Challenge Summary
Welcome to the TCO17 UI Design Championship Final 1!
This contest is for TCO17 Onsite Finalists competing in Buffalo, New York, USA ONLY. Please do not register or submit if you are not one of the 14 finalists.
Design Finals
After the TCO17 UI Design Championship Final 1 the Judges will review the designs, provide feedback that will guide the UI Design Championship Final 2
Entries must be your original work, and must not infringe on the copyright or licenses of others. All standard Topcoder Terms, Topcoder Policies, and TCO17 Rules apply to this challenge.
Let us know if you have any questions & Good luck everyone!
FULL DESCRIPTION & PROJECT GUIDE
Client Background
Westminster Community Charter School (WCCS) is a community-wide collaboration focusing on providing students with the resources needed to succeed.
WCCS is looking to design and build a responsive application to ensure students are guided through their life's journey once they leave WCCS. We are looking to connect youth with people with similar life situations and to expand this idea by aligning students with older mentors/career Mentor's who have successfully dealt with similar situations and can provide guidance. This app is a way to let students stay involved and to help put them in touch with people who can help mentor them in different skills and careers.
Final 1 Challenge Details
We just completed the Semi-Final Round and we are looking to continue exploring concepts within the WCCS app user experience.
For today’s Final we would like you to take the feedback from yesterday's workshop and focus on the "Phone" experience. We know many of the students will have phones and will most likely use this form factor as their primary interaction with the Mentor program. What is the phone experience? What becomes the priority when using the phone? Think about what was discussed in the design workshop and the user experience teenagers will have when using this application.
Application Roles
These are the available roles & their abilities when using the application:
The Student
- We are focused on students beyond 8th grade (so grades 9-12 or ages 14-18)
- A student is able to swipe through, see profiles, see skills and attributes of a mentor/Mentor.
- Student is able to select a Career Mentor
- Students can assign badges to a Career Mentor
- A Student could have 2 Mentor's (Primary and Secondary Mentor)
- Students will have access to other students in the application.
- Students can like other students along with search or be alerted by other actions within the community.
- A student can see Mentor profiles
- A student can see other student profiles
Sample Student Profile Information
- Profile Pictures
- First Name
- Last Name
- Birth Date
- How to contact
- Email Address
- School information
~
The Career Mentor
- A Career Mentor can sign-up but their profiles will be vetted by WCCS before they are included
- Mentor's cannot see Student profiles (unless they are selected)
- Mentor's can only see other Mentor profiles
- A Mentor could be anyone/any occupation
- Mentor is available to help the student as needed
- Goal is to let the student engage and drive the need
- Mentor programs/steps could be part of this to help engage the two
Mentor Profile Information
- Profile Photo
- First Name
- Last Name
- Occupation
- Company: XYZ Company
- Social Links
- User Quick Description
- Career Mentor Skills
- Professional Group
- Students List
- Review from Students
Interests: Sample Data
This could be more simple or different based on the workshop
- Science
- Technology
- Industrial & Manufacturing
- Music & Arts
- Leadership
- Business & Management
- Analytical, Data & Numbers
- Startup & Business Owner
- Sports
Skills:
Sample Data for Business & Management Interest
- Communication
- Brand Strategy
- Customer Research
- Business Development
- Business Models
- Education
- Growth
TCO17 UI Design Championship Final 1 Submission Requirements
- Imagine the student's login and register with authentication via FB/Google or traditional email.
- After logging in, students are able to see their dashboard (what is important here?) and swipe for a Mentor and analyze the Mentor's skills & specific attributes. How does this work look on the phone?
- Students can reward other students or mentors with badges.
- A student could send another student a "good job" badge or something that is encouraging to recent interactions with another student.
- The badge will be more traditional gamification where we might have categories (fun, educational, service).
- Think Boy/Girl Scouts but more life and business orientated.
- Students can see and receive Mentor status and information within the community.
- The output of guidance could be a certificate, badges etc as part of the ongoing relationship.
New Sample list of career options and opportunities
List found from the BETC site or design for the options/scenarios discussed in the workshop.
- Bookkeeping, Accounting, Auditing Clerks
- Computer Support Specialists
- Dental Hygienists
- Customer Service Representatives
- Heating, Air Conditioning, and Refrigeration Mechanics, and Installers
- Legal Secretaries
- Licensed Practical and Licensed Vocational Nurses
- Medical and Clinical Laboratory Technicians
- Medical Assistants
- Medical Records and Health Information Technicians
- Numerical Tool and Process Control Programmers
- Paralegals and Legal Assistants
- Physical Therapists
- Radiologic Technicians
- Radiologic Technologists
- Social and Human Services Assistants
- Truck Drivers, Heavy
- Welders and Cutters
And more!
Final 1 Tasks
- For Final 1, we are asking you to continue designing the student experience but for the "Phone" form factor.
- Use the information provided during the Design Workshop to inform your process.
Colors, Size, Fonts
Remember this application is for Westminster Community Charter School - it must feel like an application/relationship to them and their brand.
- This will be developed as an application that runs on Tablet and Phone devices.
- Screen Size: Phone Retina Portrait ( 750px x 1334px) or half-size if needed for speed/size
- Color: Grab Color Reference from the school's website: http://www.westminsterccs.org/welcome
- Fonts: Fonts are up to you the designer
Target Audience
- WCCS Students and their ability to find and work with mentors/coach
What to Submit
- Application screens as PNG/JPG format.
- Source files
Source ZIP File
- You must create a TCO17 folder on your desktop and save all of your competition source files and resources in this folder.
- At any time a Topcoder Admin can inspect your folder to make sure all rules are being followed.
- Only a single submission will be considered from each member. Please delete any uploaded submissions that are not final.
IMPORTANT ONSITE RULES
Rules for Bringing Your Own Computer
You will have access to your competition workstations throughout the event. We expect you to be an honest, truthful and good "community member" and not try anything dishonest with the use of your personal computer. If it seems like a bad idea – it probably is. No competition work (on your computer) will be allowed in-between rounds within the competition arena. Remember we are following your progress in the arena and throughout the event.
What is Allowed
- You will be allowed to take your computer with you at the end of each round.
- All artwork and designs must be created as original art within each 3-hour design session.
- You are allowed to use Stock Photos and Stock Icons (from Topcoder approved sites).
- Stock Icons from https://icons8.com/ and other icon sites are allowed.
- Stock Icons are allowed but you must treat them like "stock photos". You are not allowed to edit stock icons and claim them as your own artwork. You are not allowed to trace stock icons and claim them as your own artwork. Stock icons are only allowed in design challenges that allow "Stock Icons". (When in doubt - ask in the Challenge Forum). Stock icons do not require watermarks but they do require proper source documentation.
- Throughout the challenge, you will have internet access to download and use Topcoder approved stock icons, stock illustration, and stock photo websites.
- Fonts from approved font sites and applications
- You will be allowed to do online research for the challenge
- Artwork and files provided as part of the challenge can be used as part of your submission.
- Inspiration from sites and references provided by M&T.
What is not Allowed
- No usage of previous design work or your own stock designs (buttons, icons etc.) that are currently saved on your computer, external drive or in a cloud-based hard drive.
- No pre-existing templates or source files from previous challenges
- No pre-existing templates from template websites
- No blatant copying designs directly from another designer. We will allow inspiration and interpretation from the Design Workshop process.
TCO17 Final Eligibility
To be eligible in this round, you must meet the eligibility requirements listed on the Challenge Details page, along with the following additional eligibility requirements:
- You must be listed as a finalist for the round you are competing in.
- You must be present at the start of the Round.
- You must be a TCO17 Finalist and you must be competing onsite, in person, during the TCO17 Championship Finals.
- You must abide by the rules of the onsite championship rounds.
- You must not cheat. All designs submitted must be your original work created solely by you and for the purpose of this competition.
- You must be in good standing with TopCoder with no disciplinary actions against your account.
Placement and Winner Selection
All submissions from the UI Design Competition Rounds automatically pass screening.
- After each Round, the Judging Panel is presented with all of the submissions and will have sole discretion in determining the placements for each Round.
Overall Champion Winner Selection
The winner of the UI Design Competition will be the Onsite UI Design Competitor with the highest placement given by the Judging Panel from the Championship Round. Only the placements from the Championship Round will be used for placement. The champion will be announced on Tuesday, October 24th during the awards ceremony.
~
Design Workshop
All designers are welcome to the Design Workshop held from 7-9pm Sunday night. We will review your designs and you will be able to ask the customer questions about the design problem. The design workshop should be an interactive and collaborative experience. You will have an opportunity to present/explain your design so the customer understands your approach. You are not required to present your design if you do not want to.
Scorecard and Judging Criteria
The judging panel will be evaluating each submission based on a UX/UI scorecard when judging your submission, such as:
1. UI Design
Overall UI design execution quality and approach to the problem. This takes into consideration design elements like Color, Imagery, Typography
2. Concepts
What we like to focus on at Topcoder - have you thought about the problem and introduced any new concepts to help solve and improve the user experience?
3. Originality
Originality in your design and approach. At Topcoder, meeting the client’s needs is very important. One of the needs, above the requirements listed, is to have an original design. One that is different from other designs that you see every day. Your design should not feel or look like a templated design. We are focused on your approach to solving the design problem. We understand that some things might follow trends etc.
4. High-Level Structure & Navigation
How well have you thought about and structured your application? Is there a clear, comprehensible navigation structure? Primary tasks are promoted, prominent and easy to understand.
5. Layout & Presentation
What is your approach to the application layout and presentation? Do your screens and concepts support the task flow? Have you created an effective visual hierarchy? Have you reduced visual complexity?
6. Users
Have you thought about the users and does that come across in your design and intended user experience?
7. Interaction & Scenarios
Thinking about the application flow. Have you created an end-to-end scenario? The top scenario is to find a mentor. Is the scenario clear?
8. Design Progress
Are you understanding the challenge problem? Have you taken the design feedback and improved on your previous design? From one design round to the next design round have you pushed yourself and taken any leaps within your design or concepts?
This contest is for TCO17 Onsite Finalists competing in Buffalo, New York, USA ONLY. Please do not register or submit if you are not one of the 14 finalists.
Design Finals
After the TCO17 UI Design Championship Final 1 the Judges will review the designs, provide feedback that will guide the UI Design Championship Final 2
Entries must be your original work, and must not infringe on the copyright or licenses of others. All standard Topcoder Terms, Topcoder Policies, and TCO17 Rules apply to this challenge.
Let us know if you have any questions & Good luck everyone!
FULL DESCRIPTION & PROJECT GUIDE
Client Background
Westminster Community Charter School (WCCS) is a community-wide collaboration focusing on providing students with the resources needed to succeed.
WCCS is looking to design and build a responsive application to ensure students are guided through their life's journey once they leave WCCS. We are looking to connect youth with people with similar life situations and to expand this idea by aligning students with older mentors/career Mentor's who have successfully dealt with similar situations and can provide guidance. This app is a way to let students stay involved and to help put them in touch with people who can help mentor them in different skills and careers.
Final 1 Challenge Details
We just completed the Semi-Final Round and we are looking to continue exploring concepts within the WCCS app user experience.
For today’s Final we would like you to take the feedback from yesterday's workshop and focus on the "Phone" experience. We know many of the students will have phones and will most likely use this form factor as their primary interaction with the Mentor program. What is the phone experience? What becomes the priority when using the phone? Think about what was discussed in the design workshop and the user experience teenagers will have when using this application.
Application Roles
These are the available roles & their abilities when using the application:
The Student
- We are focused on students beyond 8th grade (so grades 9-12 or ages 14-18)
- A student is able to swipe through, see profiles, see skills and attributes of a mentor/Mentor.
- Student is able to select a Career Mentor
- Students can assign badges to a Career Mentor
- A Student could have 2 Mentor's (Primary and Secondary Mentor)
- Students will have access to other students in the application.
- Students can like other students along with search or be alerted by other actions within the community.
- A student can see Mentor profiles
- A student can see other student profiles
Sample Student Profile Information
- Profile Pictures
- First Name
- Last Name
- Birth Date
- How to contact
- Email Address
- School information
~
The Career Mentor
- A Career Mentor can sign-up but their profiles will be vetted by WCCS before they are included
- Mentor's cannot see Student profiles (unless they are selected)
- Mentor's can only see other Mentor profiles
- A Mentor could be anyone/any occupation
- Mentor is available to help the student as needed
- Goal is to let the student engage and drive the need
- Mentor programs/steps could be part of this to help engage the two
Mentor Profile Information
- Profile Photo
- First Name
- Last Name
- Occupation
- Company: XYZ Company
- Social Links
- User Quick Description
- Career Mentor Skills
- Professional Group
- Students List
- Review from Students
Interests: Sample Data
This could be more simple or different based on the workshop
- Science
- Technology
- Industrial & Manufacturing
- Music & Arts
- Leadership
- Business & Management
- Analytical, Data & Numbers
- Startup & Business Owner
- Sports
Skills:
Sample Data for Business & Management Interest
- Communication
- Brand Strategy
- Customer Research
- Business Development
- Business Models
- Education
- Growth
TCO17 UI Design Championship Final 1 Submission Requirements
- Imagine the student's login and register with authentication via FB/Google or traditional email.
- After logging in, students are able to see their dashboard (what is important here?) and swipe for a Mentor and analyze the Mentor's skills & specific attributes. How does this work look on the phone?
- Students can reward other students or mentors with badges.
- A student could send another student a "good job" badge or something that is encouraging to recent interactions with another student.
- The badge will be more traditional gamification where we might have categories (fun, educational, service).
- Think Boy/Girl Scouts but more life and business orientated.
- Students can see and receive Mentor status and information within the community.
- The output of guidance could be a certificate, badges etc as part of the ongoing relationship.
New Sample list of career options and opportunities
List found from the BETC site or design for the options/scenarios discussed in the workshop.
- Bookkeeping, Accounting, Auditing Clerks
- Computer Support Specialists
- Dental Hygienists
- Customer Service Representatives
- Heating, Air Conditioning, and Refrigeration Mechanics, and Installers
- Legal Secretaries
- Licensed Practical and Licensed Vocational Nurses
- Medical and Clinical Laboratory Technicians
- Medical Assistants
- Medical Records and Health Information Technicians
- Numerical Tool and Process Control Programmers
- Paralegals and Legal Assistants
- Physical Therapists
- Radiologic Technicians
- Radiologic Technologists
- Social and Human Services Assistants
- Truck Drivers, Heavy
- Welders and Cutters
And more!
Final 1 Tasks
- For Final 1, we are asking you to continue designing the student experience but for the "Phone" form factor.
- Use the information provided during the Design Workshop to inform your process.
Colors, Size, Fonts
Remember this application is for Westminster Community Charter School - it must feel like an application/relationship to them and their brand.
- This will be developed as an application that runs on Tablet and Phone devices.
- Screen Size: Phone Retina Portrait ( 750px x 1334px) or half-size if needed for speed/size
- Color: Grab Color Reference from the school's website: http://www.westminsterccs.org/welcome
- Fonts: Fonts are up to you the designer
Target Audience
- WCCS Students and their ability to find and work with mentors/coach
What to Submit
- Application screens as PNG/JPG format.
- Source files
Source ZIP File
- You must create a TCO17 folder on your desktop and save all of your competition source files and resources in this folder.
- At any time a Topcoder Admin can inspect your folder to make sure all rules are being followed.
- Only a single submission will be considered from each member. Please delete any uploaded submissions that are not final.
IMPORTANT ONSITE RULES
Rules for Bringing Your Own Computer
You will have access to your competition workstations throughout the event. We expect you to be an honest, truthful and good "community member" and not try anything dishonest with the use of your personal computer. If it seems like a bad idea – it probably is. No competition work (on your computer) will be allowed in-between rounds within the competition arena. Remember we are following your progress in the arena and throughout the event.
What is Allowed
- You will be allowed to take your computer with you at the end of each round.
- All artwork and designs must be created as original art within each 3-hour design session.
- You are allowed to use Stock Photos and Stock Icons (from Topcoder approved sites).
- Stock Icons from https://icons8.com/ and other icon sites are allowed.
- Stock Icons are allowed but you must treat them like "stock photos". You are not allowed to edit stock icons and claim them as your own artwork. You are not allowed to trace stock icons and claim them as your own artwork. Stock icons are only allowed in design challenges that allow "Stock Icons". (When in doubt - ask in the Challenge Forum). Stock icons do not require watermarks but they do require proper source documentation.
- Throughout the challenge, you will have internet access to download and use Topcoder approved stock icons, stock illustration, and stock photo websites.
- Fonts from approved font sites and applications
- You will be allowed to do online research for the challenge
- Artwork and files provided as part of the challenge can be used as part of your submission.
- Inspiration from sites and references provided by M&T.
What is not Allowed
- No usage of previous design work or your own stock designs (buttons, icons etc.) that are currently saved on your computer, external drive or in a cloud-based hard drive.
- No pre-existing templates or source files from previous challenges
- No pre-existing templates from template websites
- No blatant copying designs directly from another designer. We will allow inspiration and interpretation from the Design Workshop process.
TCO17 Final Eligibility
To be eligible in this round, you must meet the eligibility requirements listed on the Challenge Details page, along with the following additional eligibility requirements:
- You must be listed as a finalist for the round you are competing in.
- You must be present at the start of the Round.
- You must be a TCO17 Finalist and you must be competing onsite, in person, during the TCO17 Championship Finals.
- You must abide by the rules of the onsite championship rounds.
- You must not cheat. All designs submitted must be your original work created solely by you and for the purpose of this competition.
- You must be in good standing with TopCoder with no disciplinary actions against your account.
Placement and Winner Selection
All submissions from the UI Design Competition Rounds automatically pass screening.
- After each Round, the Judging Panel is presented with all of the submissions and will have sole discretion in determining the placements for each Round.
Overall Champion Winner Selection
The winner of the UI Design Competition will be the Onsite UI Design Competitor with the highest placement given by the Judging Panel from the Championship Round. Only the placements from the Championship Round will be used for placement. The champion will be announced on Tuesday, October 24th during the awards ceremony.
~
Design Workshop
All designers are welcome to the Design Workshop held from 7-9pm Sunday night. We will review your designs and you will be able to ask the customer questions about the design problem. The design workshop should be an interactive and collaborative experience. You will have an opportunity to present/explain your design so the customer understands your approach. You are not required to present your design if you do not want to.
Scorecard and Judging Criteria
The judging panel will be evaluating each submission based on a UX/UI scorecard when judging your submission, such as:
1. UI Design
Overall UI design execution quality and approach to the problem. This takes into consideration design elements like Color, Imagery, Typography
2. Concepts
What we like to focus on at Topcoder - have you thought about the problem and introduced any new concepts to help solve and improve the user experience?
3. Originality
Originality in your design and approach. At Topcoder, meeting the client’s needs is very important. One of the needs, above the requirements listed, is to have an original design. One that is different from other designs that you see every day. Your design should not feel or look like a templated design. We are focused on your approach to solving the design problem. We understand that some things might follow trends etc.
4. High-Level Structure & Navigation
How well have you thought about and structured your application? Is there a clear, comprehensible navigation structure? Primary tasks are promoted, prominent and easy to understand.
5. Layout & Presentation
What is your approach to the application layout and presentation? Do your screens and concepts support the task flow? Have you created an effective visual hierarchy? Have you reduced visual complexity?
6. Users
Have you thought about the users and does that come across in your design and intended user experience?
7. Interaction & Scenarios
Thinking about the application flow. Have you created an end-to-end scenario? The top scenario is to find a mentor. Is the scenario clear?
8. Design Progress
Are you understanding the challenge problem? Have you taken the design feedback and improved on your previous design? From one design round to the next design round have you pushed yourself and taken any leaps within your design or concepts?
Please read the challenge specification carefully and watch the forums for any questions or feedback concerning this challenge. It is important that you monitor any updates provided by the client or Studio Admins in the forums. Please post any questions you might have for the client in the forums.