
About The Project
As the product designer and cofounder of this project, I collaborated with team members with strong professional background. Throughout the project, we worked together, undergoing RESEARCH, AFFINITIZATION, IDEATION, PROTOTYPE TESTING, DESIGN SYSTEM, INTERFACE STYLE GUIDE and USABILITY TESTING, leading to the creation of our final deliverables.
Overview
DELIVERABLE
Whether it is college students who are about to graduate or young people who are just entering the workplace, network resources are crucial to their career development. Netup is an effective mobile application for in-person networking which addresses the problem of building professional networking in the North American workplace.
Mobile Application
WHEN WAS THIS
09 2023- on going
MY ROLE
Product Designer, Researcher, Digital Marketing
TEAM
2 Backend Developers, 2 Machine Learning Specialists, 2 Front End Developer, 1 Designer, 2 Marketing/ Business Specialists
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Mission
Turn networking into a hobby for young professionals and students.
Facilitate high-quality, low-barrier social networking experiences that seamlessly integrate into personal and professional lives
Final Design
Solution & Impact
We launched Netup on apple store in Q2 2024 with impressive results

Enhances connection between mentor, mentee and same level networking
100%
Increase in users attending coffee chats and hosts events
100% user increase
In a user test with 12 participant 95% of testing users felt comfortable completing tasks
Increase of DAU and downloads
Enhances connection between mentor, mentee and same level networking

Design Highlight
Since the scale of software product development is large and could take months to run through all the processes, we planned to launch the essential features first, building features to attract early-adopters and validate product ideas in early stages. Later on adding features such as subscriptions, ratings in multiple stages.
01 Personalized Recommendation
Our swiping feature focuses on the professional profiles of users but presents them in a casual, user-friendly interface. It also encourages 1:1 activities by enabling users to effortlessly schedule private events with persons they would like to meet up with.


02 Effortless Meeting Arrangements
NetUp's platform allows users to seamlessly arrange online or offline coffee chats or other activities, significantly lowering the barriers to initiating contact with potential connections.
03 Event Plaza
NetUp collaborates with industry influencers and cultivates our own influencers to host events, providing attendees with valuable insights and networking opportunities with key figures in their fields of interest.


Research
Amazon laid off 16,000 employees in 2023, while Google and Meta each cut around 10,000 jobs​
Major companies like Google, Meta, Amazon, and Microsoft have been largest contributors to these layoffs. ​
Smaller tech firms like Discord and Audible recently announcing layoffs due to overexpansion and the need for efficiency​
17 %
only 17% of students were able to gain work experience in 2023 making it difficult for them to build valuable professional connections. This lack of network access leads many to blindly submit resumes without strategic direction​
“95% said that face-to-face meetings are key to building successful long-term relationships. Furthermore, 89% agreed that face-to-face meetings are essential for ‘sealing the deal.’”

Competitive analysis
Current industry leaders in professional networking: "LinkedIn", "Eventbrite", "Meetup" are not our direct competitors, I seek to learn from their advantages and shortcomings
Platforms like LinkedIn focus on online networking and professional branding, while Eventbrite and Meetup provide platforms for discovering events, with the latter emphasizing interest-based gatherings. None focus as explicitly on career-oriented, in-person networking as Netup does.

Research Finding
3 painpoints people face for networking with existing platforms
Based on initial research finding, I summarized 3 pain points that we believe should be primarily considered during the design phase.
Low engagement
​​Platforms like LinkedIn are filled with large volumes of content, including job postings, articles, updates, and messages.

Limited to online
Networking can feel impersonal, with connections that do not lead to real, valuable relationships. ​

Lack of personalization
Poor algorithm leads to users receiving irrelevant content. Inable to tailor experiences to specific career goals or networking needs further reduces the quality of interactions​


How might we
How might we design an in-person networking platform that helps young professionals and soon-to-be graduates easily build meaningful career connections and mentorships, while addressing the common challenges of low engagement, lack of personalized guidance, and overwhelming online networking options?
Solution
Personalized customization/AI algorithm recommendation, recommending the connections that the user is most likely to be interested in based on their profile
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Authenticity guarantee, verify user authenticity through school/work email domain name to ensure high user quality
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Encourage/provide offline professional social networking functions, recommend nearby people for users and provide offline coffee/dining appointments. Simplify the process and increase conversion rate.
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Encourage same-level networking (such as programmers of the same level in different companies) to allow professional networking to break through company barriers and obtain information from different companies in the industry.
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Recommendations are updated daily to make professional social networking a daily habit for users. Make professional networking a pleasure/entertainment.
1st Round Iteration
Modify the information architecture and user flow
I rapidly redesign user flow and information architecture after team meetings to integrate more natural and intuitive social behavior from the user's perspective.
Before

After

2nd Round Iteration
Develop the mid-fi and hi-fi prototype
Based on the information architecture and user flow, we are responsible for creating and supplementing mid-fi prototypes of different functional modules. I was responsible for all of the iteration of the hi-fi prototype and I created a consistent design language based on atomic design principles and WCAG guidelines

Mid-fi Prototype (Previous Version)

Hi-fi Prototype ( Previous version )
3rd Round Iteration
Craft final design through usability testing
We ran usability tests on our hi-fi prototype with 6 participants to spot system issues. We tracked how long and how successfully they completed tasks, collecting their input afterward. Then we discovered some usability issues and user feedback about the information layout and interaction components.

6 Users
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4 Tasks
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Task Performance

Think Aloud

Interview
Branding & Marketing
Logo System
The logo was inspired by the our initial name GUGU which in chinese is a slang term when someone is a no-show also has a homophonic meaning of dove

Color Palette

Iterations

Horizontal


Icon
Marketing
To promote NetUp, we are operating 3 platforms to attract users: Instagram, Wechat, RED and email campaign for specific events.

Email Campaign

RED

Product Growth Plan
On business side, we designed product growth plan with integration of NetUp Event Host Recruitment Program to cultivate a vibrant and dynamic community by empowering passionate individuals to lead high-quality social and professional events. By recruiting dedicated event hosts, we can ensure a diverse range of engaging events that meet the varied interests and needs of our users also retain a loyal user base that also fosters a sense of belonging and community among participants.


🇨🇦 Offline Events - Vancouver 09.14

🇺🇸Offline Events - San Francisco 09. 06
What I did
• Generating research plans, leading research and testing sessions
• Analysing all generative and evaluative research
• Creating visual language, branding and design principles
• Creating flows, wireframes and interface design
• Communicating and collaborating with PM, developers, product owner and different stakeholders
The Approach
01
Research
Secondary Research
Survey with 56 respondents
User Interviews: 7 people
02
Ideation
03
Design
04
Testing
Step 1:
To understand why is it hard to create meaningful and sustained professional relationships with online networking
In the research phase an inception activity was conducted by our team focusing on exploration of the problem space. The main goal was to understand people’s mindset and what challenges are they facing when networking with others in a digital age.
We conducted generative research, including stakeholder and user interviews, survey, literature review and persona development.




Insight one
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It's hard to create meaningful and sustained professional relationships with people you meet through online networking sites like LinkedIn.
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Information Overload Creates Confusion: Users are overwhelmed by the volume of information presented on the platform, leading to confusion and difficulty in navigating through the content. This suggests a need for better information organization, streamlined user interfaces, and perhaps customizable content filters to help users manage the overwhelming amount of data.
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Low Conversion Rate for Social Interaction: Despite the platform's intentions to facilitate social connections, the conversion rate for effective social interactions is notably low. This could indicate issues with the platform's messaging features, friend request mechanisms, or overall user engagement strategies. Improving features that encourage meaningful interactions and fostering a sense of community may be necessary to address this issue.
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Challenges in Relationship Maintenance: Users experience difficulty in maintaining relationships through the platform. This could be attributed to various factors such as inadequate communication tools, lack of privacy controls, or an absence of features that support ongoing engagement between users. Enhancing features for communication, relationship management, and privacy settings could potentially mitigate this challenge and encourage sustained user engagement.
4. Barriers to Industry/Company Engagement: The presence of industry or company barriers suggests that certain users may encounter obstacles related to accessing or engaging with specific content or networks. To mitigate this, the platform could prioritize inclusivity and diversity in content representation, offer resources for networking within niche industries, or provide tailored recommendations based on user preferences and career interests. By breaking down barriers to engagement, the platform can create a more inclusive and welcoming environment for all users.

Who are we designing for
North American international students/young people entering the workplace. International students in North America generally do not have local network resources. In an environment where professional networking is emphasized in North America, in order to obtain opportunities to work and be promoted in North America, international students have become the only choice to broaden their network through professional networking. However, the services provided by professional social networking software such as LinkedIn cannot meet the expectations of international students because LinkedIn has problems such as low conversion rate, shallow network depth, and difficulty in obtaining in-depth professional networking. Through our survey of hundreds of North American international students or workers between the ages of 20 and 30, we found that more than two-thirds of the respondents have the habit of constantly expanding their network of contacts and actively engaging in professional networking at least once a month. Among them, more than 60% of users said they prefer offline professional networking to online professional networking, and our survey found that the conversion rate of offline meetings obtained through LinkedIn social networking was less than 10%. This proves the existence of demand and the gap between the functions of existing products. It is also the demand pain point that Gugu is committed to solving.
Chinese college students. Some more ambitious Chinese college students and people who have just started working will also need to expand their network of contacts for further career development. However, the user experience of domestic workplace social software such as Maimai is not ideal, with problems such as too much spam and doubts about the authenticity of personnel. In addition, the workplace social culture in China is not as mature as in North America, but it is slowly rising. We feel that the vast domestic professional social market gives us the space and opportunity to use the Gugu app to guide domestic young people to engage in professional social networking, and even promote the development of domestic professional social culture.
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Market size
USA:
3+ million graduates / year
1+ million international students
300+ thousand Chinese students
​1,100+ technology companies laid off 250,000+ people in North America in 2023 (Layoffs.fyi)
The Approach
01
Research
02
How might we
Product Vision
Use cases
User journey
03
Design
04
Testing
How can we help new grads & working professionals overcome these barriers and create a more genuine and effective in-person networking experience with the help of information technology?
MVP vision of the product
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There are three business models that the team currently prefers. The specific selection is based on the user data after the product is launched.
C-end user subscription system, charging users a monthly/annual subscription fee.
Develop the enterprise/restaurant version, cooperate with B-end enterprises, support restaurants/coffee shops/companies to organize professional activities on the platform, including career dinners, exchange meetings, lectures, etc., and make profits through B-end enterprises.
The trading platform charges platform fees. Users will be asked to fill in their purpose when registering. If the user data shows that the user’s demand for upward socialization is much higher than that of the same level of socialization, you can emphasize the platform’s function of “finding professional seniors” and allow newcomers to provide financial rewards to the elderly (such as encouraging newcomers to actively pay for meals, or through the platform Transfer money to the elderly) for valuable career advice.
Use cases
Scenario 1
Scenario 2
The Approach
01
Research
02
Ideation
03
Design
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Design principles
Competitve analysis
Branding
Design System
Final Designs
04
Testing
Final Design
team
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Top 20 U.S. universities - Duke, UC Berkeley, CMU, etc.
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Big tech companies
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Product + Technology + Business strategy + Marketing
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Software development (5),AI/ML (2),UI/UX (1)
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PM (1),Business (1),Marketing (2)
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