Ascendia

Many young adults feel overwhelmed when trying to choose a career path. Traditional career tests feel outdated, too rigid, or disconnected from users’ actual interests. Ascendia wanted to create a more dynamic, engaging experience that encourages exploration while still offering credible guidance.

Research

Developed a Gen Z user persona to understand how they behave, how they think about their future, and how they research.

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Studied the educational apps and discovery tools our target users were already using

Developed a strategy to integrate AI in a way that felt intuitive and engaging for our users.

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Process / Ideation

I explored different user flows based on Gen Z behavioral patterns. While the client initially leaned toward a chat-based experience, I identified early that this placed too much cognitive load on the user, who had to know what to ask. Instead, I proposed an interaction model based on content reactions, letting the app learn from user behavior.

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Key Design Features

A swipe-based discovery flow inspired by TikTok to create familiarity and ease of use

A "Crystal Ball" feature to surface careers the AI predicted for the user if they hadn’t picked any yet

A "Professional Spirit Animal" result that gave users a fun, relatable summary of their traits and possible paths

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Testing & Iteration

Due to the AI-powered nature of the experience, we built a functional prototype early. A Figma prototype wouldn’t capture the adaptive behaviors of the system.

We tested in a classroom setting:

• Students were given the site and asked to explore freely for ~15 minutes
• No instructions were provided beyond a simple intro

Outcomes:

• All students understood the interaction pattern immediately
• They described the design as simple and enjoyable
• Most noticed the content was becoming personalized
• Many discovered careers they hadn’t heard of before
• Students used the chat feature to dive deeper into specific careers
• Some shared their "Professional Spirit Animal" with others, finding it fun and relatable

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Results

• Strong engagement: users reported feeling "curious to keep exploring"
• Surprise and delight were common: "I didn’t know that was a career option!"
• Piloted in high schools as part of career exploration curriculum
• A white-label version is in development for Texas Tech University and other institutions
• We are currently working on a second phase that includes detailed career paths based on users’ selected careers. This will help guide them through required skills, education, and potential entry points.

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Learnings / Reflection

• This project taught me how to balance credibility with playfulness. Educational tools can be effective and fun. I also learned how to integrate AI in a way that feels intuitive and rewarding, going beyond a chatbot to build a system that listens, adapts, and responds to real behavior.