CREATOR CITADEL
Overview
Creator Citadel is a gamified career development website for young creatives, providing them with a vast network of seasoned professionals that can help them build a unique roadmap for their own creative adventure.
This website prototype was created as a submission to DePauw University’s Women in Computer Science (WiCS) Pre-Hackathon, and the 2022 Girls Who Code College Loops Challenge.
My Role
I spearheaded the conceptualization, research, prototyping, and presentation of the project during the WiCS Pre-Hackathon. Upon qualifying for the Girls Who Code College Loops Challenge after winning first place in the prior pre-hackathon, I collaborated with a fellow first-year DePauw student to pitch our overall project and add a few technical improvements.
Problems
Demand for Specialized Talent
The emergence of diverse trends in the creative industry has led to higher demand for hybrid job roles. The career development of college students can be affected by the intersectional requirements of companies, as they might need additional resources to develop their professional skill sets.
Higher Competition
The creative industry is a swiftly evolving sector that is considered as one of the quickest growing industries within Inc. 5000 companies. This can become a significant issue for college students newly entering the job market.
Overwhelming Job Search
Several young job-searchers have a pessimistic view towards prospective employment.
Goals
1) Gamification
Through click-based features and customizable roadmaps, the gamified interface will alleviate students’ anxiety from job searching.
2) Hybrid Roles
The website encourages students to select their intersectional creative interests, preparing them for more competitive job roles.
3) Nearby Networking
Students can easily build a location-based network with nearby creative professionals and discover new employment opportunities.
Users
1) Young Creatives
2) Undergraduate Job Searchers
3) Creative Professionals
Research Process
Observations from DePauw Community
As a creative myself, I understand the difficulty of searching for career opportunities. For instance, as a Media Fellow at DePauw, I see other artists, content producers, writers, and other creatives struggling with the career development process due to the wide scope of job openings.
Furthermore, since both of our team members are international first-year students, we understand how difficult it is to network and find creative technological opportunities in the United States from scratch. In my home country, the Philippines, creative industries are not given sufficient emphasis by the government as compared to scientific technology. Female Filipino artists, designers, and creators usually have unstable livelihoods and insufficient financial resources.
Global Statistics
Emergence of Hybrid Roles
⦿ Creative technologists: Designing artistic interfaces AND developing technological softwares
⦿ Traditional & digital designers: Merging manual art techniques AND using modern design applications
⦿ Content producers: Creating concise social media content AND building a large network of people
Growing Significance of Creative Industries
⦿ 3.1% of GDP
⦿ 6.2% of employment
⦿ 186% growth in recent years
Negative Mindset of Job Searchers
⦿ 53% felt a loss of identity
⦿ 56% experienced more mental health problems
⦿ 41% had relationship conflicts with friends & family
Main Problem
Due to the increased competition and dynamic nature of creative industries, college students need an online platform to connect to professionals and to find more opportunities to expand their creative skillsets.
Ideation
FEATURE OVERVIEW
Personalized Skill Evaluator
⦿ Encourages users to select their particular creative industry and create intersections between interests
⦿ Allows students to build their own gamified professional character
⦿ Identifies areas for improvement in their creative skill set
Gamified Career Roadmap
⦿ Users will have a unique roadmap to connect them to career professionals and opportunities in a single glance
⦿ Designed like an adventure game with customized missions
⦿ Can earn Citadel points to expand roadmaps
Creative Connections Live Map
⦿ Displays nearby creative professionals based on user’s specific industry
⦿ Provides an overview of the advantages of each network (alumni connection, distance, position level, etc.)
NAME CHOICE (KEYWORDS)
Creator: representing creative individuals in their career development process
Citadel: since the app acts like a metropolis of aspiring creative individuals who want to connect with seasoned professionals to find opportunities and hone their craft
Prototyping
FIGMA PROTOTYPE (Individual Webpages)
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Login Pages & Personalization Features
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Creative Roadmap & Live Map Networking Features
Testing - Project Pitch
PROSPECTIVE TECHNOLOGIES
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COMPETITION ANALYSIS
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POTENTIAL TIMELINE
PANEL FEEDBACK
- Adding privacy statements & encryption to protect sensitive info of professionals (location, name, workplace, position, etc.)
- Can add more subscription-based features once the product is already established in the online marketplace, especially since college students may have limited budgets
Outcomes & Results
Final Prototype
AWARDS RECEIVED
Champion:
DePauw Women in Computer Science Pre-Hackathon (School Level)
2nd Place:
Girls Who Code College Loops Challenge against other participating colleges across the U.S. (National Level)
Acquired Learnings
COLLABORATION
⦿ Teamwork is always crucial. Working individually was a fulfilling experience and exciting challenge, but having diverse perspectives can bring more life to a product.
FUTURE STEPS
⦿ Improve the live map feature to cater to universities outside of the United States
⦿ Implement the product with actual code & test with local institutions
