Maru: Case Study
Product, UX Research, UX Design
Project Overview
Networking is an essential part of finding ways to connect with people and learn more about the field a student could be interested in. However, it can be difficult finding the right platform for students–especially with the increased competition when it comes to the job market. Maru finds a way to solve this by offering students a platform to personally connect with other students, alumni, hiring managers, and recruiters and schedule coffee chats, and manage student productivity.
My Role: UX Designer
Team: 4 UX Designers
Timeline: November 2025 - December 2025
Deliverables: High Fidelity Designs, User Research, Product Pitch Deck
Problem Statement:
College students need a way to manage their academic and social conversations in one place because relying on multiple communication platforms leads to fragmented information, missed messages, and unnecessary cognitive load. This project focuses on designing a mobile chat application prototype that centralizes communication into a single, intuitive interface and includes an additional feature to support effective group coordination.
Our Design Process: Empathize → Research → Ideate → Design → Develop
Empathize & Research: How do students feel about current networking apps?
We have conducted ~20 interviews with students to gauge a sample of how they feel about current professional development apps. Over 90% of students interviewed said they experience difficulties with low response rates, confusion regarding which platforms to use, and how to intiate and maintain networking connections. As a result, both sides lose time and miss opportunities.
Ideate: Creating User Personas
Design: Design system, wireframing, and prototyping
In terms of creating the app’s design system, the visual identity of Maru was built on the meaning of the word Maru, which means “circle” in Japanese. And in Japanese culture, circles symbolize a complete, correct, and whole object. The word “circle" also refers to the association with the phrase "social circle.” The round, minimalist, soft color, low opacity, and soft curved shapes of Maru’s design system, were used in creating a warm and inviting atmosphere. Our proposed solution consists of these features:
Landing page: containing a user's to-do's, a checklist, and scheduled coffee chats for easy access to user information and tasks
Messaging: Mail inbox and chat options to develop a connection with a user's networking circle
Networking Feature: Allows users to connect and schedule calls with people for direct outreach
