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Redesign

Open University App

from a basic tool to a personal academic assistant

Context: Personal project within a UI/UX design program.

My Role: User Research, UX Strategy, and UI Design.

Duration: 4 Weeks.

The Motivation: The decision to focus on the Open University app stemmed from close observation of an active end user and witnessing his daily frustration with a platform that fails to adequately support remote learning.

Context: Personal project within a UI/UX design program.

My Role: User Research, UX Strategy, and UI Design.

Duration: 4 Weeks.

Background & Problem Statement

The app lacks core functionality and serves no real educational purpose.

Missing Content: The app suffers from severe data gaps and lacks essential study materials, rendering it practically useless for daily learning.

Incomplete Messages: Notifications display only headers without the actual message content, forcing users to switch platforms just to read updates.

Unintuitive Schedule: The calendar interface is cluttered and non-visual, making it difficult for students to grasp their schedule at a glance.

Class Link: Zoom links are buried deep within the website hierarchy, making them inaccessible for quick retrieval right when class starts.

Research

User Research

Rating & reviews: The app holds an average score of only 2.6 stars. reviews revealed recurring patterns of complaints regarding "empty states," a general feeling that "nothing can be done" within the app. even a student offered to develop a new app for the university for free. Users perceive the tool as lacking tangible value for them.

User Interviews: Direct feedback from current students revealed a high rate of abandonment. Users reported avoiding the app entirely, describing it as "non-functional" due to insufficient data, unclear information, and a lack of tangible value for their studies.

Market Research

To optimize the remote learning experience, I conducted a dual-channel analysis:

EdTech Inspiration (e.g., Udemy): For insights on engaging content presentation and progress tracking.

Data-Rich Interfaces: For efficient UI solutions regarding messaging, calendars, and forums.

To optimize the remote learning experience, I conducted a dual-channel analysis:

EdTech Inspiration (e.g., Udemy): For insights on engaging content presentation and progress tracking.

Data-Rich Interfaces: For efficient UI solutions regarding messaging, calendars, and forums.

persona

Avital Cohen

25 ,Petah Tikva, Israel, High-Tech Sales

Avital is extremely busy. She studies primarily late at night or during her train commute to work. With zero time to waste, she relies on her phone to manage her life and expects her studies to integrate seamlessly.

“

I have maybe 90 minutes of net study time a day – mostly on the train. If I can't access the lesson on my phone the second I sit down, that time is lost.

Goals:

Smoothly access video lectures and course materials on-the-go to utilize commuting time.

A clear visual schedule to instantly grasp peak workload periods for better work-life planning.

Immediate visual recognition of courses (via Color Coding) to reduce mental effort and increase focus.

Pain Points:

Notifications only display headlines without content, causing anxiety and forcing computer access to check updates.

The dense text-based list makes it impossible to distinguish critical deadlines from regular classes at a glance.

Inability to comfortably watch lectures or access files on mobile prevents studying during "dead time.

User Journey: Checking Assignment Deadline & Submission

Key Insights

Key insights that transformed the app from a useless tool into a supportive, personalized learning platform.

Following user analysis, market review, and understanding the core Persona, I synthesized four key insights that guided the redesign process:

Active Learning: The app must enable students to utilize downtime for actual study progress. Therefore, I ensured direct access to course materials and recordings.

Visual Calendar: A visual schedule is vital for effective time management, allowing students to instantly distinguish between routine classes and critical assignment deadlines at a glance.

Color Coding: To reduce cognitive load, the interface uses a consistent color system for each course. This allows students to recognize the context of any item instantly without needing to read the details.

Surfacing Key Info: Displaying the most relevant real-time information such as the "Join Class" link or an upcoming deadline front and center for immediate access.

The Solution

To approach the solution in a focused manner, I formulated key questions that guided the design process:

Goal #1

How might we turn the app from an "empty state" into a daily assistant?

The home page

Designed for immediate context, the Home Screen replaces menu clutter with a clear hierarchy based on urgency.

Quick Communication

Instant message previews eliminate navigation, making vital info accessible at a glance.

Quick Communication

Instant message previews eliminate navigation, making vital info accessible at a glance.

Navigation Bar “The Anchor”

Holds the five essential pages for instant access, ensuring users remain oriented at all times.

Navigation Bar “The Anchor”

Holds the five essential pages for instant access, ensuring users remain oriented at all times.

Real-Time Updates

Surfaces immediate needs like upcoming classes and deadlines, ensuring users orient themselves in seconds.

Real-Time Updates

Surfaces immediate needs like upcoming classes and deadlines, ensuring users orient themselves in seconds.

Goal #2

How might we visualize workload to reduce overwhelm?

Schedule

Visual Time Management

Daily Breakdown

Tapping a date reveals a focused agenda, enabling precise planning without visual clutter.

Daily Breakdown

Tapping a date reveals a focused agenda, enabling precise planning without visual clutter.

Quick Scan

Assigns a unique color to each course, enabling instant subject recognition and workload visualization at a glance.

Quick Scan

Assigns a unique color to each course, enabling instant subject recognition and workload visualization at a glance.

Before

After

Forums

A vital feature that bridges the physical gap, transforming solitary remote study into a shared community experience.

Smart Course List

Understanding that the average Open- University student takes about three courses per semester, I designed an 'Active Courses' view for immediate access, while providing a quick toggle to the archive of completed courses.

Smart Course List

The forum is logically divided by course, and within each course, by lesson.

My courses

The course page centralizes everything the student needs in one place, under the specific color branding of the course

Essential Info

The course's "ID card" Students can easily access vital technical details: course number, a permanent link to the lecture room, and contact the teaching staff.

Before

After

Before

After

Live Sessions & Schedule

A organized layout of meeting days and times, features a direct "Join Class" link, eliminating last-minute scrambling to find the right link.

Live Sessions & Schedule

A organized layout of meeting days and times, features a direct "Join Class" link, eliminating last-minute scrambling to find the right link.

Learning Resources

The app’s core feature, organized into two tiers:

Lesson-Based: Dedicated folders centralizing recordings, materials, and relevant forum threads.

General Repository: Direct access to textbooks and workbooks.

Learning Resources

The app’s core feature, organized into two tiers:

Lesson-Based: Dedicated folders centralizing recordings, materials, and relevant forum threads.

General Repository: Direct access to textbooks and workbooks.

Messages

A filtered inbox displaying only the messages (new and historical) relevant to the specific course, reducing cognitive noise from other subjects.

Messages

A filtered inbox displaying only the messages (new and historical) relevant to the specific course, reducing cognitive noise from other subjects.

Assignments & Grades

A full list of assignments, detailed guidelines, digital submission links, and access to grades and feedback on submitted work.

Assignments & Grades

A full list of assignments, detailed guidelines, digital submission links, and access to grades and feedback on submitted work.

Goal #3

How might we make essential information and documents instantly retrievable, eliminating the friction of endless menu navigation?

My profile

Centralizes all essentials grades, finance, documents, and inquiries into one clean, accessible hub.

Before

After

Message Center

All academic and administrative messages are consolidated in one location.

Each message is tagged with a Color Tag corresponding to its specific course. This allows the student to scan the inbox and instantly identify which messages belong to which course, and which are general administrative updates.

Message Center

All academic and administrative messages are consolidated in one location.

The scores

Students can view grades for all courses in an organized list, enabling easy tracking of their GPA and degree progress.

The scores

Students can view grades for all courses in an organized list, enabling easy tracking of their GPA and degree progress.

My Account

A clear breakdown of account status, payment history, and future charges, presented in a readable format that eliminates uncertainty.

My Account

A clear breakdown of account status, payment history, and future charges, presented in a readable format that eliminates uncertainty.

Conclusion & Reflection

What did I learn?

This project demonstrated that in remote education, good design is not just about aesthetics; it's an essential component of academic infrastructure.

Try it yourself

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