Wasabi Graphics
Designing interfaces: experiences that inspire action.
Every interface I design is guided by usability, storytelling, and a passion for impactful digital experiences.
About
Introduction
Hireflow — an end-to-end job application tracker that helps users discover, apply, and stay organized. A single platform to simplify the entire job-hunt journey.
Problem Statement
Job seekers face a fragmented experience. They apply to dozens of jobs, wait weeks to hear back, and lose track of interviews and follow-ups. Many end up juggling spreadsheets, sticky notes, and scattered email threads just to stay organized.
Our solution
The Job Application Tracker App centralizes the entire journey:
- Personalized job discovery.
- One-tap applications with CV/portfolio upload.
- A tracker to monitor every application’s stage.
- A dashboard to visualize progress.
- Notifications, reminders, and recruiter messaging.
Design process
Empathize Phase
Building a Better Job Application App
Understanding job seekers and analyzing existing job-hunting tools was the first step. A competitive analysis helped us:
- Identify gaps: Current platforms either focus on job discovery or application tracking — rarely both. Many lack clear timelines, reminders, or a clean way to see application status. Hhireflow fills those gaps with a consolidated “apply + track” experience.
- Meet user expectations: Job applicants expect a fast, organized, mobile-first workflow. By studying LinkedIn, Indeed, Huntr, and Teal, we learned what users rely on most — quick apply, easy uploading, progress visibility — so Hireflow improves on these essentials.
- Stand out in a crowded space: Benchmarking against competitors helps us define what makes Hireflow different: a simplified UI, a visual tracker, built-in reminders, and messaging tools that reduce stress and keep users informed. This positions Hireflow as a more calm, structured, and supportive job-search companion.
Design process
Define Phase
To better understand job seekers’ needs, I synthesized research into key insights:
- Users lose track of applications.
- They forget interview dates.
- They use multiple tools to manage their job hunt.
Problem Statement (for design):
Job seekers need a unified place to track and manage all their applications and communication.
Hypothesis:
If Hireflow provides a clean, intuitive interface with tracking, reminders, and a dashboard, users will be more confident and organized during their job search.
Design process
User Personas
Industry Trends & Insights
Additional research
- 98% of Fortune 500 companies use ATS, meaning structured candidate data is standard.
- Candidates apply to ~250 applicants per job post on average.
- Many job seekers drop out because they don’t know what’s happening with their application.
- The hiring process often takes weeks, increasing stress and anxiety.
- Users want clarity and real-time updates when applying.
About
User Flow Overview
Before building high-fidelity screens, I mapped the core journey users take inside Hireflow. This flow helps visualize every key step, from onboarding to tracking applications — and ensures the entire experience feels simple, predictable, and stress-free.
By laying out each interaction, I could:
- clarify what users need at each stage
- remove unnecessary steps
- tighten the application process
- and align screens with the end-to-end experience
- This flow became the foundation for all wireframes, UI decisions, and final prototypes that followed.
Design process
Low fidelity
Design process
Low-mid fidelity
From the insights gathered during user interviews, participants emphasized the need for a more organized and stress-free job search experience. Many job seekers mentioned that they often lose track of interview dates, forget which roles they applied for, and struggle to manage multiple applications at once. Because of this, the main objective of the early wireframes was to design an onboarding and tracking experience that reduces confusion and helps users stay in control of their job search.
Participants also highlighted the importance of having all job-related information — including application status, saved jobs, messages from recruiters, and upcoming reminders. As a result, these core pain points guided the structure of the low- and mid-fidelity screens. We focused on creating a simple flow that allows users to quickly log applications, view deadlines, check updates, and save roles for later. These priorities directly shaped the layout of the dashboard, home feed, favourites, and reminders sections.
The decision to use a mostly black-and-white color palette in HireFlow was driven by participants’ preference for a clean, professional environment that reduces distraction during the job search process. Users emphasized that applying for jobs already feels mentally overwhelming, so a minimal, contrast-based interface helps them stay focused on their progress rather than the interface itself. The typeface and button sizing were chosen for clarity and readability, supporting quick scanning when users are moving between multiple applications or checking updates on the go. Additionally, the suitcase logo paired with the “HireFlow” wordmark was intentionally designed to represent career progression and movement symbolizing a streamlined journey from application to employment.
Design process
High Fidelity
By developing a high-fidelity prototype for HireFlow, I was able to simulate the full user experience long before any development took place. This allowed me to test realistic interactions, validate each step of the application-tracking flow, and uncover usability issues that weren’t visible in earlier wireframes. Because these insights were gathered early, I was able to refine the interface, strengthen the visual hierarchy, and ensure the design felt intuitive and consistent. This approach not only improved the overall quality of the product but also saved time by preventing larger problems later in the process.
Design process
Methodology
To evaluate the clarity and usability of HireFlow, I conducted remote usability testing with 5 participants who matched the profiles of early-career job seekers and career switchers.
- Remote Sessions: All participants completed the usability test through Zoom using screen-sharing.
- Consistent Timing: A mobile timer was used to measure task completion times across all tests.
- Insight Extraction: All sessions were reviewed and summarized to capture key observations.
- Structured Analysis: A feedback grid was used to categorize findings into: successes, issues, questions, and ideas.
- Pattern Detection: An infinity map helped group recurring behaviors and uncover common pain points across users.
- Pattern Detection: An infinity map helped group recurring behaviors and uncover common pain points across users.
- Prioritization: A severity–frequency matrix was created by cross-checking the feedback grid and affinity groupings to determine which improvements were most critical.
About
Tested Flows
Participants were asked to complete core flows based on HireFlow’s most important features:
- Create an account and successfully log in
- Add a new job application to the tracker
- Update application progress (e.g., Applied → Interviewing → Offer)
- Save a job to Favorites
- Check upcoming reminders
- Send or read a message inside the Messages tab
These flows were chosen because they represent the primary daily interactions of job seekers.
Success Metrics
- Task Success Rate: Measured whether participants could complete each task without abandonment.
- Error Identification: Counted errors such as misclicks, confusion, hesitation, or backtracking.
- User Satisfaction: After each task, participants answered quick questions (1–5 rating) about clarity, ease, and overall satisfaction.
Design process
Key Findings From the Interviews
What worked well
- Users praised how clean and simple the interface looked.
- The process of adding applications was straightforward and intuitive.
- The black-and-white color palette made the UI feel professional and focused.
What caused confusion
- Some users expected color-coded statuses for easier scanning.
- A few participants struggled to locate reminders at first glance.
- The Messages tab wasn’t always recognized as a full feature because of the minimal design.
What users consistently appreciated
- The tracking flow felt fast and organized.
- Users liked having all job information in one place.
- The Favorites feature felt “useful for later.”
Key Findings Summary
Meeting was reviewed and all notes were organized into a Feedback Grid, which formed the foundation of the Prioritization Grid.
Patterns showed several opportunities for improvement related to:
- Visibility
- Navigation
- Recognition of interactive elements
- Information hierarchy
About
Iterations
- Reminder Visibility Improvements: Users frequently hesitated when locating reminders.
Solution: Increased contrast and added a subtle indicator on the tab for upcoming events. - Status Color Introduction: Participants wanted faster scannability of job statuses.
Solution: Introduced a soft color-coded system (Applied, Interview, Ghosted, Offer) while maintaining the clean black-and-white foundation. - Messages Tab Clarification: Some users did not initially interpret the Messages tab as interactive.
Solution: Increased icon weight and added a notification badge to reinforce its purpose. - Larger Tap Areas on Key Buttons: Users mentioned missing several buttons while tapping.
Solution: Increased tap target size and spacing, especially in the Progress Update flow. - Favorites Feedback Enhancement: Several participants wanted confirmation when saving a job.
Solution: Added a quick “Saved” feedback animation to make the interaction clearer.
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