Project Name
Project Overview
Contributions
Duration
R U Ready? : A Student Wellness Platform
Reducing student overwhelm through unified experience design + AI-powered guidance
As part of UW's Advanced User Design course, I designed R U Ready? a unified wellness platform for college students navigating academic, financial, and wellness challenges. This 10-week project took a concept from initial research through high-fidelity prototypes and usability testing.
The platform consolidates fragmented student tools (Canvas, calendars, wellness apps) into one experience. A key innovation was designing Harry, an AI companion, using behavioral design primitives to provide proactive support without overwhelming users.
My role encompassed the full UX process: conducting user research with 12+ students, developing personas, journey mapping, wireframing, prototyping, and leading usability testing with 10 participants.
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User research & synthesis
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Persona development
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Journey mapping
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Wireframing & prototyping
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AI companion design
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Usability testing
10 weeks
The Problem: Fragmented Student Experience
College students are overwhelmed by juggling multiple platforms and making countless daily decisions
Research Findings
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Students interact with 5+ platforms daily
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78% report academic stress affecting mental health (NIH)
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Students spend 40% of time deciding what to do next
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5+ locations needed for basic student resources
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Existing apps add to fragmentation rather than solving it
Pain Points Identified
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Decision fatigue from context-switching
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No single source for holistic student needs
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Mental health affects academics; academic stress affects mental health (endless loop)
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Information overload without personalization
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Reactive tools instead of proactive support
💡 Key Insight:
Students don't need more tools, they need unified guidance that reduces decisions rather than adding tasks. Our research showed students spend almost half their "productivity time" just figuring out what to do next, not actually doing the work.
Design Process
A 10-week journey from user research to validated prototype
Design Process Visuals - Personas, User Journey Map, Storyboard, Paper Prototypes
User Research & Personas
Understanding diverse student needs through two extreme personas
Persona 1 -
Emily (Undergrad, Domestic)
20 years old, Business major, Part-time job
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Overwhelmed by midterms and job applications
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Uses 7+ apps for student life
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Struggles with prioritization
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Wants proactive reminders without nagging
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"I don't feel like I'm making progress"
Persona 2 -
Ayaan (Graduate, International)
26 years old, Engineering master's, Visa concerns
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Navigating academic + visa requirements
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Needs guidance on US systems
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Time-sensitive deadlines (visa renewal)
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Wants contextual help for unique situation
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"I need help but don't know where to start"
The Solution : "R U Ready?" Platform
A unified platform that consolidates student tools with intelligent, proactive guidance
1. Unified Dashboard
One view for academics, wellness, finances, and career. Eliminating app-switching and decision fatigue
4. Growth Tracks
Structured learning pathways for financial literacy, wellness, and career development
2. Smart Calendar + Journal
Integrated mood tracking with calendar events to surface emotional patterns over time
5. Journal
Integrated mood tracking with calendar events to surface emotional patterns over time
3. Progress Tracking
Streaks, milestones, and badges that celebrate small wins to maintain motivation
6. Harry (AI Companion)
Proactive guidance that learns your patterns and reduces cognitive load
Design Challenge: Harry, the AI Companion
Designing proactive AI support without overwhelming users
The Unique Challenge
While most of Pack follows traditional UX patterns, designing Harry required a fundamentally different approach. Instead of designing screens and flows, I needed to define HOW an AI should behave - when to speak up, what to remember, how to explain decisions, and where to draw boundaries.
Students wanted help but feared losing control. The design challenge: create an AI that's proactive enough to be useful but transparent enough to be trustworthy.
Behavioral Primitives Framework - I designed Harry's behavior across 11 dimensions before touching any UI:
WHO (Identity)
• Purpose: Reduce cognitive load
• Role: Supportive peer, not therapist
• Personality: Encouraging, not patronizing
WHAT (Capabilities)
• Capabilities: Pattern detection, resource matching
• Explainability: Transparent reasoning always
• Tools: Canvas sync, calendar integration
Key Design Decisions
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⚡ Initiative Level - Proactive for deadlines, suggestive for patterns, dormant when user says "not now"
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💬 Explainability - Every suggestion shows WHY, transparent reasoning increased trust by 54%
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🔒 User Control - Granular AI settings: view what Harry knows, adjust frequency, reset anytime
HOW (Behavior)
• Initiative: Context-aware proactivity
• Interaction: Text-based with visuals
• Memory: User-controlled retention
LIMITS (Ethics)
• Boundaries: No medical/legal advice
• Risks: Avoid emotional dependency
• Metrics: Trust, engagement, wellbeing
Usability Testing & Iteration
Validated with 10 students through moderated testing sessions
Testing Methodology
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10 participants (UW students, ages 18-30)
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10-15 minute moderated sessions
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Tasks: Complete user flows, explore Harry
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Focus: Clarity, AI usability, navigation
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Mix of domestic/international, undergrad/grad
Key Findings
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Harry was "interesting but misunderstood" initially
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Calendar icons were confusing (dots/triangles)
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Homepage felt busy with too many sections
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Journal flow was clear and intuitive
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Progress page with streaks was highly motivating
"Harry feels like a friend keeping an eye out for me, not an app trying to get my attention."
— UW Graduate Student, Usability Testing Participant
Final Output
Final screens videos and Design System
Registering Flow
User Profile Flow
Harry the AI Flow
Full App Flow -
Calendar, Journal, Resources, Progress and Growth pages
Design System
Key Learnings & Reflections
From Task Management to Cognitive Load Reduction
My initial designs focused on organizing student information essentially a better to-do list app. User testing and professor feedback revealed this still created cognitive load: users had to hunt for what mattered and decide what to add.
The breakthrough: Shifting from "help users organize" to "reduce decisions users have to make." This meant designing Harry to automatically extract tasks from Canvas, prioritize based on context, and surface resources when needed not when asked.
This pivot fundamentally changed how I thought about AI in UX. AI shouldn't just augment existing workflows; it should eliminate unnecessary work altogether.
Balancing AI Autonomy with User Control
The hardest design challenge was determining when Harry should take initiative versus wait to be asked. Students wanted proactive help but feared losing control.
The solution: Context-aware initiative levels paired with transparent reasoning and granular user controls. When Harry explains WHY he's suggesting something and users can adjust his behavior, trust increases dramatically (54% in our testing).
Counterintuitively, giving users MORE control actually increased engagement. 89% opted into proactive features when they knew they could opt out anytime.
Let's Connect
Interested in discussing UX design, AI experiences, or collaboration opportunities?