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RS.

About

Work

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Resume

Contact

RS.

About

Work

Play

Resume

Contact

App Mockup

DealMate

A mobile app offering students exclusive on
campus as well as local discounts and deals.

A mobile app offering students exclusive on campus as well as local discounts and deals.

Project Overview

A mobile app that offers exclusive local and campus-specific discounts for students, focusing on student essentials like books, food, transportation, and academic tools. The app will feature easy verification, personalized recommendations, and community-driven deal-sharing, making it the go-to platform for student savings.


Percentage GIF

View Prototype on Figma

My Role

App Designer &

Strategist

Branding

Research

UX/UI Design

Prototyping




Team

Solo

Timeline

July - Aug 2024

(2 months)

Tools

Adobe Illustrator

Figma


READY TO SAVE BETTER, TOGETHER?

Design that gives stories a voice.

DealMate brings to life the story of students saving on essentials—whether it’s finding an

affordable meal, grabbing discounted textbooks, or scoring exclusive deals on

transportation. It’s about those daily moments where every dollar counts, helping students

stretch their budgets further. Through community-shared deals and personalized offers,

DealMate tells the story of student life with a focus on saving smarter and living better.

DealMate brings to life the story of students saving on essentials—whether it’s finding an affordable meal, grabbing discounted textbooks, or scoring exclusive deals on transportation. It’s about those daily moments where every dollar counts, helping students stretch their budgets further. Through community-shared deals and personalized offers,

DealMate tells the story of student life with a focus on saving smarter and living better.

Stylized deals image

The Problem

Students struggle to find and access meaningful discounts and deals due to poor

marketing, and a lack of clear promotion. Additionally, students are often unaware

of the discounts and deals offered by university resources. There is a need for a

streamlined, reliable platform that makes university-provided discounts more

visible, accessible, and relevant to student needs.

Students struggle to find and access meaningful discounts and deals due to poor marketing, and a lack of clear promotion. Additionally, students are often unaware of the discounts and deals offered by university resources. There is a need for a

streamlined, reliable platform that makes university-provided discounts more

visible, accessible, and relevant to student needs.

The Design Challenge

How might we make student deals and discounts more
accessible, valuable, and easy to find, ensuring they are
effectively promoted through university resources and
tailored to student needs?

How might we make student deals and discounts more
accessible, valuable, and easy to find, ensuring they are effectively promoted through university resources and tailored to student needs?

Target Audience

Target Audience

Primarily university students, but also extending to all students who are looking for

accessible, valuable, and easy-to-find deals and discounts tailored to their everyday needs.

Primarily university students, but also extending to all students who are looking for accessible, valuable, and easy-to-find deals and discounts tailored to their everyday needs.

BACKSTORY (Empathize)

Research Objectives


  1. Student Needs for Essential Discounts: Identify key student needs for discounts

    on essentials like food, textbooks, and transportation.


  1. Evaluation of Current Discount Platforms: Evaluate the effectiveness of current

    student discount platforms and their limitations.


  1. Awareness of Campus-Specific Deals: Understand students’ awareness of

    campus-specific deals and resources.


  1. Discovery and Access Preferences for Deals: Explore preferences for how students

    want to discover and access deals.





  1. Student Needs for Essential Discounts: Identify key student needs for discounts on essentials like food, textbooks, and transportation.


  1. Evaluation of Current Discount Platforms: Evaluate the effectiveness of current student discount platforms and their limitations.


  1. Awareness of Campus-Specific Deals: Understand students’ awareness of campus-specific deals and resources.


  1. Discovery and Access Preferences for Deals: Explore preferences for how students want to discover and access deals.





Methodologies;

User Interviews

Competition Analysis

Participant Criteria;


I interviewed 5 university students to understand their experiences with finding and

using student discounts and deals. The interviews covered topics such as ease of

access, awareness of available deals, and the impact of these discounts on their

purchasing decisions.



Participant Criteria;


I interviewed 5 university students to understand their experiences with finding and using student discounts and deals. The interviews covered topics such as ease of access, awareness of available deals, and the impact of these discounts on their

purchasing decisions.



Sticky Notes

Pain Point Analysis

I conducted a pain point confidence-impact analysis in DealMate to narrow down the

most critical issues from the various problems that surfaced during user interviews.

This helped me focus on addressing the challenges that would have the greatest

impact while being practical to tackle as a solo designer.

I conducted a pain point confidence-impact analysis in DealMate to narrow down the most critical issues from the various problems that surfaced during user interviews. This helped me focus on addressing the challenges that would have the greatest impact while being practical to tackle as a solo designer.

Pain points table

Competitive Analysis

I conducted competitor analysis through market research, to understand strengths and

weaknesses, which helped me identify targeted, efficient, and cost-effective hiring

solutions for small businesses and niche industries.

Competitor Analysis

PLOTTING THE COURSE (Ideate)

User Persona, Empathy Map and User Journey

I created user personas, including one for an international student, to help design solutions

that address specific needs, behaviors, and pain points. By using an empathy map, I explored

their unique needs, frustrations, and motivations, gaining deeper insights into their

experience. I then mapped out the user journey to identify key touch points and pain points,

ensuring the design aligns with their needs and streamlines their overall experience.

User Persona

1

2

3

User Persona

1

2

3

User Persona

1

2

3

Key Goals

Personalized Deal Experience

Offer personalized discounts based on students' preferences, location, and purchase habits, making deals more relevant and valuable.

Leverage Word of Mouth

Encourage users to share deals, creating a community where students benefit from trusted, word-of-mouth recommendations.

Promote Campus Resources

Highlight on-campus services and events through tailored deals, enhancing student engagement and access.

Increase Deal Awareness

Use in-app notifications and personalized suggestions to keep students informed about the latest deals.

PLOTTING THE COURSE (Ideate)

The Solution

DealMate

DealMate is a mobile app that helps students discover personalized deals and discounts

tailored to their preferences, location, and needs. By leveraging word-of-mouth

recommendations and local offers, DealMate creates a community-driven platform that

enables students to save money on everyday purchases and experiences.

Task Flow

I designed the task flow to emphasize sharing deals effortlessly, integrating features like

location-based offers and personalized recommendations.

Task Flow

FEEDBACK & REVISIONS (PROTOTYPE & TESTING )

Wireframes

I created wireframes to visualize the app’s structure, functionality, and user flow before

diving into detailed design.

Low-Fidelity Wireframes
Low-Fidelity Wireframes
Low-Fidelity Wireframes

FINAL DESIGN

View Prototype on Figma

View Figma Prototype on Desktop

Deal Sharing & Community

During user interviews, I discovered that many students looked into deals and discounts

through word of mouth from friends or classmates. This insight reinforced the importance

of including a peer-to-peer deal-sharing feature, creating a space where students can

easily share and discover offers within their community.

Geo-location Mockup

Local & Campus-Specific Deals

-Geo-location-based discounts: Students get real-time offers from nearby businesses,

including local restaurants, stores, coffee shops, and services (e.g., printing, gym

memberships).
-Campus partnerships: Exclusive discounts on campus services (e.g., bookstore, printing,

events) available only to verified students.

Personalization Mockup

Personalization

Tailored discounts based on students' major or interests (e.g., tech deals for engineering

students, food discounts for commuter students).

Tailored discounts based on students' major or interests (e.g., tech deals for engineering students, food discounts for commuter students).

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See something you like? Let's connect—

no pressure, but I would love to hear from you!

Resume

Email- ria.saraiya@yahoo.com

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