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Nicole Song Design

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Summary

Built a multi-user guidance tool supporting high schoolers, parents, and counselors in the college application journey

My Role
  • Led UX strategy for multi-user dashboard, AI interaction model, and onboarding flows

  • Designed systems that flexibly scaled across users and feature states

  • Collaborated closely with PM/engineers

Timeline
  • 2024/12 ~ Current 

Platform & Scope
  • iOS

  • Web App

  • Commercial Website

An AI-Driven SaaS Dashboard for College Planning Support

The Design Systems / Key Challenges

🧠 Personalized conversation model that adapts to user profile

🔒 Privacy-aware portal logic for parents

📊 Progress index that can’t be gamed—but keeps users engaged

🎯 Modular dashboard states that evolve as users move through journey

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Re-strucuter Architecture

As I was designing along the way, I noticed that there is a potential issue with the current Information Architecture, which did become a problem when we shit to iOS app. I took the initiative to restructure and reduce context confusion, and even created space for upcoming features.​​

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How I Validated under limited resource
  • Discussed with our CFO, who has decades of experience in the education industry

  • Consulted our engineering team to map out the long-term product roadmap and ensure the IA could support upcoming modules

  • Audited competitor apps like Naviance (widely used by high schools) to analyze how they cluster features like college lists, goals, and transcripts under unified structures.

Design for Motivation & Clarity

  • Rewrote passive empty states (e.g., “Your profile is empty”) into motivational, action-focused prompts like:“ Start your journey—completing your profile unlocks personalized guidance.”

  • Refined labels and microcopy across dashboard cards and tabs to better match user mental models, reducing confusion and clarifying feature purpose.

  • Designed a clear entry point and flow for the new EssayXpert feature, breaking down the intimidating essay-writing process into approachable steps and smart suggestions.

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Roadmap & Vision:
Scaling with Intentional Design

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Decentralized Ask Eddie

Shifted the AI chatbot from a static navigation tab to a floating action button (FAB) that lives within context

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Temporary Parent Mode

Introduced a vision for temporary, limited-access accounts for parents and counselors

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Assignments & Deadlines

Planned a dedicated space for tracking due dates across essays, applications, and tasks

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