PSYCHOLOGY X DESIGN
A Marketplace aiding students to overcome Culture shock
62% of International students experience culture shock when moving to a new place. However, if not handled properly, culture shock impacts student confidence, self-identity, and academic performance. Students find it hard to communicate the unsaid struggle of adapting to a new nationality, build new connections and set up a home away from home.

Curio, a marketplace of second hand items, facilitates passing on of products and tips from alumni to the newbies through stories. Design includes persuasive strategies such as intermixing and obfuscation to tackle the problem.
Jump to solution

My Role

Lead Product Designer

Team

2 Designers,
2 Researchers

Time

2 Months
(Oct'22- Nov'22)

Tools

Figma,
Miro
Intermixing for passive learning: Information cards about general tips  in between product listing helps promote passive learning
Connecting people through stories: Connecting people with product stories from alumni experiences fostering a sense of belonging
Nudges for communication: Effective strategy of connecting people through curiosity and common interests
context & PROBLEM
Address the challenges of Cultural Shock among students
As part of the Fall 2021 class on "Persuasive Design," we were tasked with selecting a problem related to social engagement and developing a solution through the use of psychology concepts and persuasive strategies.

Our team of four tackled the issue of culture shock with the aim of devising a solution that would promote spontaneous (system 1) thinking and behavior, while simultaneously fostering the habit of addressing the complex problem of culture shock with a more deliberate (system 2) approach.
USER research
What is the problem, Who are the users?
International students struggle to create a Home away from Home
Culture shock refers to the initial adjustment process individuals undergo when encountering an unfamiliar environment. It commonly affects students studying abroad, impacting their emotions, behavior, and overall well-being.
Sverre Lysgaard's Curve of Cultural Adjustment
Students find it extremely challenging to relearn basic tasks like shopping and using public transportation
Sverre Lysgaard's Curve of Cultural Adjustment illustrates the typical phases that international students go through when adapting to a new culture, including initial excitement, culture shock, adjustment, and integration. Student well-being depends on how they handle the recovery period.
"Students only reach for help when they are under stress and not performing well academically."
- Academic Advisor for a graduate degree program
Even with on-campus resources and support, students still find it difficult communicate their struggles
Students tend mask their emotions and pretend that they are doing fine while that is mostly not the case. University resources has its limitations in conveying the message to students when they need the most.
International students with a higher ratio of host nationals friends reported lower levels of culture shock.
- B. Hendrickson, D. Rosen, R. K. Aune, International Journal of Intercultural Relations 2011
Students adjust better to a new country by connecting and learning from others who already lived there & local communities
The experience of culture may vary from person to person. However, those who truly excel are the students who confidently immerse themselves in the process of adapting and establishing connections with individuals who possess valuable experiences, even if those connections are initially superficial.
Activities and output
Literature Reviews
User Interviews
Expert Interviews
User Journey Mapping
PROBLEM STATEMENT
How might we empower International students reduce the culture shock in a new place with ease and confidence?
Measuring success: We defined success of this project as the response that the target users will have to the idea. Qualitative data to be collected as part of demo and presentation.
Design Goals
How can I solve the problem?
3 Ingredients to overcome culture shock
By utilizing the information gathered from research through affinity mapping, I found themes that formed the design goals of the project. While culture shock is unavoidable, my aim was to design a solution that can help students minimize its impact during a crisis and facilitate faster adjustment.
Original Sverre Lysgaard's Curve of Cultural Adjustment
Aim to achieve through the design solution- 3 main actions
Gain information on the new place and its culture
Communicate and learn from the experienced
Integrate and engage to build a new network
Activities and output
Affinity Mapping
IDEATIon
Ideating solutions with persuasive strategies & narrowing down on a marketplace
The biggest challenge of culture shock is its unspoken nature. Students often deny and lack understanding of how it indirectly affects their mental health and well-being. Consequently, addressing this issue and providing students with the necessary support requires an indirect approach. Hence I identified persuasive strategies to use in design.
1
Intermixing
Combining content reduces cognitive load. Sensitive topics impact mental capacity. Embedding the message in another medium improves understanding.
2
Obfuscation
Presenting information indirectly promotes learning and understanding. For instance, a game that reveals the fighter's gender as female after winning aims to reduce gender bias among players who typically associate fighters with men.
Which direction I chose and Why?
Marketplace that reduces culture shock
One of the main tasks for new students in the first few weeks after relocating is "Setting up their homes" with furniture and other items needed for day-to-day activities. At the same time, alumni students are looking to vacate their places and sell their gently used items.

Currently, this exchange of second-hand items takes place through various Facebook or Slack groups. However, there is a lack of a dedicated platform exclusively for the student community and more than transactional conversions.
How can a Marketplace solve culture shock?
Ingredients to design features
Ingredient 1: Information on the new place and its culture
Obfuscating the true meaning of the application and intermixing the buy/sell features with information on the place and culture.
Ingredient 2: Communicate and learn from the experienced
Alumni (experienced) looks forward to selling off good to use items and newbies save money by buying them. Encouraging conversations more than transactions can help newbies cope better.
Ingredient 3: Intergrating and engaging to build a new network
Building a community around a function that benefits both buyer and seller. Providing new students first step to form new connections to communicate & build a network
Activities and output
Ideation
Affinity Mapping
Testing Hypothesis
DESIGN
Ideas into Designs
I organized design sprints to quickly turn the idea into designs. The two main logins: Seller and Buyer. The main functions included Searching for items, Viewing an item listing, chatting with seller and setting an appointment for item pickup.
Paper prototyping for early testing
Userflow diagram for 2 logins: Seller and Buyer
Iteration 1: Mid-fidelity prototyping
I designed initial screens for the buyer to prioritize International students' journey to overcome culture shock. For pilot testing of the idea, we prioritized the buyer flow as the solution is targeting to solve culture shock for incoming students.
But users couldn't understand
On testing the mid-fidelity prototype I found that: Users did not interpret the embedded messages as prompts to engage with the seller, due to the strong association of e-commerce platforms with strictly transactional interactions
"I didn't notice the item's story at all in the product listing"
- A participants focused on the item's condition and price point missed the story behind it completely
Activities and output
User flow
Parallel Prototyping
Testing
How did I improve design?
Iteration 2: Inspiration from design of dating applications
On understanding that improving the visual design will improve the experience and convey message. I drew inspiration from dating applications which connects people through personal stories and experiences.
Bumble: use of tags for description and interests
Hinge: Profile nudging topics for conversations
1
Home page- facilitating passive learning (Information)
2
Product page- bringing out the product story (Connecting people through personal stories)
3
Chat with seller profile and interests that act as conversation topics (Communication & exchanging information)
Final design
Curio: Marketplace for students to overcome Culture shock
1
Product Listing: Intermixed information supports passive learning
Information cards about general tips (on-topic) in between product listing (off-topic) helps promote passive learning among students
2
Product Page: Connecting people through stories
Connecting people with product stories from alumni experiences foster a sense that they aren't alone in the journey and normalizing the feelings and facilitating communication between students and alumni.
3
Nudges users to communicate and learn more
Effective strategy of connecting people through curiosity and common interests as seen in dating applications, nudging to have conversations.
Design Style
Demo & learnings
Response from Presentation and Demo

Our team received overwhelming amount of positive response during the presentation and prototype demo. The comments were proof to how much students resonated with the need and liked the idea.
Applying principles of psychology and persuasion:
‍
I learned the value of using psychology in design. Understanding the principles of persuasion and applying them to design for people is crucial for success. Applying these concepts to a recent project was highly rewarding and taught me a valuable lesson.

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