Case Study · 03

Ami
Smart Assistant

A Masters major project — designing a smart virtual personal assistant that connects international students to their university, reducing complexity and creating a once-in-a-lifetime campus experience.

Type

Masters Major Project

Platform

Mobile App

Role

Full UX · Research · Branding

Prototype

Marvel App

01 · The Problem

Lost in a Large Campus

International students arriving at a large university for the first time face a system that was never designed with them in mind. The campus is vast, the information is scattered, and the social layer is invisible until it's too late.

The core problems: getting around campus, accessing the right information at the right time, discovering events and activities, feeling socially involved, and staying safe — all at once, all on day one.

Existing university apps addressed logistics, not experience. None of them felt like a friend. Ami was designed to.

Double diamond — Definition & Execution

02 · Context & Role

Every Part of the Process

This was a Masters major project — meaning there was no team to hand off to, no brief to follow, and no existing product to build on. The entire scope was self-directed, from identifying the right problem to shipping a final prototype.

Problem Finding

Identifying the right problem through research, observation, and user interviews with international students.

Research & Ideation

Exploring the solution space through node diagrams, scenario storyboards, and concept validation.

Branding & Prototype

Mood boards, logo design, full branding system, and final high-fidelity prototype in Marvel App.

Node diagrams and scenario storyboards

03 · Storyboarding

Finding Features Through Stories

Node diagrams were used to find different features and identify user needs — mapping the connections between people, places, and information that international students had to navigate every day.

These provided the basis for scenario storyboards: hand-drawn narratives that explored specific moments in a student's journey — arriving on campus, finding a lecture hall, discovering a social event, asking for help at midnight.

Each storyboard was a hypothesis. Each one got tested before anything was built.

04 · Site Map

Mapping the Full App Architecture

Before wireframing a single screen, the full information architecture of Ami was mapped — from the Splash Screen through account creation, to the Home/Menu hub and every feature branch beyond it.

Key feature areas included: Services, Campus Map, Calendar, Courses/Study Room, and a Student Wall — each with their own sub-features covering university services, augmented map, academic materials, social sharing, and event invitations.

The site map ensured nothing was designed in isolation. Every screen had a logical home.

Full app information architecture

05 · Lo-Fi to Hi-Fi

Testing Before Building

Low-fidelity prototypes were used to carry out user testing sessions. Real feedback was collected and corresponding alterations were made — the app evolved through use, not assumption.

A Marvel prototype was created to understand user pain points in context. Participants interacted with tappable flows, revealing friction that static wireframes would never catch.

High-fidelity prototyping then brought it all together — mood boards, logo design, brand system, and the final app interface. The visual identity was built to feel warm and intelligent: a smart friend, not a corporate tool.

First exploration into augmented reality

06 · AR Research

Into the Unknown

Ami included a first deep dive into augmented reality — a developing technology that opened up possibilities far beyond a standard mobile interface.

AR was researched for its potential in: interactive 3D campus viewing, behaviour analytics, location-based content, event discovery, and social sharing between students. An augmented campus map was a core feature of the final concept.

This research sparked a lasting interest in AR/VR as a design medium — directly leading to the kind of immersive work later done with Radisson Hotel Group.

07 · Final Outcome

A Smart Friend for Every Student

The final solution is a mobile app which acts as a smart assistant — a best friend forever — to the international student who is new to university and unfamiliar with the large ecosystem.

Ami doesn't just inform. It adapts, improvises, and overcomes — addressing three key problems: reducing campus complexity, acting as a personal assistant, and creating a once-in-a-lifetime experience both socially and academically.

Think of the campus as a large organism. Every student is an organ. For the organism to work, every organ must function well. Ami was built to make that happen.

Core problems solved

∞

Full end-to-end design process

AR+

First AR/VR research & integration

"Make the student get involved in the events, increase event attendance — make the whole campus a big organism and the student be one of its organs."

— Ami, Concept Statement

What's Next

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AmiSmart Assistant