UI/UX Design
Proxima
Introduction
Proxima was created during the Adobe x Amazon Creative Jam, where the challenge was to design a digital experience that helps students explore future careers. My team and I focused on something close to our own experience—getting into design for the first time.We wanted to create a platform that made design feel inviting and accessible to new designers. Proxima is a platform where students can explore different creative fields—like UI/UX, illustration, branding, and Photoshop— by navigating through interactive lessons, tests and quizzes, creative prompts and idea generation, and career exploration tools. It’s designed for beginners, whether they’re in high school or early college, and gives them a starting point as well as ways to learn and hone their design skills.The Problem
Breaking into design can be overwhelming. There are tons of tools and resources and so many different paths to explore. Where do you begin? As a new designer, you’re probably bouncing between courses, books, video tutorials, and a handful of design software. Besides, once you get the hang of things, how do you get your foot in the industry? How do you figure out what kind of career path fits you? That’s why Proxima was built to feel approachable. It’s about giving new designers a place where they can jumpstart their design journey, building skills step-by-step. We identified a few common challenges:- Industry-standard tools feel accessible or difficult for beginners to learn
- Many different design practices means selecting a career path feels overwhelming
- Learning resources are too technical and not engaging
- Free design resources online lack structure
Our Approach
We started by empathizing—thinking about our own experience as new creatives and what we would have wanted when we were just starting out. We fleshed out two personas based on what we knew as designers, and identified key pain points. We brainstormed and developed user flows, thinking about the goals for each flow - be it entering a design challenge, getting a prompt, finding inspiration, or socializing with other designers.Empathize
Persona Development
Our primary users were socially driven film watchers — people who enjoy sharing commentary, discovering new media with friends, and curating what they watch. Many were already using tools like Discord, Netflix Party, or Prime Video to watch together, but often found the experience limited.
Key Pain Points
- A lack of beginner-friendly tools and guidance
- Difficulty accessing expensive programs like Adobe Creative Suite
- Overwhelm when choosing between design disciplines
- Platforms for communicating weren’t built around the idea of watch parties, leading to a cluttered experience
- Some platforms had cluttered UI - Discord was not ideal for watching together as users had to navigate multiple channels
Ideate
Brainstorming
We began with a broad brainstorming session focused on how to make design education fun, accessible, and engaging for younger students. We explored features that would support learning (like structured skill paths and quizzes), creativity (through challenges and idea generation tools), and career discovery (with role overviews and software guides).
User-Flow Diagrams
We focused on clarity and ease. Here are what typical user journeys could look like.
Our Solution
Login + Sign up Pages
Onboarding
Home Page + Discover
Careers + Program Page
Challenges + Profile
