about
work
user experience designer
Karolina Smyda
The product:
Project duration:
My role:
UX designer designing the app and responsive website from early concepts to the final version.
The goal:
Design an app which will help immigrants find a well-paid job even when they don’t know the language.
Responsibilities:
Conducting interviews, paper and digital wireframing, low and high-fidelity prototyping, conducting
usability studies, accounting for accessibility, and iterating on designs.
I conducted interviews and created empathy maps to understand the users and their needs. A primary user group
identified through research was immigrants who recently move out of their country. Most interwiew participants
admitted that they felt uneasy when it came to looking for a job and they needed to find it quickly in order
to be able to send the money to their families at home.
Paper wireframes
Digital wireframes
Low-fidelity prototype
Mockups
High-fidelity prototype
Sitemap
Before usability study
After usability study
I conducted unmoderated usability study that revealed that:
You can view the low-fidelity prototype here.
Based on the insights from usability study, I applied design changes like adding typeahead to make the proces
of searching easier.
karolina.smyda@gmail.com
The app was designed for the users who want to be able to control their air conditioner, tv, speakers and
lighting with their smart phones.
High-fidelity prototypes
You can see high-fidelity prototypes here.
Persona
User research: pain points
Accessibility considerations
The page was designed to enable users to plan their home renovation.
Home Renovation page
Mockups:
High-fidelity prototype:
Home renovation form for the project:
Designing a flower catalogue app
Designing responsive website for finding rental homes
Designing job search service for first generation immigrants
Job search service for first generation immigrants
Job Search is a service designed for people who are looking for jobs. The product was meant to serve
especially immigrants who are in a foreign country, often don’t know the language and need to earn money.
June 2022 - September 2022
The problem:
People often migrate for economical reasons. It is frequently very hard for them to find suitable job
because they have problems with language.
Persona 1
Problem statement:
Dima is a construction worker and an immigrant who needs to find a suitable job because he must send money
to his family.
Persona 2
Problem statement:
Teresa is an immigrant and an engineer who needs to start earning money because she must take care of her
sick mother and younger brother.
Responsive website
desktop
tablet
mobile
I spent some time sketching paper wireframes to make sure that the elements that made it to digital wireframes
would be well-suited to address user pain points.
After ideating and drafting paper wireframes, I created the initial designs for the Job Search app.
To prepare for usability testing, I created a low-fidelity prototype that connected the user flow of browsing
through the offers to applying for chosen jobs.
The high-fidelity prototype followed the same user flow as the low-fidelity prototype, including design
changes made after the usability study.
You can see the high-fidelity prototype here.
With the app designs completed, I started work on designing the responsive website. I used the Job Search
sitemap to guide the organizational structure of each screen’s design to ensure a cohesive and consistend
experience across devices.
The designs for screen size variation included desktop, mobile and tablet. I optimized the designs to fit
specific user needs of each device and screen size.
People don’t want to be obliged to create accounts to apply for jobs
People need easy way to change language.
People have problems with spelling and typing names of jobs.
Hi, I’m Karolina.
Welcome to my portfolio. I help people to design intuitive digital products and online experiences.
You can see my resume here.
Are you interested in cooperating with me?
My contact information is provided below.
KAROLINA SMYDA
Languages
Software
Skills
English - advanced level
German - communicative level
HTML/CSS - basic skills
Figma, Adobe XD - intermediate skills
Teamwork
Masters of Arts in English Language
Studies 2010-2012
Uniwersytet Śląski w Katowicach
Bachelor of Arts in English Language Studies 2007-2010
Państwowa Wyższa Szkoła Zawodowa w Nowym Sączu
Motion Design with Figma: Animations, Motion Graphics, UX/UI - Udemy
2022
Google UX
Design:
Foundations of User Experience Design
Start the UX Design Process: Empathize, Define, Ideate
Build Wireframes and Low-Fidelity Prototypes
Conduct UX Research and Test Early Concepts
Create
High-Fidelity Designs and Prototypes in Figma
Responsive Web Design in Adobe XD
Design a User
Experience for Social Good and Prepare for Jobs
2022-2021
Podstawy manualnego testowania oprogramowania - Udemy
2021
Learn Figma-UI/UX Design Essential Training - Udemy
2021
UX
Designer June
2020 - Sept. 2020
smdSoft
English language
teacher Sept.
2017 – Aug. 2018
Elitarne Liceum Ogólnokształcące w Nowym Sączu
English language teacher Dec. 2012 - Aug. 2015
Szkoła Podstawowa w Piwnicznej-Zdroju, Szkoła Podstawowa w Rytrze, Zespół Szkolno-Gimnazjalny w Piwnicznej
Zdroju
Adaptability
Reliability
High motivation
Smart Home App
High-fidelity ptototypes
Grzybobranie
Grzybobranie is an app for mushroom lovers. The users planning picking mushrooms can check the weather
forecast and see mushroom map so that they know which places are worth visiting. In addition, they
can mark the places on the map where mushrooms were found. The app also contains the mushroom
catalogue with pictures and detailed descriptions.
Chef Recipes App
Chef recipes is an app designed to serve as a collection of recipes for various occasions. The app enable the
users to search for recipes and save favourite ones. People can also use a shopping list creator which makes
cooking and planning easier.
Food Delivery App
Lily&Co flower catalogue app
LiLy&Co App is a flower catalogue app which enables customers to buy fresh flowers for differant
occassions. The users can place standing orders for the events, send flower bouquets to other people as
presents and create their own flower compositions.
December 2021 - April 2022
The problem:
Busy people do not have enough time to go to the florist’s to buy presents. They often have problems with
remembering important events.
User journey map:
Competitive audit:
Problem statement:
Markis a retired police oficer who has problems with travelling because of his disability so he prefers
ordering online.
Drawing paper wireframes enabled me to design main features of the app which would be well-suited to address
users’ paint points.
Proceeding with creating wireframes I made sure to base them on the research findings.
Low-fidelity prototype connected the primary user flow of choosing and ordering a bouquet of flowers.
Adults with busy schedules don’t have much time to go to the store in person. They also need timely
delivery.
Customers are concerned whether the flowers are fresh.
Busy working adults want to have a reminder informing about upcoming important dates.
Mapping Mark’s user journey revealed that it would be helpful for him to have an app for online shopping.
An audit of a few competitor’s products provided directions on gaps and opportunities to address with the
Lily&Co app.
The carousel enables users to quickly choose a random bouquet without browsing.
This bottom enables users to choose a bouquet designed especially for a given occassion.
Bearing in mind that easy navigation is essential for the users I created a hamburger menu which is quickly
accessible.
Easy access to navigation
Usability study: findings
I conducted two usability studies. Results of the first study helped me to change wireframes into mockups. The
second study used a high-fidelity prototype and revealed what aspects needed further work.
Round 1 findings
Round 2 findings
Users want to order quickly.
Users want to be sure that flowers are fresh.
Users are busy and want to have a reminder of upcoming events.
Users want to order without creating an account.
Users want more payment options.
Users want delivery options.
Early designs allowed for some customization, but after the usability studies I added additional options to
buy as guest.
The second usability study revealed the users’ frustration concerned with payment and delivery options.
Before usability study
After usability study
You can view the high-fidelity prototype here.
Used high contrast so that people with visual impairments don’t have problems using the app.
Used icons to make navigation easier.
Added alt text for screen readers.
Designing responsive website for finding rental homes
SMD Real Estates is a website which enables customers to rent a house online. The service is designed for
people who often change the place of living and don’t have much time to go from one place to another to see
every single estate. The site includes realistic photos so that people know what to expect when renting.
March 2022 – August 2022
The problem:
There are people who often have to change homes because of their work or studies. They often do not have
enough time to find something worth renting.
The goal:
Desing a website which will allow the users to look for a new house and rent it online.
Problem statement:
Adam is a busy engineer and a father who needs to often change houses because of his work.
Digital wireframe screen size variations
Usability study
My goal when designing information architecture was to make navigation on the site as easy and intuitive as
possible.
Next, I sketched out paper wireframes for my project keeping the user pain points about navigation and
browsing in mind.
Because SMD clients access the site on a variety of devices, I started to work on design for additional screen
sizes to make sure the site would be fully responsive.
Moving from paper to digital wireframes made it easy to understand how the redisign could help address user
pain points and improve the user experience.
To create a low-fidelity prototype, I connected all of the screens involved in the primary user flow of
browsing through the offers and choosing the most suitable one.
View the low-fidelity prototype here.
Users need more clear categorisation of the real estates
Users need more filters to narrow down the search
I used headings with different sized text for clear visual hierarchy.
I used high contrast.
Working adults do not have much time to go from one place to another in search for a house to rent.
Users are concerned whether the images on the website are real.
Many websites do not have clear navigation so browsing may be confusing for the users.
Paper wireframes
easy access to search bar
Homepage is optimized for easy browsing through the carousel of images
Mockups: original screen size
Mockups: screen size variations
My high-fidelity prototype followed similar user flow as the low-fidelity prototype, and included the
design changes made after the usability study, as well as several changes suggested by members of my
team.
View high-fidelity prototype here.