Atom Connect
Designing a campus experience that connects students beyond the classroom.
The Spark
When I joined the Atom Connect team, the idea already existed: a student networking app for clubs, events, and making new connections. But ideas are easy. The real question was, how do we make something students will open every day, not just download and forget? My goal was simple: design an experience so relevant and easy to use that it would feel like a natural part of campus life.
Understanding the Challenge
“There’s always something happening... I just don’t know where to look.”
— 2nd-year student, QMUL
Before touching a single design tool, I went out to talk to the people we were designing for. I ran surveys at three universities and sat down for one-to-one interviews with twelve students from different courses and years. Their stories painted the same picture: too many scattered platforms, clubs that were hard to find, and awkwardness around meeting people outside existing circles. This research became the heart of our approach, leading to clear personas, each with their own motivations, frustrations, and social habits.
Designing for Real Students
With personas in place, I mapped their journeys through the app. I wanted to capture two moments: the focused student who knows exactly what they’re looking for, and the curious one stumbling into something unexpected. The flows were designed to work for both quick actions for those in a hurry, discovery features for those browsing.
From Paper to Prototype
The first version: quick sketches, no colour, no distractions. I turned these into a basic clickable prototype and tested it with students. They loved the simplicity but wanted more detail on clubs and events before joining. Each test revealed new tweaks, sometimes small, sometimes big, that kept the design grounded in real feedback.
Bringing It to Life
Once the structure worked, I built the visual identity: a playful yet professional logo, a rich gradient palette with deep purples, and rounded, high-contrast typography for readability. The look was warm and approachable, but still sharp enough to feel like a serious campus tool.
Atom Connect
Making It Better, One Test at a Time
I created the high-fidelity prototype in Figma and kept testing. Students could now see their personalised feed, explore event and club pages, and view profiles with shared interests. Usability sessions showed strong task success rates but also pointed to places where the interface could be more intuitive. A/B testing on event card designs gave us a hybrid that combined the most engaging visuals with the clearest information.
The Result
Atom Connect evolved into a polished, student-tested product with a complete design system and interactive prototype ready for development. Every feature, from the RSVP flow to the profile tags, was shaped by research, personas, and repeated testing. Early reactions said it best:
“I’d actually use this, it’s cleaner than the uni portal.”
What I Learned
Atom Connect reminded me that design starts with people, not pixels. Talking to students early made the problems tangible and guided the creation of meaningful personas. Mapping their journeys kept the experience grounded in real needs, while iterative testing turned assumptions into evidence. Most importantly, I learned that even the smallest UI decision, like how much detail to show on an event card, can make the difference between an app students ignore and one they check daily.
TL;DR
Led branding, UX research, and end-to-end UI/UX design
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Built flows, wireframes, and lo-fi → hi-fi prototypes
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Conducted usability testing and A/B tests to refine core features
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Delivered a working, student-first product with real traction
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