CARTER COTE'S DIGITAL PORTFOLIO
PATHWAYS.ME
WEB APP THAT ENCOURAGES HIGH SCHOOLERS TO EXPLORE CAREER POSSIBILITIES FROM PROFESSIONALS THAT OUTLINE WHAT IT TAKES.
OVERVIEW
Pathway.me is on a mission to democratize access to career path possibilities to high schoolers everywhere. Every student deserves a fair chance to see what's possible, and to know about what it takes to pursue that path at a university and beyond.
By sharing stories of individuals who have successfully pursued careers in a variety of fields, regardless of their socioeconomic background, students can gain inspiration and insight into what is possible for them. This can help break down the barriers that often limit the aspirations of students from low-income or underrepresented backgrounds.
The bottom line: Lower SES students lack the direction & mentorship to properly make decisions about their future. I wanted to change that for good.
MY ROLE
Founder
UX/UI design
Project Managment
User Research
Site Prototyping
Information Architecture
DURATION
Aug 2022 -- Apr 2023
TEAM
Tarun M. (Project Manager)
Jathin K. (Customer Discovery)
Brandt O. (Partnerships)
Sloan W. (Partnerships)
Making career pathway exploration engaging and accessible to high-schoolers everywhere.
Pathway.me is a web-app that contains over 200 career journeys of industry professionals, which are displayed through a pleasant user experience that invokes trust and reliability in the information presented. Students can explore potential majors, extracurricular opportunities, and colleges given these career stories.
UX PROCESS
Keeping students at the center of our design process, my co-founders and I have interviewed over 65 students to date, helping us to iterate the site experience. The site's development & iteration have been ongoing since March 2020.
USER
RESEARCH
RESEARCH ANALYSIS
DESIGN & BUILD
USABILITY TESTING
WEEK 1 TO 3
Identify the problem
Surveying current students
Discuss frustrations with faculty
Conduct research on potential model solutions
WEEK 4 TO 5
Affinity mapping
User needs & pain points
Brand identity
WEEK 6 TO 14
Build sitemap
Design information architecture
Design wireframes in Figma
Develop the site in Wix
WEEK 15 TO 39
Cognitive walkthrough
Heuristic evaluation
Design & content interation (critiqued by faculty)
Receive feedback from users, the district, and the school
Plan site implementation and elective class events
RESEARCH FINDINGS
We surveyed over 200 high school & university studen to determine if there were similar feelings about feeling blindsided by the college admissions process, in addition to lacking insight about pursuing a specific career path. Our survey results demonstrated a demand for a mentorship program for students at my school. 65% of the members of my class agreed that receiving guidance from a mentor in their academic pathway would be beneficial [03], which was a key component to developing my confidence in advancing the idea forward.
Further discussions with select faculty would also re-affirm my perspectives, which gave me the confidence to discuss the importance of pathway exploration in underclassmen advisement classes.
AFFINITY MAPPING
After thoughtful discussions with current students, faculty, and alumni, I gathered a significant amount of information about recurring pain points that pertain to the career engagement aspect as an AOC student. I also mapped out what our program and our elective class looks like, both of which address these pain points.
Branding & Identity
Colors & Typography
UI ELEMENTS
HEADER & SUBHEADER
Circular STD Black
Circular STD Medium
BODY
Circular STD Book
#0C3C60
#B0D0E8
TEXT
#0C3C60
#B0D0E8
#FFFFFF
#DED704
Logo Design
PRIMARY LOGO
SECONDARY LOGO
LOGO FOR SCHOOL-SPECIFIC BRANCH
Site Components
BUTTONS
AVATAR
CARD
TAG
PATHWAY.ME
"DEEP ROOTED" GRAPHIC FOR A PARTNER
MARKETING CAMPAIGN
Here's the two-part marketing campaign known as "AOC's Helping Hand," which I ran for my first partner, the Academy of the Canyons (AOC). Successfully acquired 100+ career "roadmaps," and spread "hype" among current students about the website. Shared animated videos and informational posts about our organization's mission on Instagram, Facebook, and LinkedIn.
Individually reached out to notable AOC alumni based on their line of work or prestigious educational path by making phone calls, sending emails, and direct messaging.
PART I: RECRUITING ALUMNI
PART II: INFORMING CURRENT STUDENTS
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IMPACT
Students have offered testimony that mentioned the opportunity to learn about possibilities never previously considered. We've developed our user base and grown our collection of career journeys by developing strategic partnerships with high schools containing mentorship programs.
As we continue to build our flywheel of value, our next goal is to curate experiences that will enable students to affirm their interest in a path, or to potentially pivot.
10,000+
visitors
4,600+
unique visitors
300+
recruited professionals
8
months of planning w/ faculty