A more confident application experience
Halo Scientist Dashboard
Halo is a SaaS partnering platform where 3,500+ scientists connect directly with leading companies like PepsiCo and Bayer for research collaborations and funding opportunities.
I joined Halo in Summer 2022 as a Product Design Intern, collaborating closely with the Engineering team and the Growth Team to enhance user onboarding and proposal application experience.
Role: Product Design Intern
Duration: May 2022 – Aug 2022
Result: MVP launched
Improvement Overview
This redesign initiative significantly contributed to improving user retention by streamlining the experience. Time to Find "My Proposal" page was reduced from 10+ seconds to just 2 seconds.
During testing, 86% of users reported that this improvement boosted their confidence in our platform, reinforcing their willingness to stay engaged.
Plain and lack of information
Engage with details
Hide away under User Profile
Easier to access from Header Menu
Initial Challenge
User drop-off after submitting just 1-2 applications
Halo aims to provide a platform where research scientists can directly connect with prominent sponsors and apply to their R&D requests. While attracting scientist users has never been a challenge, retaining them has proven difficult. Despite initial interest, many scientists disengage after submitting just 1-2 applications.
So we met with 12 previous users.
Pain Point
Why they stop using ?
1.
Impossible to track application status
"I applied for an opportunity and received an e-mail that I was short-listed, but no further follow up."
2.
Almost 90% of scientists were declined, and they lose faith in the platform
"I've applied to multiple opportunities and have never been selected, it's just a sense that this is not a good use of my time."
Refine Challenge
How might we keep scientists informed of
their proposal status and emphasize scientists' success?
Explore
Dissecting application process
Rather than leaving scientist users waiting for months without feedback, we restructured the evaluation process into 3 different stages.
By tracking the application journeys of multiple scientists, I identified key points where timely updates could improve transparency and keep users engaged throughout the process.
Step 1
Redefine 'Success'
We redefined the evaluation process as a 'matching' journey to better reflect its purpose, focusing on celebrating stage successes rather than just the final selection.
Applicants now receive badges to acknowledge their stage successes. They also see 'Not a match' instead of 'Declined,' reinforcing that their proposal wasn’t rejected for quality reasons but because it didn’t align with companies' goals.
Qualified
Shortlisted
Finalist
Step 2
Transparent Status
After identifying key application status touchpoints, I introduced reward badges, status tags, and expected feedback dates to enhance the proposal tracking experience for scientists.
I designed color-coded status tags for quick and intuitive identification, ensuring they aligned with brand guidelines and met accessibility standards.
Design Iterations
I prototyped 5+ proposal card designs, comparing layouts and visuals. Side-by-side displays improved cross-team discussions and elicited valuable user feedback during testing.
Progress bar is not rewarding nor accurate
Reward badge is not 'flashy' enough
Over emphasize on "Next Update Date"
Final Design
Design for Confidence
Users can now manage their applications through "My Proposal" section in the header menu, streamlining their workflow and enhancing productivity.
Accessible
Organized
In addition to managing application statuses, users can earn badges as a form of quality verification. These badges showcase the scientist's expertise and credibility, increasing their chances of securing future collaborations with other sponsors.
Engagment
Retention
Other design improvement include…
Landing Page
Reflection
Being flexible with tools
I love being part of this fast-growing team, where there are ample opportunities to contribute. It pushes me to learn something new every day and apply my design skills across different contexts and platforms.
Product is never truly built, it's a process of building and testing
Besides designing software features, I was also responsible for identifying usability issues through usability testing sessions and Smartlook investigations. I learned how small problems can lead to significant user experience challenges and experienced the satisfaction of resolving these issues through collaborative efforts with cross-functional teams.
Halo Creative Team 🚀
Designed by Hailey Yixuan Li