Style Guide
Platform is a trusted companion for skilled workers and migrants in Germany.
The tone is empathetic, professional, and motivating.
UpKarriere is an AI-driven platform that connects migrants in Germany with career coaches, helping them find the right match and advance their professional development.
My role: UX/UI Designer End-to-End
Web responsive app
2025
Timeline: 4 months
AI-powered job-coaching platform
UX/UI Case Study
Solution
Create a user-friendly career coaching platform that allows users to:
Find a personalized coach easily
AI-powered career assistant evaluates users’ goals, background, and needs to create a personalized career profile, then generates a tailored career roadmap and recommends the most suitable coaches.
Book a free introductory session
users can have a first Introductory call to understand if the coach is a good fit.
Quick CV / document review
users can upload CVs or other documents for fast, affordable feedback from their coach without scheduling a full session.
Develop a structured career plan
A coach and user create a step-by-step plan with milestones and goals, visualized on a personal dashboard for progress tracking.
User Research
Define
Style Guide
Final Design
Ideate
Usability Test
I interviewed 5 potential users with a migration background to understand their professional needs, expectations, and challenges. I explored their coaching experiences, attitudes toward AI support, preferred communication formats, and factors that would encourage regular use of the platform.
Interview questions
Have you had any experience with coaching, mentoring, or career advice (online or offline)?
What would you expect from a good coach or helpful platform?
How important is flexibility (time, location, online/offline) for you?
How do you feel about using AI in career coaching?
What additional resources (tips, articles, templates) would support your career growth?
Quotes from user interviews:
Kamal
Sometimes I don’t have time for long coaching sessions. Short, concrete tips in between would be perfect.
Sara
Career coaching should be on equal terms – I’m looking for someone who understands my situation
Olena
I need a clear, structured plan from my coach that shows me how to develop my career
Anna
I’ve already worked with a coach
and found it helped me develop my career
Eugen
I find it very helpful if AI could create a summary after the session, as I don’t like taking notes during the session
Kamal
A clear and intuitive user interface is very important so that I can quickly and easily find the right coach.
Additionally, I conducted a Survey with potential users via Google Forms to better understand their needs, expectations, preferred communication formats, and attitudes toward using AI on the platform.
Key Insights from User Research
Users are willing to use coaching services if the offer matches their needs.
Expectations from coaching: a clear, structured plan and personalized feedback.
Preferred communication: online and flexible.
When choosing a coach, users value professional qualifications, experience, cultural understanding, and reviews.
Based on the results of my surveys and the key insights derived from them, I developed 2 core user personas representing the target audience.
Based on the insights from the previous research, I identified the most important features users are looking for.
To address these needs, I created 3 user flows focusing on the key user goals.
User flow 3: CV Review via Chat
User searches for suitable coach, selects the “CV Check” service. The user then completes the payment and uploads their CV and related documents for review. The coach reviews the documents and sends personalized feedback to the user via chat.
User flow 1: Search for a coach and the booking process
User searches for a suitable coach with the help of artificial intelligence and books an introductory session with the coach.
User joins a scheduled video call with the coach to discuss their career path.
After the session, the coach creates a structured career plan, which the user can view on their dashboard and follow over time.
User flow 2: creating a structured plan with a career coach
Mid-Fidelity Wireframes
Search for a coach and the booking process
The process starts with the user chatting with a career assistant, who collects the user’s goals, background, and requirements. Based on this information, the career assistant recommends a suitable career coach. The user then opens the coach’s profile and books an introductory session.
The process of creating a structured plan with a career coach
The process starts with a video call with the selected coach, where the user’s goals and needs are discussed. Based on this conversation, the coach creates a personalized development plan, which is then shared with the user and appears on the dashboard for progress tracking.
CV Review via Chat
After finding a suitable coach, the user selects the “CV Check” service. If the user is not registered, they are prompted to sign up. The user then completes the payment and uploads their CV and related documents for review. The coach reviews the documents and sends personalized feedback to the user via chat.
Bezahlen
Zur Überprüfung senden
60%
TYPOGRAPHY
COLORS
A neutral palette with blue, gray, and black was selected to create a professional, trustworthy, and easy-to-use experience.
Blue inspires confidence and guidance, gray adds balance and clarity, and black provides strong readability and visual hierarchy.
These colors support users in focusing on their career goals without unnecessary distractions.
The color combinations were also tested for accessibility to ensure sufficient contrast and compliance with accessibility standards, creating an inclusive experience for all users.
GRID
BUTTONS
INPUT FIELDS
Aa
Do’s
Use defined font sizes and weights consistently
Maintain a clear hierarchy: headline → subheadline → body text
Ensure sufficient line spacing for readability
Don’ts
Do not introduce additional typefaces
Do not use arbitrary font sizes or weights
Do not use headlines for long text blocks
Font
Satoshi Variable
This font was chosen because of its excellent readability on mobile devices and its modern character.
#4D6DDE
#CFDAFF
#ECF0FF
#696969
# E8E8E8
#F6F7F8
#FFFFFF
#00AC47
#B9FFD6
#DE2F0F
Color Categories
Primary color: main actions and primary CTAs
Secondary colors: supporting actions and highlights
Neutral colors: text, backgrounds, dividers
Status colors: success, warning, error, information
Target group of platform are migrants in Germany who want to grow professionally but struggle to find career coaching that understands their specific challenges, including cultural context. They also face a lack of flexible, accessible, and affordable coaching options.
Problem Statement
I conducted a usability test with 5 people from my target group.
As a result of this test, I was able to identify five key problems in my prototype.
Problem 1
During onboarding, 3 participants felt overwhelmed by the number of pages and were confused by the start page defaulting to English.
Solution
I removed the unnecessary onboarding step, added a language selection option directly on the start page to give users immediate control, and consolidated the explanation of the core features into a single, concise page.
4 of 5 participants said the new onboarding felt clearer than the previous version
Problem 2
4 participants expressed a desire to see both new messages and their booked appointments directly on the start page.
Solution
I consider this feedback to be valid, and I addressed it by adding a notification card to the home screen. This card allows users to see their booked sessions as well as notifications from their coach at a glance.
Problem 3
All participants found the flow after clicking on “CV Check” unclear. They didn’t understand why a login was required immediately, why payment was needed upfront, and exactly which services were included.
Solution
To improve clarity, I created a dedicated page that appears after clicking “CV Check,” providing a clear explanation of the service, including its steps, duration, and cost, to reduce user frustration.
Problem 4
Confusion regarding the coach’s structured plan: the bottom-to-top order was not clear, and a top-to-bottom layout would be more intuitive.
Solution
I have numbered the steps from 1 to the last and adjusted the order to a top-to-bottom layout, as requested by the users.
The step-by-step coaching plan turns long-term goals into clear, manageable actions by visualizing progress and defining next steps.
In usability testing, 100% of users said the plan made their goals feel more achievable and motivating.
The platform enables users to submit their career documents for review with a simple upload. Keeping the entire feedback process in one place makes it faster, easier, and more convenient.
60% of users would use this feature to receive coach feedback on their documents.
The home screen features an AI assistant that guides users through identifying their career goals. Based on their input, it creates a personalized career plan with clear milestones and recommends coaches who best match their individual needs and career aspirations.
80% of users reported increased confidence in choosing the right coach.
Reflections & Next Steps
1. Why Mobile First?
I started with a mobile app because our target audience—migrants adapting to life in Germany—relies heavily on their phones for daily tasks. Plus, core features like chatting with the AI assistant and quickly snapping a picture of a CV just feel much more natural on a mobile device.
2. The Need for Desktop
Due to the project's timeframe, I focused entirely on the mobile experience. However, complex tasks like editing a CV, writing cover letters, and doing video calls with coaches are much easier on a larger screen. The next logical step would be to design a web version to give users a full, cross-device experience.
3. Measuring Business Impact
A great product has to work for the business, not just the users. If this were a live product, the next step would be tracking key metrics to measure its success. I would focus on:
Conversion Rate: How many users actually book a paid session after their free intro?
Retention: Do users keep coming back to check their career dashboard?
Task Success: Can users easily upload their documents without dropping off?
4. Building Trust in AI
Usability testing showed that users want to know why a specific coach was recommended to them. In future iterations, I would add more transparency to the UI to explain exactly which criteria (like language, industry, or goals) the AI used to make the match, helping users feel more confident in the system.
5. Exploring B2B Potential
While this case study focuses on individual users, the platform could easily be scaled for B2B. Companies could use UpKarriere to help their new international hires integrate more smoothly, opening up an entirely new revenue stream for the business.
Users struggle to find suitable coaching offers
due to language and cultural barriers.
50%
participants have no prior coaching experience, but show high interest.
80%
ICONS
Thanks for Scrolling!
Back to Top
Get in touch:
Competitive Analysis
UpKarriere platform is designed for newcomers in Germany who face challenges like finding a job and understanding the local market.
Unlike CoachHub, Mentor Lane, and MentorCruise, it offers AI-based coach matching, free introductory sessions, quick access without long registration, structured plans with milestones, and simple document checks, making it easy and motivating for users taking their first steps in Germany.
Target Audience / Focus
AI Coach Matching
Personalized Resources
CV / Document Check
Free Intro Session
Structured Plan
Key Value
Migrants in Germany
professional coaching
industry-specific
coaching
corporate
coaching
UpKarriere
MentorLane
MentorCruise
CoachHub
To position UpKarriere within the German coaching market, three key competitors were selected:
CoachHub (Corporate Leader), MentorLane (individual professional coaching), and MentorCruise ( industry-specific mentoring)
Users find AI helpful for analyzing goals and structuring next steps, but human validation remains essential.
Target Audience / Focus
AI Coach Matching
Personalized Resources
CV / Document Check
Free Intro Session
Structured Plan
Key Value
Migrants in Germany
professional coaching
industry-specific
coaching
UpKarriere
MentorLane
MentorCruise
CoachHub
To position UpKarriere within the German coaching market, three key competitors were selected:
CoachHub (Corporate Leader), MentorLane (individual professional coaching), and MentorCruise ( industry-specific mentoring)