Crossingz: Professional networking App design
During my 12-week summer internship, I contributed to the app's redesign by focusing on UI enhancements and streamlining the UX workflow, ultimately reducing development time by 50%.
The app has successfully launched in the App Store.
My role
UI/UX designer
UX researcher
Usability testing
Duration
Mar - July 2024
(4 monthes)
Team
2 UX designers,
1 Engineer, 1 PM
Tools
Figma
Background
What is CrossingZ？
Crossingz is a networking app designed to help Gen Z build professional connections, offering profiles, online/offline events, and a job board to boost their careers.
When I joined the startup, the original design was still undeveloped. The founder tasked UX designers with upgrading the UI to better align with Gen Z's preferences
Pain 1
Outdated visual design, unappealing to Generation Z
Pain 2
Connection process causing networking pressure
Excessive spam, eroding trust in the platform
Pain 3
Building a professional and fun networking experience for Gen Z
Easy onboarding
Connect people together by events & group chat
AI chat suggestion to break the ice
We conducted over 10 interviews for our potential customers, including users who looking for jobs, and people who seeking more job opportunities
Interview
Anna
UX Designer - NG
“When i was looking for job, I aways feel pressure to reach out people and afraid of not receiving response. I often feel about anxiety before and during social networking. I’m afraid I cannot find topic to discuss with them”
Jane
Junior engineer
“Even though I have a job, I am also seeking for more opportunities, I hope to connect people with common background with me. But LinkedIn’s information is overwhelming, I prefer use other social media or group chat to reach out people”
David
CS Master student
“I personally don’s trust and unwilling to fill my work informations on the networking platforms, because there are lots of spam and fake APPs that steal my information”
Upgrading UI & branding for Gen Z
Make networking simple and smooth!
Build trustworthy new platform
UI & branding upgrade
Feature 1
Before
Landing page
After
Logo redesign
Landing page redesign
gif redesign
Feature 2
Easy match and AI chat suggestion
Before
Through heuristic evaluation, we discover there are some potential issues:
The button like “report”, “view full profile”, and “unmatch” are too close to each other, might causing issue of misclicking.
Users are less likely to recommend the user to friend or introduce a friend to this user. The recommend button is not effective to use
Version1
In the new version, I did not only improve the UI system, but also simplify the information about profile to help people efficiently build connection.
However, users have found it is still difficult to break the ice.
Version 2
Improvement
We provide the AI chat suggestion to help them find common topic and break the ice, to make the conversation more smooth.
Feature 3
Maximize the communication opportunity
Before
Based on usability testing, we discovered that:
Users find it unnatural and awkward to connect with people from the participant lists.
They typically use other social media platforms, like Discord, to connect with other participants by group chat.
After
The new user flow guides users to join the group chat after joining the event. This approach offers several benefits:
Users won't need to switch between multiple platforms, which can improve customer retention.
It allows for smoother and more reliable conversations and connections within the group chat.
Feature 4
Easy onboarding with flexible personal information
Feature 5
Easy onboarding with flexible profile
1st version
Screenshot of test APP
Discovery:
In our test version, we found that asking users to upload their real photo hinders a smooth onboarding process. Users are reluctant to show their real face for two main reasons:
They are hesitant to trust a new platform.
It is inconvenient for them to browse their album and find an appropriate photo.
As a result, they often use a random photo, which makes them less likely to connect with others.
Final version
To ease the onboarding process, we provide avatars as an alternative to uploading real photos. These avatars can still reflect the user's personality and preferences.
In the future, if users want to make more connections, they can still update their information on their profile page.
The onboarding process efficiency improved 23% compare to the old version.
Feature 6
Easy onboarding by flexible work experience and proof of work
Old version
Our target users typically have less than 5 years of experience. Asking them to fill in too much information, especially during the onboarding process, can be overwhelming and stressful for them.
Version 1
In this version, we aim to use AI to automatically fill in information from resumes, reducing the need for users to manually enter details. However, users may not trust this platform to upload their own resume
Final Version
We offer flexible options for users to provide proof of their work.
We implemented a simple slider for them to easily adjust the year, without clicking over 8 times to add detail of their work experience.
Users can upload a website, resume, LinkedIn ID, or GitHub link—any of these can serve as proof of their work.
Feature 7
More than UX: Hosting hackathons, events, and connecting with universities
Holding Hackathons, 15 team participated
Offline activities
Users growth in 2 weeks
Design system
Problem:
In fast-paced startup environments, poor communication with developers often results in final designs that differ slightly from the original. This happens because there is no regulated design system or standardized format.
Solution 1: design system
Solution 2: Formatting deliverables for engineer
Before
After