Tennessee State University (TSU), established in 1912, is a historically black institution renowned for its academic excellence and commitment to leadership and community engagement. Located in Nashville, TSU offers a diverse range of programs, particularly specializing in those in the agricultural sciences. TSU prides itself on an environment that empowers students through research opportunities, cultural enrichment, and a robust network of alumni, contributing significantly to the social, cultural, and economic fabric of the region and beyond.
TSU and their partner institutions recognized barriers faced by underserved students in the food, agriculture, natural resources, and human sciences pipeline, and wanted to create a platform to encourage engagement and discovery of opportunities, redefining what inclusivity in education means today.
The goal was to design and develop a mobile app for iOS and Android to increase accessibility to opportunities within agricultural science fields, by providing a centralized space for tailored job listings, internships, and scholarships, largely specific to minority students across the country. TSU also wanted to empower students by offering valuable educational resources and career insights, equipping them with the tools to succeed and thrive in these vital agricultural sectors and in their future careers.
The project was funded by the USDA’s NextGen grant, an $262M initiative to build and sustain the next generation of food, agriculture, natural resources and human sciences workforce. TSU secured an outstanding $18M from this substantial grant.
Our team of product designers and engineers worked closely with the TSU team to create the mobile app. We kicked off with in-person, on-site user research interviews with students. These allowed us to uncover their needs, pain points, and how they sought out opportunities within the agriculture field. These insights formed the foundation of our design process.
We worked with the client to translate these insights into actionable features, ensuring alignment with TSU’s and NextGen’s vision. With a clear direction in mind, we iterated through wireframes, refining the app’s structure and functionalities.
To maintain consistency and ensure efficiency, we developed a component library. This would allow the following design phase to occur quickly, and ensure that the development team would have a single source of truth. We then started crafting high-fidelity designs, injecting color and style and keeping accessibility in mind.
To validate our designs, we conducted usability tests with students to make sure the app resonated with their preferences and needs. Feedback was translated into improvements, and we revisited designs where necessary.
Working closely with the development team, we provided detailed documentation for the designs. This facilitated a smooth transition from design to development. Our talented developers brought the app to life utilizing Strapi to implement the CMS, resulting in a fully functional, user-centric mobile app, aligning with TSU’s objectives and the NextGen Grant.
Our user research journey took us to the TSU campus in Nashville, where we met several students and professors in the college of agriculture and explored the school and farm. These interactions offered glimpses into their daily lives and experiences.
Eager to uncover deeper user needs, we held numerous interviews with agriculture students and listened to their stories, each conversation revealing a new perspective on higher education, their aspirations within agriculture, and their career goals. Engaging directly with TSU students deeply influenced the direction of the mobile app’s UX design, and ensured that the app resonates with its intended audience.
An essential step during our process was the development of a robust component library. We consulted with our development team to find a React Native UI kit that would be highly configurable, flexible, and fast, and ended up choosing Tamagui. With Tamagui’s unstyled components serving as a foundation, we built a full design system and library to be used as the backbone of the app's design elements, ensuring consistency and coherence throughout the design and development phases. This design documentation streamlined the design process, allowing for efficient implementation and maintenance of design elements across the entire application.
Tailored for minority students, this feature curates a comprehensive database of job postings, internships, and scholarships within agriculture and related fields. Users can explore opportunities aligned with their interests and aspirations, increasing access and inclusivity in these crucial sectors.
This part of the app serves as a knowledge hub, offering insights into various agriculture careers and pathways, resources for academic and professional success, and various types of entertaining content. Articles, videos, and podcasts can be quickly accessed and viewed by the user, offering quick bites of information to supplement their learning.
Empowering students beyond job listings, this feature is a place for both local and virtual events, such as conferences and career fairs. These events are tailored for students eager to learn more about agriculture, offering networking opportunities and immersive experiences within the the agriculture industry.
In Profile, users have the ability to manage and edit their information, ensuring that their app experience remains relevant and tailored to their evolving needs and preferences.
Throughout the design phase, the NextGen mobile app has shown remarkable success, laying a solid foundation to transition into the app development process. The meticulously crafted designs have not only met but exceeded expectations for TSU and USDA’s NextGen grant.
Tailored to the unique needs of underserved learners in agriculture, these mobile app designs have seamlessly integrated professional opportunities, an information hub, events, profile management, notifications, and more. The wireframes and high-fidelity designs went through several iterations and rounds of testing, resulting in a cohesive and intuitive user interface that encourages engagement. The creation of a comprehensive component/UI Library streamlined and unified the visual elements for efficient mobile app development.
As the design phase concludes, the app stands ready for its seamless hand-off to development, embodying designs that prioritizes user empowerment, accessibility, and a transformative experience within the agriculture landscape.
