Siya Jain Product + UX Designer Let’s Connect
  • UI/UX Design

Helping aspiring artists build portfolios with confidence

Role
UI Design and Research Lead
Timeline
January 2025 · 10 weeks
Team
2 designers
Platform
Responsive web
Setu’s portfolio platform on a laptop, with its orange 3D logo and an IDA Design Awards badge.

01 · Overview

Problem

Aspiring art and design students often lack the guidance, mentorship, and structure needed to build portfolios that meet college expectations.

Solution

Setu helps aspiring art and design students confidently build portfolios, meet college requirements, and showcase their creativity.

Impact

Recognized with an IDA Design Award and validated with 50+ upcoming designers and students.

Recognized with an IDA Design Award.

02 · The Product

Key Features

Setu’s welcome screen on a laptop.

Uncover your options

Explore Universities

Explore a university you’ve been considering, or uncover new options that align with your personal and academic goals.

Receive guidance

Link with a Mentor

Take advantage of individualized mentorship tailored to your specific needs from professionals in the industry.

Be inspired

Browse Accepted Art Portfolios

Explore a diverse gallery showcasing accepted portfolios from current students and alumni to inspire you to create.

Stay organized

Save Time from Portfolio Demands

Automatically compile your selected schools’ portfolio requirements into one organized location. No more multiple tabs.

03 · Impact

Outcomes After Launch

IDA
Design Award recognition
50+
upcoming designers and students validated the concept
3
rounds of user testing behind the final product
Setu open on a laptop on a leather sofa.

04 · Research Highlights

Research With 50+ Young Artists

40+
survey responses
11
student interviews
15+
articles reviewed
10+
competitors analysed

Insight

63%

feel overwhelmed choosing which artworks to include.

Insight

Students don’t know what colleges are looking for.

Confirmed by portfolio reviewers at SCAD

  • Lack of cohesiveness
  • Unclear submissions
  • Unfocused work
  • Misread requirements

Key takeaway

Students don’t lack talent. They lack guidance, structure, and someone to show them what good looks like.

05 · From Insight to Feature

Research-Backed Features

  1. 01

    How might we build students’ confidence in what schools want?

    Be inspired + Explore universities

    Setu’s college search, ranked for the student’s major.

  2. 02

    How might we give mentors a place to guide students?

    Link with a mentor

    A mentor’s profile with a form to book a call.

  3. 03

    How might we keep students on track with deadlines?

    Stay organized

    The task list in week view with deadlines and meetings.

06 · Testing & Iteration

Design Process

01

Paper Sketches

Ideas drawn fast, straight from the moodboard and research.

Dotted-paper sketches of the checklist and college search screens.
Sketches of a header, filters and gallery layout.
A sketch of college search filters.
Sketches of the home screen and onboarding questions.

02

Lo-fi Wireframes

Structure only: where things live and how screens connect.

Lo-fi onboarding question. Lo-fi checklist.
Lo-fi college search. Lo-fi gallery.
Lo-fi mentor search. Lo-fi expanded college search.
Lo-fi expanded mentor search. Lo-fi achievement pop-up.

03

Mid-fi Wireframes

Real content and type, still in greyscale, ready to test.

Mid-fi portfolio inspiration. Mid-fi task list, month view.
Mid-fi task list, week view.
Mid-fi dashboard. Mid-fi college search.

04

Hi-fi Design

Colour, illustration and personality, refined over three rounds of testing.

Final portfolio search. Final task list, month view.
Final task list, week view.
Final dashboard. Final college search.

Iterations After Testing

We analysed key insights from all three rounds of testing, refining our interfaces into their final designs.

Onboarding before testing, on a laptop.

Before

  • Questions were too broad
  • Too many options but also not enough options
  • Lacked post-onboarding results
Onboarding after testing, on a laptop.

After

  • Prioritize and justify what questions and answers were truly relevant for onboarding
Dashboard before testing, on a laptop.

Before

  • Overall too cluttered
  • Lacking in hierarchy
Dashboard after testing, on a laptop.

After

  • Create clear divisions for each section and re-evaluate what sections are actually important
Artist profile before testing, on a laptop.

Before

  • Bio for mentor and artists’ portfolio could be more detailed
  • Some buttons were too repetitive
Artist profile after testing, on a laptop.

After

  • Include more information about the artist and mentor; show personality
Task list before testing, on a laptop.

Before

  • There’s no option to repeat tasks or select if it’s an all-day task
  • Want finished tasks to be visible; move to bottom
Task list after testing, on a laptop.

After

  • Give users more options to customize their tasks

07 · Learnings

What I Learned

  1. 01

    Letting Go of Personal Bias

    The challenge

    I came in with expectations shaped by my own experience as an international student, assuming what the product should be.

    What I learned

    Grounding decisions in research, not my own story, helped me understand our audience and see the problem with fresh eyes.

  2. 02

    Breaking Out of Visual Comfort Zones

    The challenge

    We defaulted to minimalism and current trends, even when they didn’t resonate with young artists.

    What I learned

    Taking visual risks, with bold colour and illustration, connected with our audience far better.

  3. 03

    Wearing Every Hat in a Small Team

    The challenge

    In a team of two, we owned every step of the process, which was both overwhelming and revealing.

    What I learned

    Leaning into my strengths and trusting my teammate to do the same made our collaboration stronger.

Setu’s welcome screen on a laptop in a dark room.