The product

An app to help adults, parents, and students find and book tutors to further the learning needs.

Project duration:
August 2025

My role:
UX Designer

Responsibilities:
User Research, User Journey Mapping, Information Architecture, Wireframing, Prototyping, Usability Testing, Accessibility Design, UI Design

The problem

Users need a simple and trustworthy way to find, evaluate, and book qualified tutors for students of all ages. Current options are time-consuming, inconsistent in quality, and leave users uncertain about whether the tutor will meet the student’s learning needs. This creates stress, wasted effort, and frustration for people who simply want reliable educational support.

The goal

The goal of this app is to provide users with a fast, reliable, and stress-free way to find and book qualified tutors who fit a student’s specific academic needs. By combining transparent tutor profiles, secure booking and payments, and flexible scheduling, the app aims to give users confidence, save them time, and ensure the student gets the right support to succeed.

Summary

Due to limited access to real-life parents seeking tutoring, I used AI tools to simulate early-stage interviews and personas, exploring diverse needs and behaviors while grounding insights in existing education research and secondary sources.


Lack of Trust & Fit
Past experiences with tutors who were unqualified, unreliable, or didn’t connect with the child, leading to wasted time and money.

Academic & Confidence Decline
Fear that poor grades, language struggles, or learning challenges will hurt the child’s self-esteem and future opportunities.

Practical Barriers
Scheduling conflicts, limited budget, or difficulty finding tutors with specific skills (bilingual, special needs, elite prep).

Pressure & Urgency
Stress from looming exams, teacher feedback, or competitive academic environments pushing them to act quickly.

Paper wireframes

By sketching several variations of each screen on paper, I was able to experiment with layouts and refine ideas before moving to digital wireframes. This process helped ensure key user needs were met, such as offering multiple ways to access search results and tutor profile pages.

Usability study

Moderated usability testing was conducted on the new records request flow with five participants over Zoom. The group included a mix of colleagues and friends.

Round 1 findings

• Users wanted to see more filter options
.

• Users wanted to know about what would happen if they didn’t like the tutor.


• Users wanted a more information on the booking confirmation screen.

• Users wanted progress reports on how lessons were progressing with the tutor.

Round 2 findings

• Users wanted filter by tutor’s educational background and if they were a native speaker
.

• Users wanted an explanation of the tutor cancelation policy
.

• Users wanted to be able to book session longer than one hour
.

• Users wanted a bulleted list of thing students should work on between tutoring sessions.

Search & Filters

• A distinction was made was made on if the tutor also offered online lessons

• Users were given the additional ability to filter by tutor’s education, if the tutor was a native speaker, and student’s comprehension level

Tutor’s Profile

• Users were given a upfront explanation of what the verification badge meant

• Clarification of what comprehension level the tutor worked with was put in the About Lessons section

• Cancelation policy was added

• It was explained in multiple areas if the tutor offered online session, in-person, of both

• The ability to feature personal pronouns was added to the tutor’s profile

• Cancelation policy details were added to the tutor profile pages

• Multiple points of entry to the booking process were created

• Users were given the ability to book a tutor on a reoccurring basis

• Users can add notes to the subject area of the booking process

• Users are able to book tutoring sessions longer than one hour

• Tutoring location detail can be saved for easy use during future booking

• Scheduled tutoring sessions can be added to the user’s calendar

• Copy edits were made to clarify the process after booking

• A scannable list of things to focus on between lessons was added to the progress reports page.

Plain Language for Clarity
All text throughout the app was written using clear, concise language to support users of varying literacy levels and reduce cognitive load during task completion.

Contextual Help and Overlays
Interactive overlays were designed to provide brief, plain-language explanations of medical record requests, helping users understand what’s being asked without leaving the screen.

High Color Contrast for Readability
Text and interface elements were designed with high contrast against their backgrounds, meeting WCAG 2.1 AA and AAA standards to ensure readability for users with visual impairments.

Redundant Visual Cues
Color was never used as the sole indicator for status or actions; icons, labels, and shape variations were added to reinforce meaning for users with color vision deficiencies.

I learned that users aren’t just looking for a tutor, they’re looking for peace of mind. The biggest challenges are trust, fit, and scheduling, and knowing if the efforts are showing results. I also saw how important it is to make the process feel simple and reassuring for busy users.

If I were to continue to work on this project…

• I would create a version of the prototype for responsive web.

• I could explore how the app would change and react to users that are searching for a tutor in a wider range of subjects.

• I could design the tutor side of the experience. Add resources, training, and verification tools to help support new tutors.