Madiha Jan

Konnect

Employment Platform for Newcomers.

Konnect is a community-driven platform designed to help newcomers navigate the Canadian job market through mentorship, structured resources, and job tracking tools.

The product brings together connection, guidance, and action into a single unified system, reducing fragmentation and improving job-search outcomes.

End-to-End PRODUCT DESIGN PROJECT:

Vancouver Film School

MY ROLE:

UX Research & Strategy, Product & Interaction Design, UI System & Component Design, Visual Identity & Art Direction

DELIVERABLES:

Mobile App Design, Clickable Prototype, Brand Identity

DURATION:

October 2022 – March 2023

Problem:

Newcomers face multiple barriers:

Limited professional networks
Fragmented job-search resources
Lack of structured guidance

Existing tools solve isolated problems, but not the end-to-end journey.

Solution:

Designed a unified platform with three integrated systems:

Connect & Collaborate — mentorship + community interaction
Categorized Resources — structured, curated guidance
Job Tracker — workflow for managing applications

👉 The goal: reduce friction and create a continuous user journey

Impact:

Reduced the friction and isolation newcomers often face when navigating employment and settlement challenges by creating a support-driven, trust-based network.
Validated core user journeys through usability testing and iteration, identifying opportunities to improve navigation efficiency and content discoverability by 30%.
Identified a market gap through competitive analysis and designed a unified platform offering three core features not found together elsewhere: Connect & Collaborate, Categorized Resources, and an integrated Job Tracker.

PRODUCT THINKING & SYSTEM DESIGN

Instead of designing isolated screens, I approached Konnect as a modular product system.

Each feature was designed as a functional layer:

Social Layer → community & mentorship
Content Layer → categorized resources
Collaboration Layer → government-funded organizations
Workflow Layer → job tracking

👉 These layers work together to create a cohesive product ecosystem

Three Main Features:

connect and collaborate

2. Categorized Resources

3. Job Tracker

1. Connect and Collaborate (Community System)

Three Main Groups: The main screen displays three expandable groups, each revealing sub-groups with related information.

Public Discussion Groups: Public groups available to all users, designed to encourage open, constructive dialogue and community interaction.
Private Mentorship Spaces: User-specific private groups that provide a secure space for connecting, sharing ideas, and engaging in meaningful conversations.
Service-based Groups for Organizations: Dedicated groups for non-profit organizations, focused on addressing specific user needs through well-structured, efficient, and responsive service design.

Designed to:

Encourage interaction
Build trust
Create structured communication

These three groups are colour-coded, which will help the user to know which group they are in.

2. Categorized Resources (Content System)

Centralized employment resources
Structured categories and subcategories
Reduced information overload

👉 Improves discoverability and efficiency

3. Job Tracker (Workflow System)

Track job applications
Categorize using labels
Manage progress across opportunities

👉 Introduces structure to the job search process

USER EXPERIENCE DESIGN:

Focused on:

Reducing cognitive load
Improving navigation clarity
Creating logical flows across features

Validated through usability testing and iteration, improving:

Navigation efficiency
Content discoverability (~30%)

DESIGN SYSTEM & COMPONENT LIBRARY:

System Foundations:

Defined typography hierarchy for readability
Established a structured colour system for feature differentiation
Built consistent spacing and layout rules

Component Design:

Designed and developed reusable UI components to ensure consistency and scalability:

Buttons (primary, secondary, hover, active, disabled states)
Input fields and form elements
Cards for content, groups, and job listings
Navigation elements and interactive components

Each component was built with:

Clear hierarchy and visual consistency
Multiple interaction states
Accessibility and usability considerations

👉 This ensured a consistent experience across all features.

Component Library & Reusability:

Organized components into a reusable system
Enabled consistent usage across multiple screens and flows
Reduced design inconsistencies and improved efficiency

👉 Shifted design from screen-based → system-based thinking

Scalability:

The system was designed to:

Support future features without redesign
Maintain consistency across modules
Enable faster iteration and handoff

👉 Result: a flexible, scalable UI foundation

DESIGN PROCESS

UX CASE STUDY

The Research

Let’s start with understanding the users' needs

INITIAL RESEARCH

Canada welcomes thousands of immigrants each year, each bringing unique skills and experiences, but also facing significant challenges, particularly in securing employment. Job-search resources are often fragmented and overwhelming, making it difficult for newcomers to access clear, relevant guidance aligned with their career goals.

// denotes a break in the historical series

Note(s): The lines within the bars in the shaded area of the chart for the years 2026 to 2041 indicate the interval between the minimum and maximum values projected for all 11 scenarios combined.

Source(s): Census of Population, 1871 to 2006, 2016 and 2021 (3901); National Household Survey, 2011 (5178); Population projections on immigration and diversity for Canada and its regions, 2016 to 2041 (5126); The presented data are based on the reference scenario.

https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/daily-quotidien/221026/g-a001-eng.htm

*Respondents allowed to cite more than 1 reason; hence, percentages do not total 100%

Source: Longitudinal Survey of Immigrants to Canada, 2005

https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/pub/11-008-x/2007000/9627-eng.htm

HYPOTHESES

Newcomers often lack knowledge of the Canadian job market due to cultural and language barriers, making workplace communication more challenging.
Limited social and professional networks make it harder for newcomers to access job opportunities.

Unfamiliarity with the Canadian job search process can lead to confusion and frustration.
Lack of recognition for international qualifications, certifications, and prior experience limits employment prospects.

TARGET AUDIENCE

Based on the problem and given solution, there are two target audiences.

COMPETITIVE ANALYSIS

I analyzed the competition to know how to stand out in a specific need. This was completed in the form of S.W.O.T. I downloaded three apps, one of which is my direct competitor and two are indirect.

NOTE: There were a few more apps that I analyzed, the ones that deal with job search, one of them was LinkedIn.

USER INTERVIEWS

I conducted user interviews to gain valuable insights into their needs, preferences, and pain points. This deeper understanding of the target audience allowed me to create more effective and user-centric solutions.

I interviewed the newcomers and the settled immigrants. In total, I interviewed 16 participants. Questions changed according to the behaviour of the participant, but there were key main questions that were asked of the participants.

INTERVIEWEES PROFILE

Key Findings from the Interviews

Previous experience and degrees are not accepted here in Canada.
Have to do different survival jobs not related to their own field.
Finding companionship or someone from their community, they feel more comfortable and connected.
Settled immigrants can help and guide the newcomers.
Don’t know where to look for the resources and where to search.

After the interviews and key findings, all the hypotheses were validated.

How Might We…

Create a social and professional network for newcomers.
Facilitate connections between newcomers and established professionals.
Provide accessible resources to support the integration of newcomers.
Provide better support for immigrants seeking employment in Canada.

PRIMARY ARCHETYPE

I crafted a comprehensive profile for the primary archetype. By anticipating their challenges, aspirations, and habits, I was able to create diagrams that accurately capture their mindset and desired outcomes. This process allowed me to develop an intuitive understanding of their needs and provided invaluable insights into how our platform can serve them best. I created the Empathy Map, JTBD, User Journey, and Mental Model to fully understand the user’s needs.

SECONDARY ARCHETYPE

I did the same for the secondary archetype to better understand the needs and the pain points.

The Design

A user-friendly app for our users

FLOW CHART

ITERATIONS

DEMO

PROTOTYPE LINK

VIDEO CASE STUDY

Lessons learned:

User Empathy: Leveraged my lived experience and direct conversations with newcomers to inform design decisions and address real employment challenges.
Problem Definition: Clearly defined the problem space to avoid assumptions and deliver focused, user-driven solutions.
Collaboration & Iteration: Worked closely with other designers, using feedback and iteration to refine user flows and improve overall usability.

Next steps:

Language & Clarity: Identified the need for multilingual support and simplified language to reduce barriers for non-native English and French speakers.
Iterative Growth: Continue iterating and expanding features based on user feedback and evolving job-market needs..
Accessibility & Platforms: Proposed a Progressive Web App (PWA) to improve accessibility for desktop-first users, including older users less engaged with mobile apps.
Partnership & Scale: Integrate the platform with non-profit organizations to scale impact through trusted newcomer support networks. Partnering with non-profits leverages their expertise and reach, strengthening the app’s impact while aligning with their mission to support newcomer employment and settlement.