We compared TikTok with YouTube Shorts to understand how both platforms support new users through onboarding, content discovery, and privacy.
To understand user needs, I conducted:
I began with low-fidelity wireframes to plan the core structure and flow of the platform. My focus was on clarity and simplicity, making it easy for users to discover and connect with mentors.
Once the wireframes were validated, I moved into high-fidelity design using Figma. I built a visual system that felt clean, modern, and easy to navigate — balancing functionality with personality.
To bring the experience to life, I built an interactive prototype in Figma where users could:
To bring the experience to life, I built an interactive prototype in Figma where users could:
Key Insights & Affinity Mapping
User Flow
WIREFRAMES
High-Fidelity UI Design
Interactive Prototype
Reflections & Learnings
Next Steps
UX Designer
"I want to connect with a mentor who actually understands what I'm trying to learn."
"I usually learn through courses, but I want someone to guide me directly."
WHAT USERS SAID
Mythiresh
(Solo Project)
January – April 2025
UX Research
Wireframing
Usability Testing
UI Design
Affinity Mapping
Figma
Figjam
Zoom
Google Forms
SkillHive UX Case Study.
ROLE
TEAM
TIMELINE
SKILLS
TOOLS
Overview
PROBLEM STATEMENT
PROJECT GOALS
Research summary
SkillHive connects individuals who want to learn new skills with those willing to teach. Designed for personalized learning, SkillHive simplifies the process of finding mentors and creating meaningful learning connections. The platform fosters a community-driven approach to learning, helping people share knowledge and grow together.
Many individuals want to learn new skills but struggle to find reliable, personalized mentorship. Existing platforms focus heavily on pre-recorded courses, lacking the human connection and real-time guidance that mentorship can offer. Users need a simple, effective way to connect with mentors who match their learning goals, availability, and skill level.
Simplify mentor discovery and session booking
Personalize the learning experience
Encourage peer-to-peer interaction and mentorship
Create a clean, intuitive user interface for both mentors and learners
Key screens included:
A clean homepage with featured mentors and skill categories
A search page with filters for skill type, availability, and ratings
Mentor profile pages that display bio, reviews, and available time slots
A dashboard for learners to track upcoming sessions and ongoing learning
Final screens included:
A refined Mentor Search Page with tags and filtering
The Mentor Profile Page with clear CTAs and availability booking
A minimalist Booking Calendar for scheduling sessions
The Learner Dashboard with quick access to active and upcoming classes
Clarity: Users found existing platforms hard to navigate
Mentorship Matching: People wanted guidance tailored to their pace and level
Feedback Loop: Learners appreciated real-time interaction and accountability
10 user interviews focused on how people currently learn new skills
A Google Form survey that received 20+ responses about learning habits, challenges, and mentor expectations
Affinity mapping to organize insights and identify recurring themes
Browse and filter mentors by skills or availability
Book sessions directly from mentor profiles
Navigate a basic learning dashboard to simulate a real learning flow
Designing SkillHive helped me deeply understand the balance between simplicity and depth when creating a platform for mentorship.
User interviews reminded me how valuable real human connection is in learning and that good design should support, not overshadow, that experience.
Working solo on this project challenged me to manage the full UX lifecycle from research and wireframes to high-fidelity design and usability testing improving both my design intuition and time management skills.
I want to refine the design more based on user feedback once I test it with more people.
Thinking of adding AI-based mentor suggestions to make matching smoother and more personal.
I also want to try adding group mentorship sessions and maybe even experiment with tools like progress tracking to make the learning journey more motivating.
Once that’s done, I’ll probably run a proper beta test to see how it holds up in real use.
Primary User Flow:
The user flow is designed to be simple and intuitive:Sign-Up: Users create an account by providing their learning preferences and skills they can offer.
Explore Skills & Mentors: Users browse and filter available mentors based on skills and preferences.
Connect with Mentor: After selecting a mentor, users schedule sessions and begin their learning journey.
