Phi-1
UI design + web app + social media
Client
Phi-1
Role
Lead designer. I was the sole designer for this project.
Year
2018
Company
Binmatter
Phi-1 is a group of people with a passion for research. This was more of a passion project for them; they had an idea and searched my company’s services to set it in motion. They wanted a centralized place where students and professionals could find reliable research papers and articles.
Phi-1 is a social media platform where users can share research papers, posts and pictures, as well as connect with people and share interests.
Its focus is sharing scientific articles. Users can share papers and posts, upload photos and videos, and connect with other users. A gamification system was also implemented with medals and badges.
Articles that are shared are viewed separately in an external link or as a downloadable PDF files; this to avoid publishing conflicts and citing sources. It’s a place to solely discover and share scientific papers.
Problem
How to make it easier for students to find research papers? Make it interactive and funner to share your work. Professionals need to connect with others in their field, and sometimes networking can be difficult. A place where scholars can interact and embrace research can encourage further learning.
Goals
- Create a social network targeted at professionals, students and all learning enthusiasts.
- Make it easier to find and share research papers
Since my task was to create a simple social network (for now), I looked at various competitors and made a list of essential properties to start off with. I decided to include four primary sections: Feed, discover, connect and videos.
The only design element we got sent from their brand was the logo and a short presentation of the client's idea. From there, I decided on a color palette and a twelve column grid. The general design is pretty organic, with rounded corners and elements separated into informational cards throughout the design.
An important experience we wanted to add was the gamification of sharing and engagement. Users can earn badges and medals by accumulating points; these are earned by any engagement like sharing, commenting, connecting, etc. Each user’s “level” is displayed on their profile and anywhere they comment. The more points someone has, the more reach that user has.
Articles are the main focus of this social network, so it was important to make a dedicated section for them. Here, the user can see articles catered to them, and at the same time, see all their favorite categories. Each article features a cover image, title, author and an external link to view it. We decided not to host full articles because of publishing issues. The idea was to centralize information and make it more discoverable.
Connecting with people is one of the most important parts of any social network, therefore, the feature was necessary. Users can connect mutually, get notifcations on when connections share content, and message them to get in touch. Users can find people based on their profession, institution and interests using a universal search bar.
