Group Mate
APP Design | UI/UX Design
Groupmate is a mobile app designed to help international students overcome language barriers and build confidence in English communication by providing a platform where they can create or join study groups, connect with peers, and practice language skills in a supportive environment. By fostering collaboration and cultural exchange, Groupmate not only enhances academic success but also helps students feel more comfortable and integrated in their new academic and social settings.
Design Process
Initial Research
Our team confirmed that the target users were international students and searched related papers. We found that the biggest challenge they face is difficulty integrating smoothly into a second-language environment.
Interface Sketching
We discussed and used hand-drawn sketches + Figma mockups to build the internal structure of the APP we wanted.
Mockups
Then we planned all functional sections and their corresponding text for every part of the APP.
Interaction Design
Each of us was responsible for interaction design tasks, such as browsing the record page or the group status interface (completed individually).
Final Introduction Page
In the final week of the project, we finished the webpage design, which contains detailed introductions of the APP’s functions.
Interview
Discord call | In person
Think Aloud Testing
asked users to describe their
thoughts while using the app
Asking users to perform tasks
create and join groups
find main pages
Questions about usability
usefulness of main features
smoothness of the experience
Takeaways
Login/Group Creation Flow Is Unreasonable
The login and group-creation process forced users to choose “international/local,” which caused confusion.
Cannot Return to Group After Creating One
Players must decide whether to engage in battle and choose between solo combat or team combat.
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Solo combat: High risk, high reward
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Team combat: Low risk, low reward
Information Editing Path Is Not Clear
Users did not realize they needed to click “edit → modify → save,” resulting in changes not being saved.
Interest-Based Matching Is Weak
Interest matching results did not match user expectations, making it hard to find ideal groups.
Problem Encounterd
Domestic Student VS. International Student
During the initial mockup phase, we found that our app’s user base could include all students. However, we wanted to focus more on international students.
Our initial solution was to add a dropdown list, allowing students to select whether they were local or international. However, we felt that explicitly distinguishing between local and international students might be too divisive, so we decided to abandon the dropdown list. Since international students inevitably interact with local students, we realized there was no need to separate them.
User Control & Freedom
Doesn’t let you select more than one day, and you can’t select different times for different days. Also, you can’t edit your group information because if you click the back arrow, it takes you to the home page.
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Also, There doesn't have any image upload section in our original version.
Final Result
LOGIN PAGE
HOME PAGE
DETAIL PAGE
SUCCESS PAGE
LIST PAGE
PROFILE PAGE
Ready To Meet Your Group?
