backgrounds on university campuses?
By allowing anonymous conversations, Ca.me fosters open dialogue and connection among students, creating a supportive community where they can express themselves freely. This privacy-oriented approach, with student authentication using their campus email, ensures a secure environment. In this community synergy, Ca.me helps students motivate each other and grow together, strengthening the sense of community and enriching university life.
Ca.me allows sign-up through a verification email sent via the user's school email account. This system ensures that only university students in Canada can fully participate in the community, effectively preventing unauthorized access. Initially, student verification is optional, allowing users to explore the platform. However, full participation in the community requires completing school verification via the user's profile page.
Despite allowing anonymity to foster engagement, Ca.me assigns nicknames to mitigate potential negative effects, enhancing both communication and information sharing on campus.
The Home section serves as the main feed where students can follow categories tailored to their preferences. Categories range from general campus life, academic Q&A, and housing, to specialized groups like career development, health and wellness, arts, IT and design, and more. This setup ensures that students receive live updates from chosen groups directly in their main feed. Features such as liking, saving posts, commenting, and viewing engagement metrics enhance interactive experiences.
Ca.me is committed to creating a safe environment and has mechanisms for reporting inappropriate content, ensuring inclusivity and welcoming community.
Students can create and adjust their academic schedules. in the Timetable section. This feature provides notifications ahead of class times to help manage their day efficiently. Ca.me aims to make academic life more enjoyable and productive by facilitating interaction and helping students develop good study habits. The timetable can also be saved as an image or sent to fellow students.
The Chats section of Ca.me, tailored for university students across Canada, offers both private and public chatting capabilities. This feature allows students to create or join groups aligned with their interests and preferences, facilitating the growth of friendships within a vibrant virtual community.
Groups can be customized for visibility, password protection, and size, ensuring a secure and tailored communication experience. The platform supports multimedia features like image attachments, stickers, and voice messages, enhancing the way students connect and share.
Ca.me offers a tailored experience for students, featuring customizable notifications for updates, messages, comments, and group posts. This ensures students stay connected with every aspect of campus life and never miss out on crucial university events.
The My Page section further personalizes the experience by allowing students to manage account settings conveniently. Students can reset passwords, update personal details, review community guidelines, or switch universities with ease. Additionally, Ca.me provides options to customize the app’s appearance, including dark mode and password lock settings, making the platform truly individualized.
To understand university students' needs in Canada, I conducted a 1:1 empathy interview and a survey. The interview explored challenges, preferences, and expectations. The survey gathered demographic data and insights into their academic experiences in Canada. It produced 120 respondents, and the interview involved 10 domestic students and 16 international students. Both methods aimed to create a user-centric solution that addresses diverse needs, ensures privacy, and fosters inclusivity.
Student 02- “I think we should prioritize privacy and anonymity in a university app to ensure that students feel comfortable sharing their thoughts and experiences without fear of judgment or repercussion.
Student 08- “As an international student, I value these platforms for enhancing my university experience in Canada, connecting with peers, and supporting each other.
Student 22- “As a full-time working domestic student, I rely on app alerts for updates and deadlines. However, the current system of school email notifications, which requires verification each time I log in, can be cumbersome.
✦ Desire for Community
✦ Enhanced Academic Support
✦ Connection with Peers
✦ Open Discussion Anonymously
20 | International Student
Simon Fraser University
Based on survey and interview insights, I created a persona: Jordan is a student facing challenges in adjusting to a new language, connecting with peers, and balancing academics with a social life. He is looking for anonymous discussions about language learning and international student challenges.
✧ Adjusting to a new language environment
✧ Struggling to connect with peers
✧ Managing academic and social life
✦ To discuss language learning and challenges
✦ To engage in open dialogue on multicultural topics
✦ To find balance between academic responsibilities and social life
23 | Domestic Student
Emily Carr University of Art + Design
Serina faces the challenge of finding affordable housing while actively pursuing her career in the music industry. Despite these challenges, she is keen to connect with fellow music enthusiasts and looks forward to receiving event notifications with personalized recommendations.
✧ Struggles with finding affordable housing
✧ Difficulty finding a platform for anonymous connections with music enthusiasts
✧ Challenges in seeking internship or part time job in the music industry
✦ To discuss school-life topics, housing and music interests
✦ To get event notifications or recommendations for music
✦ To connect with like-minded individuals for music-related discussions, collaborations, and career opportunities
A competitor analysis was conducted, evaluating seven representative brands to discern Ca.me's market positioning. This assessment enhanced understanding of the competitive environment, identified strengths and opportunities, and refined the strategic approach.
The ca.me platform in Canada offers Home, Timetable, Chats, Notifications, and My Page, enhancing the campus experience. Its onboarding journey includes School Verification, ensuring a secure and authentic community for users.
The ca.me wireframe is designed with students in mind, ensuring that students can easily navigate and access its features. This helps ensure that ca.me meets the specific needs and preferences of its users, enhancing their overall experience on the platform.
Following the wireframe design for ca.me, I focused on intuitive layouts and effective information display. User testing, including students' feedback, refined the concept and underscored the importance of iterative improvement in enhancing the ca.me brand.
Student 01- “The app's design is incredibly intuitive and user-friendly. Navigating through the different sections is a breeze, making it easy to find what I need.
Student 05- “I'm really impressed with the functions and overall experience of the platform. It's not only useful but also enjoyable to use for university students. I can see myself incorporating it into my daily routine.
Student 02- “Consider simplifying the onboarding journey by removing the specific degree, major, and year. This information can be automatically included when a user authenticates their student status.
Student 03- “It would be nice to have a welcoming message when a user signs up or signs in. It adds a personal touch to the user experience.
Incorporating real user data into prototypes enables meaningful feedback and early testing of changes. This approach allows for rapid adjustments and the development of high-fidelity prototypes, which saves time in later stages of development. My goal in this process was to create a space where university students can seamlessly share experiences, support each other, and grow together, ultimately enriching their university life.
While simplicity often enhances the user experience, particularly in the context of a Grad project, I've discovered the immense value of experimental design. Instead of settling for conventional applications, I delved into innovative designs, resulting in an interactive web experience that reflects my journey of pushing boundaries using Svelte. Utilizing character-driven webtoons that mirror my personal story in Emily Carr, I effectively conveyed the message of the ca.me platform, reigniting my passion for the project. Guided by feedback loops and growth opportunities, I've learned to strategically prioritize my objectives and consistently strive towards achieving them.
These characters are crafted to reflect my personal story and identity. I like fashion as it harmonizes with my body every single day, inspiring me to maintain good habits like daily workouts. My days are fully dedicated to work and studies as I pursue my dreams, often finding motivation in talking to myself to achieve my tiny goals. I wanted to infuse these personal aspects into the interactive gamification function with of the ca.me brand website.
I am grateful. Through the Ca.me project, I have explored new avenues and engaged with students, graduates, designers, developers, and platform business leaders both inside and outside the school. This journey highlighted the core of effective communication. In designing user experiences, we exchange ideas rather than simply crafting objects. This grad project has reinforced the significance of communication and encouraged me to always stay open to learning.
My diverse interactions have instilled a habit of pondering what lessons each new acquaintance might offer. This curiosity continually drives my pursuit of knowledge and fosters a nurturing environment for growth. Just as I relish exploring and engaging with groundbreaking technologies that redefine our world, I aim to create a space for friends, students, and colleagues to exchange and discuss their ideas openly. By promoting ongoing dialogue and interaction, I envision cultivating a community that thrives on collective advancement.
