Junior Product Designer

Objective: In this task, you are required to conduct thorough market research and a competitor analysis focused on virtual product design. The aim is to understand current design trends, identify industry standards, and gather insights that can inspire innovative design solutions for an online platform.

Expected Deliverables: Submit a comprehensive research report in PDF format. The report must include the following sections: Introduction, Methodology, Competitor Analysis, User Persona Insights, Key Findings, and Recommendations. Use publicly available data and resources to support your analysis.

Key Steps:

• Define your target virtual product and outline its core functionalities.
• Identify and list at least three competitors within the virtual product space.
• Analyze the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats (SWOT analysis) of each competitor.
• Develop 3-4 user personas to represent potential users of the virtual product.
• Compile your findings and propose design directions for innovative and user-friendly experiences.

Evaluation Criteria:

• Relevance and depth of research: Your ability to identify and elaborate on key industry trends and competitor strategies.
• Quality of analysis: Logical organization, thorough SWOT analysis, and realistic user personas.
• Clarity of recommendations: How well your suggestions tie back to your analysis and market research.
• Presentation: Overall structure, formatting, and adherence to the task requirements.

This task is designed to be completed in approximately 30 to 35 hours. Your submission must be clear, well-organized, and fully self-contained without requiring access to any internal platform resources.

Objective: The goal of this task is to develop initial wireframes and prototypes for a new virtual product experience. You will explore different layout ideas, focusing on usability and intuitive navigation. This task encourages creative thinking while solidifying fundamental design techniques used in product design.

Expected Deliverables: Submit a file (PDF or presentation format) containing a series of low-fidelity wireframes along with a clickable prototype (if possible hosted via a public service such as InVision or Figma). The design should reflect the initial structure and user flow of your virtual product.

Key Steps:

• Begin with sketching out rough wireframes that lay out the user flow and layout of your virtual product.
• Select one design tool (such as Figma, Sketch, or Adobe XD) to create detailed wireframes.
• Create at least 5 screens that highlight different stages of user interaction.
• Add annotations that explain the rationale behind your design choices.
• Optionally create a clickable prototype to demonstrate basic navigational flows.

Evaluation Criteria:

• Creativity and clarity: How innovative the wireframes are and how clearly they communicate the idea.
• Structure and user flow: Logical progression between screens and ease of navigation.
• Detail orientation: Use of annotations and explanations for design decisions.
• Practicality: How well the design adapts to user needs and virtual platform constraints.

This task is designed to simulate real-world product design challenges and is expected to take approximately 30 to 35 hours to complete. Your submission must be self-contained, with a strong focus on practical work.

Objective: In this task, you are to elevate your design by integrating high-fidelity visual design and robust UI elements. The focus should be on enhancing the overall aesthetics, accessibility, and usability of the virtual product experience. The task requires an understanding of color theory, typography, and layout design, combined with practical application in design software.

Expected Deliverables: Deliver a high-fidelity design document in a PDF format or as a presentation file. The design document should include detailed mockups for at least 3 key screens. Each screen should showcase your use of typography, color schemes, iconography, and other UI elements, along with brief notes explaining your design choices.

Key Steps:

• Review your initial wireframes from Week 2 and identify areas for visual improvement.
• Select a design software (e.g., Figma, Adobe XD, or Sketch) and create high-fidelity mockups.
• Ensure the design adheres to accessibility standards (e.g., sufficient color contrast and readable typography).
• Enhance each screen with consistent visual styles in line with modern design trends.
• Provide detailed annotations that explain your design rationale.

Evaluation Criteria:

• Visual appeal: Aesthetic quality and cohesiveness of the design elements.
• Accessibility: Application of accessible design principles and practices.
• Consistency: Uniformity in design across different screens.
• Documentation: Clarity in explanations and alignment of design choices with user-centric principles.

This is a practically engaging assignment intended to take about 30 to 35 hours. Your work must be fully self-contained, drawing exclusively from publicly available design knowledge without reliance on internal or proprietary assets.

Objective: The aim of this assignment is to simulate a real-world user testing environment followed by a detailed iteration of your product design. You will develop a user testing plan, simulate test sessions with peers or by self-evaluation using available methods, and then refine your design based on the gathered feedback. This is an opportunity to demonstrate your ability to critically assess design usability and apply iterative improvements.

Expected Deliverables: Submit a finalized report in PDF format containing your user testing plan, the results of your testing sessions including documented feedback (screenshots, notes, or video summaries), and a revised version of your original design mockups. Emphasis should be on how feedback was analyzed and integrated into design iterations.

Key Steps:

• Develop a user testing plan with specific goals, target user profiles, and testing metrics.
• Conduct at least two simulated user testing sessions using available resources.
• Document feedback accurately, highlighting positive features and areas needing improvement.
• Refine your design based on the feedback, updating mockups or prototypes with detailed annotations on changes.
• Consolidate your process, results, and iteration decisions into a comprehensive report.

Evaluation Criteria:

• Thoroughness: Completeness of the testing plan and rigor in capturing user feedback.
• Adaptability: The effectiveness of design improvements based on feedback.
• Communication: Clarity of documentation and explanations of iterative changes.
• Practicality: Feasibility of test scenarios and realistic approach to design analytics.

This task is estimated to require approximately 30 to 35 hours of effort, emphasizing self-reliance and practical design execution. Your work must be self-contained and entirely based on publicly available tools and resources.

Objective: This final assignment aims to combine all aspects of virtual product design into a comprehensive design strategy and final presentation. You will synthesize your previous work including market research, wireframes, high-fidelity designs, and user testing results into a cohesive document that outlines your design process from concept to execution. The final deliverable should clearly communicate the strategic decisions and rationales behind every aspect of the design.

Expected Deliverables: Produce a detailed final design report and presentation file (PDF or PowerPoint) that encapsulates your entire project journey. The report should include sections summarizing market research, concept development, prototype evolution, visual design enhancements, user testing outcomes, and a final design strategy. The presentation should be structured in a professional manner suitable for an internal review board.

Key Steps:

• Review and consolidate all previous tasks and deliverables, ensuring consistency and coherence across documents.
• Develop a final design strategy that aligns your research, wireframes, high-fidelity designs, and user feedback.
• Create a presentation that highlights key milestones, decisions, and outcomes of your design journey.
• Include a section on lessons learned and potential future enhancements for the virtual product.
• Ensure that all parts of the submission are well-structured, clearly written, and visually appealing.

Evaluation Criteria:

• Comprehensiveness: How well your final submission ties all aspects of the project together.
• Strategic Insight: The level of understanding and justification for design decisions made throughout the project.
• Professionalism: Overall presentation quality, clarity of documentation, and logical flow of content.
• Innovation: Originality in thought processes, design solutions, and strategic recommendations.

This comprehensive task is designed to take approximately 30 to 35 hours to complete. It requires extensive preparation and thorough execution, with your final submission serving as a presentation-ready report to showcase your skills and design thinking in a fully self-contained manner without reliance on internal resources.