STARTUP EXCHANGE

STUDENT ORG THAT SUPPORTS STUDENT ENTREPRENEURS AT EVERY LEVEL, ELEVATING THE VENTURE-PRODUCING TALENT AT GEORGIA TECH.

OVERVIEW

Startup Exchange is the Georgia Institute of Technology's largest, student-run entrepreneurship organization. We promote, educate, and inform student entrepreneurs, regardless of their level of experience.

Our members access our incredible community of speakers and mentors, which includes top-tier investors, entrepreneurs, and operators, empowering them to continue pursuing their ventures. At the end of each semester, teams pitch their ideas to a panel of judges consisting of industry leaders and potential investors

At Georgia Tech Startup Exchange, we envision elevating Georgia Tech and the Southeast region to the upper echelon of venture-producing talent by fostering the next generation of visionaries and doers.

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VISIT THE WEBSITE

MY ROLE

Director of Marketing & Design

UX/UI design

Project Managment

Brand Assets

User Research

Information Architecture

DURATION

May 2021 -- Nov 2022

*now Executive Director

TEAM

6 designers

1 software engineer

3 marketing leads

Using design to craft the member experience and to build a robust brand that resonates with sponsors and students.

Startup Exchange lacked brand guidelines, a comprehensive and user-friendly website, and a guiding mission as an organization. Collecting user input affirmed these issues, as well as limited attendance for events.

I defined the brand's identity, including colors, logos, and typography and defined the organization's mission and vision alongside the rest of the executive board.

Next, I redesigned the website via Figma, receiving design critique from students, board members, and advisors. My impact didn't stop there. I designed a t-shirt as a brand imprint device, which can be found worn by thousands of students around campus. I designed networking lanyards, as well as event banners and social media assets, all of which are used to this day.

UX PROCESS

Keeping students at the center of our design process, I interviewed 15 students about the difficulties that they faced when they sought information Startup Exchange. Furthermore, I asked the executive board if they had any requests for aspects of our organization that should be highlighted more. Lastly, I consulted similar websites for college accelerators and founder memberships.

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Design

Colors & Typography

HEADER & SUBHEADER

DrukWide
Crimson Roman

BODY

NeueHaas
NeueHaas

BUTTONS

PRIMARY ACTION →

Secondary Action

UI ELEMENTS

#111111

#FFFFFF

#EAAA00

#003057

#A0A09F

TEXT

#303030

#8F8F8F

#FFFFFF

PRIMARY LOGO

SECONDARY LOGO

Buzz on a Rocket

When I was designing Buzz on a Rocket, which is based off of Georgia Tech's mascot of a Yellow Jacket named Buzz, my goal was to create a t-shirt design that would resonate with the average student.

Most club shirts get thrown into an extra drawer in the back of a closet and never see the light of day. I wanted to challenge that status quo and design a club shirt that was trendy, and offered similiarity to a vintage 90's graphic t-shirt. I feel like I delivered on that vision with "Buzz on a Rocket."

UX Process

Why was attendance low? Do we need a fresh look?

USER
RESEARCH

RESEARCH ANALYSIS

DESIGN & DEVELOP

USABILITY TESTING

WEEK 1-2

Survey community about issues with our brand

Gain user feedback on our web platform

Discuss internally about brand identity

WEEK 3-4

Develop needs assessment

Consider different approaches

WEEK 5-6

Redefine brand identity guidelines

Design event series to create customer imprint

Redesign site UI

WEEK 7 & BEYOND

Cognitive walkthrough

Heuristic evaluation (meeting WCAG guidelines)

Design interation

Address inefficient user flows

IMPACT

I have personally witnessed Startup Exchange to transform into the most prominent professional club on campus. Thousands of students wear our shirts, attend our events, and apply to our programs.

As we continue to operate and to improve our initiatives, we hope to improve the state of entrepreneurship not only at Georgia Tech, but throughout the southeast United States.