Portal.folio Application

Metropolia University of Applied Sciences

In the fast-paced landscape of freelance work and creative services, managing portfolios and finding the right projects can be a daunting task. Recognizing the challenges faced by creative professionals, the Portal.folio application emerges as a solution designed to streamline portfolio management and facilitate efficient collaboration.

I embarked on a journey to create a user-friendly and visually cohesive platform tailored to the needs of graphic designers, web developers, photographers, writers, and other creative professionals.

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The Challenge

I embarked on a journey to create a user-friendly and visually cohesive platform tailored to the needs of graphic designers, web developers, photographers, writers, and other creative professionals.

With a focus on user-centered design principles and collaboration with stakeholders, my main goals were clear:

To craft an intuitive and lightweight application interface that minimizes complexity and maximizes usability, ensuring a smooth user experience for both seasoned professionals and newcomers alike.
To develop features and functionalities that cater to the specific requirements of creative professionals across various fields, recognizing the unique challenges and workflows inherent in each discipline.
To redefine the paradigm of project management and collaboration within the freelance landscape, by designing a robust and efficient system that facilitates seamless communication, task allocation, and resource sharing.

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About Today's Creative Professionals and Students

The genesis of the Portal.folio application stemmed from a keen awareness of these pain points and a deep understanding of the needs of creative professionals.

Through extensive digital survey, I identified several critical challenges that inspired the development of Portal.folio:

Type of Design Work: The survey respondents primarily engage in a diverse range of design work, including graphic design, product design, service design, textile design, UX/UI design, and web design.
This diversity highlights the need for Portal.folio to cater to a wide range of creative professionals with varying design backgrounds and expertise.
Educational Background: Respondents have a mix of educational backgrounds, with an equal distribution between those who have attended high school or vocational school and those who have attended university or polytechnic.
This indicates that Portal.folio should accommodate users with different levels of formal education in design.
Work Experience in the Creative Industry: Half of respondents (50%) have 1-5 years of work experience in the creative industry, closely followed by those with zero work experience (43.8%).
This suggests that Portal.folio should consider the needs of both entry-level professionals and those with some experience in the field.
Entrepreneurship: A significant proportion of respondents (68.8%) are not but do plan to become entrepreneurs.
This insight informs the design of Portal.folio to prioritize features that cater to freelancers and professionals seeking projects rather than those focused on finding employment.
Skills Balance: The majority of respondents (56.3%) prefer to specialize in a wide range of areas rather than having a specific range of skills.
This highlights the importance of allowing users to track and improve their skills effectively within their portfolios on Portal.folio, whenever needed.
Web Portfolio: While the majority of respondents (62.5%) do not have a web portfolio, a somewhat small proportion (37.5%) do.
This underscores the need for Portal.folio to provide a platform for users to easily create and manage their portfolios, especially for those who do not already have an engaging online presence.

These insights became instrumental in shaping the design and functionality of Portal.folio to effectively meet the needs of its target users. By aligning the application with the preferences and behaviors of creative professionals, I could ensure that Portal.folio becomes a valuable tool for portfolio management and collaboration within the freelance community.

Design Drivers and User Flow

In developing Portal.folio, it was crucial to understand the target users and their specific needs. Through the user research process, a user persona emerged: the newly graduated individual with limited work experience but a desire to build a versatile skill set. This persona served as a guiding archetype, representing a significant segment of the target audience for the application.

Considering the outcome, the main design drivers were:

Integration with Student Profile Database: Recognizing that many users may be recent graduates with limited work experience, it was essential to provide a means for clients to assess their potential based on their academic achievements and progress. By integrating with a database that stores student profiles and academic accomplishments, Portal.folio facilitates transparency and credibility, enabling clients to make informed decisions when selecting collaborators.
Guidelines and Services for Claims and Copyrights: Inexperienced users may lack knowledge about legal considerations related to intellectual property rights and claims. To address this, Portal.folio offers comprehensive guidelines and services for claims and copyrights, ensuring that users are equipped with the necessary information and support to protect their creative work and rights. This feature promotes trust and professionalism within the platform, fostering a secure environment for collaboration.
Certified Skill Assessment System: Given the diverse skill sets of creative professionals, it was imperative to implement a robust skill assessment system that accurately evaluates users' capabilities. Portal.folio incorporates a certified skill assessment system that tracks users' proficiency levels in various domains, including software proficiency and specialized skills. This system not only aids in team creation by matching users with complementary skills but also provides valuable feedback for professional development and growth.
User-Friendly UI for Portfolio Management: With the prevalence of digital portfolios among creative professionals, creating a user-friendly interface for portfolio management became a top priority in the design process. Portal.folio prioritizes accessibility and ease of use, offering intuitive tools and features for users to showcase their work effectively. By simplifying the portfolio management process, Portal.folio empowers users to present their skills and achievements with confidence, regardless of their level of digital portfolio experience.

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Designing and Prototyping

Sketching

In the initial stages of the project during the sketching phase, my primary focus was on crafting a preliminary user interface (UI) tailored specifically for creators. This decision was driven by the recognition of the critical role creators play in the platform's ecosystem. As time constraints were a consideration, prioritizing the creator's UI ensured the core functionality of the application was well-defined and robust.

My intention was to address the fundamental needs of creators first, with the plan to extend the design to encompass the client-side UI if time allowed. This approach aimed to deliver a well-rounded experience for creators while allowing flexibility for potential expansion in subsequent development phases.

Creating a Prototype With Figma

Once I got some idea about the app and its UI I started design process in Figma. As I had already created wireframes before and pretty much mastered vector graphics and website building-services, learning Figma was a quick process.

The prototype was also built for a user's account, where browsing and managing projects and project offers are the key features.

[Click here to view the live prototype]

User testing

The purpose of this user testing was to evaluate how clear the user interface is from the creator account's point of view, and whether the user can navigate the application fluently according to given tasks. User testing was definitely the most interesting phase of the project.

Planning

I developed 7 different tasks that the user could perform with the application, and after each task the test person informed that they had completed the task. For example, "Look up a person in your network and make a phone call". This way I was able to easily get valuable insight, how the users thought the navigation would work and thus, how it should work.

All 6 test persons were involved in creative industry one way or another and they could realistically have use for this service.

Methods

The testing methods I used were observation and the test subjects were also allowed to think out loud. In addition to observation, I collected a video recording of my phone's screen to study the user behavior more carefully later.

Round 1

The first testing round was completed with 2 persons. I had an opportunity to mirror my phone's screen to a smart TV to observe the test away from the test person. I observed the test progress from TV and wrote notes, while the user did the tasks in another room without any distractions.

The first round revealed couple of obvious problems in the UI, which I fixed before the next test round.

Round 2

The second testing round was completed at Metropolia's campus with 4 persons and this time around I had to observe the test from up close.

The second testing revealed severe issues in project navigation.
For example, an ongoing project had all the tasks with details listed in a single page, so it was very hard for a new user to progress in the test at this specific point. The navigation was easily improved by moving task details behind a separate task card and leaving only essential information to the listing.