"Your imagination is only the beginning"
Overview
Spark Studio is a safe space where users across multiple creative industries can come together to seek motivation, learn from others, and connect with like-minded individuals.
Created during a 3-day designathon focused on exploring how digital experiences can better support creative communities, our team explored the challenge of helping creative individuals overcome barriers such as lack of motivation, limited feedback opportunities, and difficulty finding supportive communities.
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Through research, ideation, and rapid prototyping, we designed a platform that encourages creative growth, collaboration, and experimentation.โ
Tools
Figma
FigJam
Canva
Role
Researcher
Designer
Skills
Researching, Prototyping, Product Design
Team
2 designers
Design Challenge
Creative individuals often rely on online communities to find inspiration, learn new skills, and share their work. However, many existing platforms are focused primarily on showcasing finished work rather than supporting the creative process itself.โ
Our challenge was:
Is there a way to create a space where users are able to improve their skills while getting feedback from others and creating a safe space online?
๐ง Question Breakdown
To better understand the design challenge question, we broke down the question into parts that stood out or key features we wanted to include in our design. Before designing, we explored existing creative platforms to understand:
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How users currently share creative work
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How communities encourage engagement
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Opportunities to better support learning and collaboration
Through secondary research, we identified four key themes:
๐งโ๏ธ Self Reflection
Users want opportunities to track their growth and recognize progress.
๐ Learning and Discovery
Users want access to resources and inspiration from others.
๐ค Curiosity and Connection
Users value feedback and relationships with people who share similar interests.
๐งช Experimentation
Users need spaces where they feel comfortable trying new ideas.
Design Process
1. Narrow question
2. Examine existing online space
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๐๏ธ
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Inspiration
Research/
Understanding
Ideation
Prototyping
Iteration
Final Pitch
1. Primary research
2. Secondary research
1. Product brainstorming
2. Sketches
1. UI Designs
2. Prototyping on Figma
1. User Testing
2. Mentor Feedback
1. Record Pitch
2. Write Script
The Research
Understanding our users
After identifying our target users, we conducted primary research based on the secondary research we did to ensure we understood our users in the best way possible.
Primary Research - Survey Results
Results from 8+ users
presented
of users have experienced a
creative block at least ๏ปฟonce in their lives.
54.5%
of users learn and ref๏ปฟlect on their creative by talking about their work with others.
81.8%
Research Analysis
Identifying pain points
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Lack of Motivation
"That design looks too hard, I don't really feel like doing it"
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Lack of Inspiration
"I don't even know what to make anymore"
Ideation & Design Goals
Based on our research, we focused on creating an experience that:
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Encourages consistent creative practice
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Provides opportunities for feedback and learning
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Builds connections between creative individuals
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Maintains a simple and approachable experience
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Using FigJam, our team explored different solutions through:
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Brainstorming
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Feature prioritization
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Sketching
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User flow creation
Potential features included:
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Creative challenges
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User profiles
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Community feedback
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Learning resources
Design Iteration
Re-evaluating the platform experience
While working on wireframes and low-fidelity prototypes, our initial concept focused on creating a mobile application. After receiving feedback from our mentor, we challenged whether a mobile-first solution was the best approach.
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By revisiting our research and evaluating user needs, we recognized that the experience would benefit from a broader digital platform approach.
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This iteration helped us focus on designing the right solution rather than becoming attached to our initial idea.
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Quick Sketches
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Quick Sketches
Low/Medium Prototype
Low/Medium Prototype
The Solution
Spark Studio is a digital platform designed to help creatives stay motivated, develop their skills, and connect with like-minded individuals. The experience combines creative challenges, personal growth, and community engagement into one platform.
User profile page
Project write up page opened
Key Features
Sign Up Process
Upon signing up, users are asked about their work field/the field they are interested in. In doing this, they are able to connect with like minded-people who may be looking to learn and improve their skills, or teach others.
Account Profile
Users can showcase their interests, skills, and creative journey while discovering others within similar industries. The profile page holds information about the daily design challenge, projects they may be working on, and their process.
Daily Challenge Prompts
Users receive creative prompts designed to encourage experimentation and help build consistent creative habits. This feature gives a design challenge to the user so they can further advance their knowledge and experiment with different parts and areas in design.
๐ก What I learned
Designing and coming up with a product/service requires a lot of research and ideation. This project strengthened my ability to work through ambiguity and make informed design decisions within a limited timeframe.
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The biggest lesson I took away was the importance of prioritization. During a short design sprint, it is impossible to solve every problem, so designers must identify the most valuable opportunities and create a strong foundation that can continue evolving.