HSE Art and Design School

A course for the leading Russian institution in design, fashion, and contemporary art.

New program

New program

The HSE Art & Design School in Saint Petersburg was expanding its program and offered my work partner and me the chance to participate.

The HSE Art & Design School in Saint Petersburg was expanding its program and offered my work partner and me the chance to participate.

New course

New course

They started the first mobile design course. HSE in Moscow already had a huge amount of expertise, but it was a new direction for St. Petersburg.

They started the first mobile design course. HSE in Moscow already had a huge amount of expertise, but it was a new direction for St. Petersburg.

40 students

We planned to teach a few groups of students in the first year and chose the individual approach as the primary strategy.

40 students

We planned to teach a few groups of students in the first year and chose the individual approach as the primary strategy.

40 students. How can we make a course for each of them?

40 students. How can we make a course for each of them?

Teach useful skills

Software

Platform guides

introduction

Wireframing

User flows

CJM

User & Business needs

ux

moodboards

Interface design

animations

prototyping

Ui + Interaction

Make it interesting

Fictional characters instead of personas

Every student had a project that they presented during the final exam. They had no real clients yet, which meant they could create their projects in a more playful environment. Project themes included a popular type of app + a fictional character.

+36 characters

Help to achieve better results

Support

There were online consultations for those who needed some additional time.

Online

Preparations

This is a standard practice to have some extra consultation hours before exams. We did it as well.

offline

Discussion

We've organized a group chat with students for all discussions and coordination.

async

student's work

Maria Chernova

Open the project in the Students' Portfolio

— We all need a way to relax.
— I skim stones.

About the customer

Empathy is key for a good interface design. That's why the first goal was to understand the characters.

Amélie

About the movie on IMDb

User needs

– Unusual places
– Escaping the ordinary
– Helping the others

User pains

– Lack of adventure
– Routine
– Solitude

Interests

Skimming stones, noticing details that others don't see, breaking the sugar crust with a teaspoon, turning around in the dark and looking at the faces of other viewers.

joy in simple things

The app helps to find joy in simple things

Amélie sometimes needs help because she is feeling down. The app helps her find interesting activities based on mood or just random activities.

scenario 1

Amélie is bored

Finds an interesting place where there are some things to do

Saves the memory

scenario 2

She feels sad

Finds an activity for her mood

Engages in the activity and feels better

scenario 3

She is out of ideas what to do

Finds something unusual

Receives a new experience

more projects in portfolio:

Group 1

Group 2

Home

The main page.

Craft

Independent work.

Enki

Learning platform with AI.

ShopStory

Patented streaming solution.

2026

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