Shobhit Purva Portfolio

OVERVIEW

Career Path Navigator

Cis an AI-powered career navigation tool designed to help young professionals and students make informed decisions about their futures. The product offers personalised career roadmaps, mentorship connections, and intelligent guidance through an empathetic and ethically responsible system. Developed over six months as a solo capstone project, the goal was to bridge the gap between ambition and action by creating a tool that feels intuitive, non-linear and genuinely helpful. Every decision, from strategy to interface, was rooted in real user needs uncovered through deep research and iterative testing.

TIMELINE

March 2023- September 2024 (6 Months)

TOOLS USED

Figma, FigJam, Midjourney (for visual exploration and imagery), Google Forms (surveys), Trello (task tracking, sprint planning), Google Slides, Google Docs

MY ROLE

User Experience Designer

PROBLEM

Aspirations Are High, But Direction Is Missing for Young Professionals

Despite being ambitious and digitally fluent, many young professionals struggle to navigate their career paths due to a lack of personalised guidance, mentorship and accessible tools. Research revealed that most users feel overwhelmed by fragmented information and generic advice, leading to indecision and frustration. Existing platforms often prioritise content delivery over contextual support, leaving users without a clear sense of direction. The gap between career goals and actionable steps became the central problem [brand name] set out to solve.

MY ROLE AND IMPACT

Wearing the UX Hat, the Research Cape, and the Strategy Gloves

As the sole designer on this six-month capstone project, I led the end-to-end process from framing the problem to delivering a high-fidelity prototype. I conducted primary and secondary research, facilitated user interviews, and synthesised insights to define user needs and opportunities. My role involved crafting the user journey, designing intuitive interfaces, developing a cohesive visual language, and building a scalable design system. Beyond design, I also shaped the product strategy, ensuring that [brand name] was not only user-friendly but also grounded in ethical AI principles and long-term impact.

EMPATHIZE

Behind Every Career Struggle Is a Lack of Personalized, Ethical Guidance

To understand the challenges faced by early-career professionals, I conducted a mix of qualitative and quantitative research. This phase uncovered not just what users lacked, but why existing tools failed to support them emotionally and practically. Key themes like the absence of mentorship, unclear guidance and disconnected systems emerged, forming the foundation for every design decision in [brand name].

Literature Review

Career uncertainty is driven by more than just lack of information

Users struggle not only with resources but also with emotional and systemic barriers. Confidence and clarity are often missing, even when information is available.

Survey

71% of users feel lost even after choosing a career path

Survey data showed that decisions don’t always bring clarity. Most users still feel uncertain after choosing a direction, highlighting a need for ongoing support.

User Interviews

Most users said they never had access to real, personalised guidance

Choose a plan and share your design Interviewees shared they rarely received advice that truly fit their goals. Guidance often felt generic, outdated or completely absent when it was most needed. details with us: we’re here to listen.

Secondary Research

Education teaches how to work but not how to choose what to work for

Schools focus on skills but neglect purpose and alignment. Users feel unprepared to make value-driven career choices that match who they are.

Competitor Analysis

Current platforms focus on content but fail to offer contextual support

Choose aCompetitor tools provide information but not direction. Users want systems that understand where they are and guide them based on that context.plan and share your design project details with us: we’re here to listen.

DEFINE

Users Don’t Just Want Answers - They Want a Compass

By creating user personas, I uncovered a shared desire for growth that feels supported, not rushed — users didn’t just want a destination, they wanted a way to get there.

Mapping empathy journeys helped reveal that moments of doubt and overwhelm were more frequent than expected, especially at career turning points.
Through user journey mapping, I identified critical drop-off moments where users felt most stuck — usually when faced with decisions without guidance.
Conducting a SWOT analysis showed a key opportunity to stand out — no major platform meaningfully combined mentorship, adaptability and ethical intelligence.

By creating user personas, I uncovered a shared desire for growth that feels supported, not rushed — users didn’t just want a destination, they wanted a way to get there.

Mapping empathy journeys helped reveal that moments of doubt and overwhelm were more frequent than expected, especially at career turning points.
Through user journey mapping, I identified critical drop-off moments where users felt most stuck — usually when faced with decisions without guidance.
Conducting a SWOT analysis showed a key opportunity to stand out — no major platform meaningfully combined mentorship, adaptability and ethical intelligence.

DRAG TO MOVE

DRAG TO MOVE

IDEATE

The Future of Career Planning Isn’t Linear - It’s Interactive, Visual, and Smart

By exploring mind maps, I realised users don’t think in fixed steps — they explore, backtrack and pivot, so the product needed to support a non-linear journey.

During brainstorming sessions, ideas centred on mentorship, adaptability and AI-powered support consistently stood out as both exciting and feasible.
Structuring the information architecture helped expose friction points in existing platforms, leading me to design fewer, clearer paths that reduced overwhelm.
Moodboarding revealed that the right visual tone needed to balance aspiration with approachability — users wanted a modern, clean interface that didn’t feel too “corporate”.
Mapping the app journey brought everything together into a system that could respond to user needs dynamically — not a static roadmap, but an interactive guide.

By exploring mind maps, I realised users don’t think in fixed steps — they explore, backtrack and pivot, so the product needed to support a non-linear journey.

During brainstorming sessions, ideas centred on mentorship, adaptability and AI-powered support consistently stood out as both exciting and feasible.
Structuring the information architecture helped expose friction points in existing platforms, leading me to design fewer, clearer paths that reduced overwhelm.
Moodboarding revealed that the right visual tone needed to balance aspiration with approachability — users wanted a modern, clean interface that didn’t feel too “corporate”.
Mapping the app journey brought everything together into a system that could respond to user needs dynamically — not a static roadmap, but an interactive guide.

DRAG TO MOVE

DRAG TO MOVE

PROTOTYPE

Turning Vision Into Interactions Where Strategy Meets Screen

Started with low-fidelity wireframes to test layout and structure before refining the user flow and hierarchy.

Built mid to high-fidelity prototypes in Figma, focusing on visual consistency, accessibility, and scalable design components.
Created a cohesive design system including typography, colour palette, button styles, and spacing rules to ensure UI consistency.
Developed interaction flows and microinteractions to simulate real usage and guide user behaviour with subtle cues.
Prepared prototypes for testing by linking screens into task-based flows that reflected real scenarios from user journeys.

Started with low-fidelity wireframes to test layout and structure before refining the user flow and hierarchy.

Built mid to high-fidelity prototypes in Figma, focusing on visual consistency, accessibility, and scalable design components.
Created a cohesive design system including typography, colour palette, button styles, and spacing rules to ensure UI consistency.
Developed interaction flows and microinteractions to simulate real usage and guide user behaviour with subtle cues.
Prepared prototypes for testing by linking screens into task-based flows that reflected real scenarios from user journeys.

FINAL DESIGN

A Cohesive Experience Designed to Guide, Personalise, and Support Career Growth

Onboarding

Personalised Onboarding Built Around Career Goals

Persona based onboarding tailored to career stage and goals.

Chat seamlessly with friends and communities.

Streamlined, step-by-step input collection.

Chat seamlessly with friends and communities.

Clear and minimal UI to reduce entry friction.

Chat seamlessly with friends and communities.

Sets the foundation for a hyper-personalised platform experience.

Chat seamlessly with friends and communities.

Roadmap

A Modular Homepage That Surfaces Key Actions First

Roadmap Access: Track career journeys and complete structured tasks.

Chat seamlessly with friends and communities.

Mentorship Panel: Connect with real mentors, browse bios and initiate contact.

Chat seamlessly with friends and communities.

Clear and minimal UI to reduce entry friction.

Chat seamlessly with friends and communities.

Sets the foundation for a hyper-personalised platform experience.

Chat seamlessly with friends and communities.

FINAL DESIGN

Connected Flows That Support Decision-Making and Progress

FORMATIVE TESTING

Early Testing Uncovered Friction That Shaped the Core Experience

Formative testing sessions were conducted using mid-fidelity prototypes to observe how users interacted with core flows in real time. The sessions revealed confusion around key entry points, feature discoverability, and overall layout structure. These findings informed major revisions in navigation and hierarchy before moving into visual refinement.

DRAG TO MOVE

Cognative Walkthrough

Users hesitated on core tasks due to unclear flows and missing visual guidance

Participants struggled with tasks like navigating the roadmap or accessing their profile, often asking for help. Based on this, key screens were redesigned to feature stronger visual hierarchy, prominent CTAs, and a back-navigation option to reduce confusion and improve flow.

Task Severity Assessment

3 out of 5 users rated task completion as moderate to severe in difficulty

Severity scores averaged above 2.5 on a 4-point scale, especially for accessing profile settings and editing roadmap tasks. In response, task cards were restructured, segmented roadmap stages were added, and new edit controls were introduced to streamline key interactions.

System Usability Scale (SUS)

Scored below 70, indicating significant room for improvement

SUS results showed lower-than-expected user confidence and satisfaction. This led to clearer navigation labels, improved visual consistency, and onboarding feedback to help users complete tasks with fewer errors or hesitation.

Product Reaction Cards

‘Confusing’ and ‘complex’ topped user sentiment

Negative emotional responses pointed to overwhelming flows and a lack of visual clarity. These findings influenced a shift to a calmer, minimalist aesthetic, segmented mentor tabs (‘Upcoming’, ‘Pending’, ‘History’), and micro-interactions for better system feedback.

Heuristic Evaluation

Missing feedback and weak control broke usability rules

Experts noted weak status indicators and inconsistent system responses. The redesign addressed these issues by adding roadmap progress tracking, calendar-based task planning, and more intuitive task editing, giving users better control over their journey.

DRAG TO MOVE

DESIGN ITERATION

User Struggles Became the Blueprint for a Smarter Redesign

Smarter Planning with Calendar Integration

A built-in calendar was added inside the roadmap to help users manage tasks visually.
Tasks can now be synced directly to the calendar, reducing mental load and improving time awareness.

Clearer Roadmap, Better Progress

The roadmap was restructured into segmented stages to reduce overwhelm.
Each level now includes tailored resources, giving users clarity on next steps.
Tasks were diversified to match different stages, making each step more relevant and less repetitive.

Personalisation and Control

An ‘Edit’ option was added to let users customise roadmap tasks based on their goals.
A direct profile access button was added to the navbar for quick navigation to personal settings.

Trusted, Contextual Content

Author names were included in resource cards to build trust and give users more context about the content they engage with.

Streamlined Mentorship Experience

Mentor sessions were categorised into ‘Upcoming’, ‘Pending’, and ‘History’ tabs, based on direct user suggestions.
Navigation was improved with back buttons and cleaner hierarchy, making the experience more intuitive and accessible.

SUMMATIVE TESTING

The Redesign Delivered Usability Where It Mattered Most

Summative testing measured how well the redesigned experience performed with real users. Key metrics showed clear improvements across task completion, navigation clarity and overall usability. From reduced errors to higher SUS scores, the data confirmed that the changes weren’t just cosmetic — they directly improved how users felt and interacted with the product.

Task Completion Jumped by 60% After Redesign

Users completed core tasks (roadmap creation, mentor access, resource browsing) faster and with fewer errors.

80% of Users Described the Experience as ‘Clear’ or ‘Easy’

Verbatim reactions shifted from confusion to confidence — feedback included words like “intuitive” and “straightforward”.

SUS Score Improved by 26 Points

Usability scores rose from below industry average to a strong pass — indicating clear gains in perceived ease of use.

3X Reduction in Navigation Errors

Fewer wrong clicks and dead ends during testing showed the new structure made paths more obvious and logical.

Time on Task Dropped by 40%

Users completed key actions faster, suggesting improved flow and clearer information hierarchy.