Spring 2025 · 10 Weeks
Ciao — A Social Experience Platform for International Students
Helping international students take the first step into campus life by simplifying event discovery and lowering social risk.
public/images/ciao/hero.png
Role
UX Researcher / UX + UI
Year
2025
Duration
10 Weeks
Project Overview
International students often arrive on campus with the intention to socialize, yet struggle to take the first step due to uncertainty, social pressure, and lack of structured support. Through 48+ surveys, 10+ interviews, and cultural probes, we identified that the problem is not a lack of events, but a lack of confidence and clarity in navigating them.
My Role
As UX Lead, I structured Ciao's core experience, defining the end-to-end journey from onboarding to event participation. I led wireframing, prototyping, and usability validation, balancing trust, clarity, and emotional engagement for international students.
Research
53%
Feel socially isolated
86%
Struggle with time management
48+
Surveys conducted
10+
Interviews conducted
public/images/ciao/research.png
Key Findings
Students reported feeling overwhelmed by too many unfiltered options, unsure which events were suitable for them, and anxious about attending alone. As a result, many default to passive behaviors — staying in their rooms, waiting for invitations, or missing opportunities altogether.
The core design challenge is not just improving event discovery, but reducing social friction and enabling confident first participation.
Key Insights
Users are not motivated by "going out" itself, but by feeling safe, supported, and invited.
Persona
Context
International graduate student new to campus. Wants to build real social connections, but feels unsafe joining activities alone.
Core Need
A safe, low-pressure way to explore campus life.
Pain
Feels anxious about being awkward, not understanding English well, and wasting limited free time.
Current Behavior
Mostly stays home, waits for friends to invite her, and misses opportunities.
How Might We?
Solution Strategy
Reduce Overwhelm
Make event discovery simple and curated.
Lower Social Risk
Design low-pressure, friendly entry points.
Trigger Action
Use small prompts to encourage first steps.
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Core User Flow
public/images/ciao/user-flow.png
Iterations After User Testing
14 participants, 4 key user flows tested.
Navigation Clarity & Accessibility
Before
Event locations were not immediately noticeable on the map.
After
Key events are now visually emphasized and easier to discover.
public/images/ciao/navigation.png
Visual Hierarchy & Time Grouping
Before
Events were listed in a single stream, making it hard to distinguish today's from upcoming.
After
Events are now grouped by time, clearly separating today's from upcoming.
public/images/ciao/hierarchy.png
Simplified Creation Menu
Before
Multiple creation options displayed at once, hard to decide.
After
Focused on most common actions, reducing unnecessary choices.
public/images/ciao/menu.png
Final Product
public/images/ciao/final.png
Reflection & Takeaways
Users initially hesitated at the "Create" menu due to clutter and uncertainty. By splitting event and post creation into clearer categories, I helped users take action faster with more confidence.
This project reminded me how small interface changes — like reordering actions or simplifying copy — can significantly reduce user hesitation. I learned the value of designing with clarity and testing early.