Product Designer @ Creative Resilient Youth:

A digital community for young creatives to inspire, share, and connect with like-minded individuals






PROJECT SUMMARY
Creative Resilient Youth (CRY) is a Philly-based art and leadership organization dedicated to nurturing creativity and empowering young voices. Over the past few years, CRY has facilitated youth-led events, including art workshops, study groups, and critical writing, to cultivate leadership skills and foster a sense of community among participants.

A 0 -> 1 web application for Creative Resilient Youth (CRY) to support their mission and expand their impact. This project focuses on designing a digital community to help marginalized youth in Philadelphia, accounting for 21% of Philadelphia’s population, foster creativity and mental resilience in a more accessible, culturally responsible way. 
OUTCOMES

  • Research and define the concept from 0 to 1 by collaborating with 10+ co-designers in 7 co-design workshop. Created journey maps and wireframes to drive alignment on the product features, scope, timeline
  • Iterate from concept to hi-fi prototypes through rapid-prototyping; Delivered specs and partnered with engineers to build MVP for concept testing 





MY ROLE
Sole Product Designer 

 TEAM
Community Co-designer
2 Software Engineers
Non-Profit Stakeholder
Researcher
Principle Investigator TIMELINE
03. 2024 - PresentTOOLS
Figma

Background & Opportunity


Research




We conducted different forms of research to understand the problem and existing solutions and products. This helped us visioning and designing a feasible ideal states with community members.



Process and Methods

01. End-to-end co-plan, co-learn and co-design workshops
We conducted 7 co-design research workshop with 10+ co-designers who belong to the BIPOC community and are already the active member at Creative Resilient Youth. The end-to-end co-design process allow us to: develop shared language and goals, collaborative learning and synthesis, defining design opportunity and concept brainstorming.


02. Competitive Analysis
We analyzed 10+ existing digital art platform/products – Adobe Firefly, Mental Canvas, Art Breeder, Octostudio, and more – Our goal was to understand how they enable community build and healing through arts and creativity.


03. Diary Study with co-designer

As part of co-design workshops, we invited co-designer to use any competitor product to create art, and understand how they feel about integrating digital platform into their creative workflow and their overall experience.

Insights




Through collaborative learning and synthesis, youths developed their shared language of healing, and defined how a creative community should look and feel. 



We define healing as...

01. Intentionally embracing growth and being open to vulnerability
We must be susceptible to healing, i.e open to vulnerability and experiencing pain. It is very important for healing to be intentional, and to have trust in time and patience


02. A process where one can reflect and grow from past experiences
It is very easy to not take time to heal. We need to understand the need to slow down and accepting how you feel.


03. Only can be achieved with patience, acceptance, and transformation

Healing can be changes that are big or small. We need to be intentional in accepting healing because no one can heal without the other two (acceptance and patience)


Youth want a community where they can connect and empower each other, that allows them to understand and be honest with themselves. A community that is flexible, adaptable, process-oriented rather than the outcome.
HMW

Design a flexible, process-oriented creative community for youths to reflect, share, connect with like-minded individuals as part of their healing journey?

Features and Our Endeavors




Feature #1 : Prepare Creative Journey with Daily Mood Check-In

Creative exploration is a journey of self-discovery, and we make it easy for users to start reflecting. They can quickly select an avatar that represents how they feel or jot down their thoughts in a short journal entry. Based on their input, a personalized affirmation is generated to acknowledge and validate their emotions, encouraging a deeper connection with themselves.




Feature #2 : Boost creative journey with AI-generated prompts that align with your check-in results

 Creativity and self-expression often come with challenges (aka. creative blocker). With the power of AI, we provide a starting point for your creative journey, making your creative expression easier and more accessible. By unlocking your full potential, we empower you to transform your ideas into meaningful growth.

Feature #3: We Time for Creative Collaboration

 Too often, we focus solely on the outcome and overlook the process. We Time creates a workspace for like-minded individuals to celebrate and support each other’s progress. Like, comment, or send a gif to show your support to the progress your peers made.  With the same prompt, the possibilities are endless.


Feature #4: Personal Archive

The ultimate archive for your creative journey—your go-to space to showcase all your work across various prompts. Celebrate your achievements and track your progress with key milestones: from your start date to the updates you’ve made and the support you've received. This space also includes mood check-ins and journal entries, offering a holistic view of your growth and experience. It's a place to reflect, appreciate how far you've come, and stay motivated by the progress you've made.