Orbit

UX RESEARCH | UX DESIGN | UI DESIGN | USABILITY TEST | KEY TAKEAWAYS

Overview

Access to quality education is one of the most empowering tools we can offer. As technology continues to bridge gaps, learning opportunities are becoming more flexible, accessible, and affordable. This project focuses on designing a smooth and trustworthy experience for parents looking to connect their children with the right language tutors.

Role
UX Researcher, UX/UI Designer

Toolkit
Figma, FigJam, Pencil & Paper

UX Research

Overview

  • Background

    This app is an end-to-end platform that helps parents find the right language tutors for their children through a simple and supportive experience:

  • Browse verified tutor profiles

  • Book lessons directly through the app

  • Track progress and build long-term connections

  • Research Goals

    From the beginning, my goal was to design an app that helps parents feel confident - not confused - when choosing a tutor, whether through smart filters, trusted reviews, or tailored recommendations.

  • Methodology

  • – 5 informal interviews with parents of school-aged children
    – 20 online survey responses
    – Competitor analysis
    – Affinity diagramming to identify pain patterns and emotional drivers

  • Competitive Analysis

  • User Interviews

    Five individuals were interviewed to inform the affinity mapping for the language tutor booking app. All participants were parents of children who had either previously booked language tutors or were actively exploring tutoring options. While most had school-aged children, the app is also designed to support parents of younger learners seeking early language education. Interviews were conducted remotely via Google Meet.

  • 👩‍👧 3 Active or Interested Users
    These parents had recently searched for or booked online tutors. They provided detailed insights into onboarding, tutor selection, scheduling, and maintaining their child's motivation.

  • ❓ 2 First-Time or Infrequent Users
    These parents had limited exposure to tutoring apps. Their feedback centered around first impressions, hesitations about creating accounts, and concerns about app clarity.

  • Affinity Mapping

Competitor comparison table — language-learning platforms by target market & features
A chart with three sections containing sticky notes. The first section is titled "Finding the Right Tutor (Selecting & Trusting the Right Match)" with blue notes discussing experiences with tutor selection. The second section is titled "Scheduling, Calendar & Subscription Needs (Planning Lessons That Work for Families)" with green notes about tutor availability and scheduling issues. The third section is titled "Payment Experience & Confirmation (Clarity and Trust in the Final Step)" with pink notes addressing payment concerns and process speed.

  • Research Findings

  • Parents want help choosing the right tutor, including clearer bios, teaching style tags, and video introductions to build trust and confidence in their decision.

  • Scheduling lessons feels unreliable and confusing, with issues like lack of recurring bookings, and missing calendar integrations.

  • Maintaining engagement over time is hard, especially without progress tracking, tutor feedback, or motivational features to keep kids consistent.

  • The onboarding process creates early friction, as requiring account creation before browsing discourages new users from exploring the app.

  • Parents need transparency and control, including verified tutors, privacy assurances, and features to manage how their children interact with the app.

  • Parents need clear confirmation after booking to feel reassured that everything went through correctly, it builds trust and avoids second-guessing.

Persona #1

👩 Soyoung Jung — The Practical Mom

Parent persona — Kim, busy Mexico City mom; overwhelmed by too many choices

“I don’t have time to scroll through endless profiles to find the right tutor for my kids.Language is personal for us, not just academic.I want my children to feel confident, not just in school, but also in everyday life. It’s important they adapt socially, make friends, and feel at home here in Mexico”

  • Age: 39

  • Ethnicity: Korean

  • Location: Mexico City

  • Occupation: Regional Marketing Manager for a global brand

  • Languages Spoken: Korean (native), English (fluent), Spanish (conversational)

  • Income Level: Upper-middle class

  • Devices: iPhone and MacBook

  • Tech Comfort Level: High – confident and efficient with modern apps

  • Hobbies: Pilates, Korean cooking on weekends, cultural workshops for her kids, and digital planning tools like Notion and Google Calendar

Goals

  • Help her children become fluent in Spanish to thrive socially and academically

  • Maintain Korean language and culture at home

  • Find trustworthy tutors who fit her children’s learning style and schedule

  • Avoid decision fatigue, she wants a quick and reliable way to book the right tutor

Frustrations

  • Too many tutor options make it hard to know who’s actually a good fit

  • No time to compare profiles or message multiple tutors

  • Hard to find tutors who understand multicultural or bilingual households

  • Worries about wasting money on lessons with the wrong tutor

Persona #2

👨‍👧 Luis — The Protective Dad

Parent persona Luis, booking Spanish tutors for two kids; wants simple filters.

“I never really spoke English fluently.But I want my son to have that chance.These days, technology makes learning more affordable.I just don’t want something too complicated to use.”

  • Age: 36

  • Ethnicity: Mexican

  • Location: Oaxaca, Mexico

  • Occupation: Hotel Receptionist

  • Languages Spoken: Spanish (native), English (basic)

  • Income Level: Lower-middle class

  • Devices: Android phone only

  • Tech Comfort Level: Low to moderate – uses WhatsApp, Facebook, and YouTube comfortably, but prefers very simple interfaces

  • Hobbies: Playing soccer on weekends, helping his son with homework, watching fútbol highlights, and listening to regional music

Goals

  • Wants his 7-year-old son to learn English early for a better future

  • Hopes to find a friendly, patient tutor who connects well with kids

  • Needs an app that’s easy to use on his phone and doesn’t require a laptop

  • Prefers a platform where he can see the tutor first, not just read a profile

Frustrations

  • Feels nervous trusting someone he’s never met to teach his child

  • Struggles to know what makes a tutor “good” or worth the price

  • Worries his son might lose interest if the tutor doesn’t make it fun

  • Wants to help his son but doesn’t feel confident guiding him through something he never learned himself

UX Design

  • Project Goals

Design a simple and trustworthy platform that helps parents quickly find the right language tutor for their child, while reducing decision fatigue through clear profiles, smart filters, and a seamless booking flow.

  • Information Architecture

  • Wireframes

The sitemap is organized around key user actions: browsing tutors, managing lessons, messaging, and adjusting account settings to support a focused, task-driven experience.

Website sitemap diagram with categories: Home, Explore Tutors, Schedule, Settings & Account, Messages; each with subcategories in green boxes.

  • User Flow – Find and Book a Tutor as a New User

A parent visits Orbit to find and book a language tutor for their child. This flow is optimized for trust, speed, and simplicity.

Flowchart diagram illustrating step-by-step process for using an educational app, starting from app launch, selecting options, browsing tutors, creating an account, viewing reviews, subscribing or buying lessons, and confirming payment.
Sketches of multiple smartphone app screens with labels for home, search, messages, and schedule features.
Sketches of four mobile app screens with various layout designs and interface elements.
Mobile app sign-up screen with placeholder text and two buttons labeled "Sign Up" and "Login."
A grayscale mobile app interface with a logo, user profile icon, large illustration area, "Book New Lesson" button, upcoming lesson and previous lesson sections, and a bottom navigation bar with five icons.
A mobile app screen for scheduling tutoring sessions, showing options to select language, day, week, or month view, with specific dates and times, and a button to message the tutor.
Mobile app screen showing a calendar for January with scheduled lessons on the 17th and 21st, and options to schedule new lessons and join upcoming ones.

UI Design

  • Brand Identity

First of all, I explored potential names and visual symbols that reflect the mission of connecting parents with trusted tutors. I chose the name Orbit to represent support, connection, and movement just like a planet held in steady motion by the pull of a trusted force.

The name symbolizes the safe environment parents seek for their children’s learning journey, always in motion, yet centered around care and growth. The brand’s tone is calm and trustworthy, designed to make parents feel that their child is in good hands. The logo evolved from the left option to the right options, as a horizontal layout felt more balanced and better suited for the app's interface.

  • High Fidelity Screens

Logo with a stylized satellite orbit and the word 'ORBIT' beneath it.
Mobile app screen with an illustration of a person reading a book, a large moon in the background, and two buttons labeled 'I'm a Parent' and 'I'm a Tutor.'
Logo of Orbit with a stylized orbiting planet icon on a teal background.
Mobile phone screen displaying a language selection menu with options for North American, Classic British, and Australian accents, over a cartoon illustration of three women running, with a light background.
Mobile app screen showing options to choose a learning style, including Play-Based, Visual Learning, Structured/Academic, and Everyday Conversation, with a cartoon illustration of a person hugging a large ice cream cone at the bottom.
Mobile app screen showing a list of tutors with their photos, names, prices, and details, labeled 'Favourites'.

Usability Test

  • Prototype

I’ve mainly worked with components and variants throughout the entire project. For that reason, it was quite straightforward to build up the prototype.

To maintain a smooth and cohesive flow, I used consistent mild transitions between screens with shared elements, while opting for more dynamic, bouncy effects when moving between distinct stages like the intro and onboarding, signaling a shift and adding energy.

  • Outcome

The usability test gave me valuable insights into how parents interact with the app. Based on their feedback, I added features like learning style filters, clearer calendar visuals, and improved tutor booking confirmations to better support their needs.

A digital board with four sections titled 'What Worked,' 'Need to Improve,' 'Questions,' and 'Ideas,' each containing multiple yellow sticky notes with handwritten feedback and suggestions.

  • Iterations

  1. Improved Calendar Design

    To improve the booking experience, I iterated on the calendar design. Initially, users struggled with selecting available time slots and understanding which dates were bookable/ not bookable. After testing, I redesigned the calendar to include clearer visual cues, such as highlighted availability, day-based navigation, and more intuitive time slot selection along with clearly marked unavailable dates. These updates made the booking process smoother and more parent-friendly.

  2. Subscription Flexibility

    To support parents seeking consistent progress for their children, I introduced a subscription option whichs allows them to easily commit to regular lessons. While the subscription flow doesn't yet include recurring date selection, this feature lays the foundation for a more reliable and structured learning experience.

  3. Booking Confirmation Screen

    After usability testing, it became clear that users needed stronger feedback once they completed a booking. I designed a dedicated confirmation screen that appears immediately after payment. It includes:

  • Tutor name and photo

  • Lesson date and time

  • Language selected

  • Payment summary with amount and method used

  • A '“Back to Home” and “Message Tutor” option if they have any questions about the lesson

  • A subtle success animation (like a checkmark) to reinforce that the action was completed

Mobile phone screen displaying a booking confirmation for a lesson with details including date, time, language, tutor's name, and payment information, with options to message the tutor or go back home.

Key Takeaways

• Challenge

  • Balanced simplicity with functionality to create a clear, trustworthy experience for parents

  • Thinking through all the small details parents care about from compatibility to calendar flow and tutor credibility


• Lessons Learned

  • Simplicity makes a huge difference from early user flows to the final booking experience

  • A well-structured UI library using components and variants is essential for consistency and scalability

  • Designing with consistency and intention accelerates decision-making and keeps the experience intuitive — a reminder of how essential it is to follow each stage of the UX process while staying focused on user needs and intentions