A service concept and mobile app designed to support international students during their first weeks in Finland — centralizing practical guidance, local discovery, and peer support.
Product DesignService ConceptFigmaUX ResearchCo-creation
RoleUI/UX Designer, Product Designer
TimelineOct – Dec 2025
ToolsFigma, Whiteboard
TypeGroup Project
App Screens
Three core flows — the Home checklist for first-week tasks, the Events discovery screen, and the Support Hub with guides and FAQs — each designed to reduce friction during the settling-in process.
Home — First Week Checklist
Events Discovery
Support Hub & FAQs
The Problem
Not a lack of information — a lack of clarity, order, and emotional support.
"Students rely heavily on peers and tutors, creating stress during their first weeks."
International students moving to Finland face a complex and fragmented settling-in process. Essential tasks — university registration, DVV appointments, bank account setup, transportation, housing — all happen at the same time, with limited step-by-step guidance.
Most information is scattered across university websites, emails, social media groups, and word-of-mouth.
Research & Synthesis
Research used a qualitative, user-centered approach. Semi-structured interviews explored early settling-in experiences, practical challenges, emotional stress, and how students currently find support. A co-creation workshop was organised with recently arrived international students.
Bureaucracy overload — multiple official tasks (DVV, banking, SIM) happen simultaneously with no clear order.
Finnish-only documents and interfaces create confusion for non-Finnish speakers.
Social isolation hits hardest in the first weeks — students feel disconnected before they find their community.
Information is scattered — students switch between university portals, WhatsApp groups, and tutors to get answers.
Information Architecture
The sitemap maps the four core pillars of MyTown — Discover, Student Life & Events, Help, and Support Hub — organised around the user's natural settling-in journey.
Design Process
01 — Co-creation Workshop
We co-hosted a workshop with recently arrived international students. Participants individually documented challenges, successes, and unmet needs — then collaboratively performed affinity mapping within the session itself.
02 — Defining the Service Concept
Four pillars emerged from research: The Roadmaps (step-by-step task guides), Discovery Map (essentials around campus), Student Life (events and clubs), and Support Hub (mentor chat, AI FAQ, emergency info).
03 — Wireframes to High-Fidelity
We moved from low-fidelity flows to a complete design system in Figma — including a full color token library, button system, form controls, and component states.
04 — Heuristic Evaluation
The prototype was reviewed using heuristic evaluation and cognitive walkthroughs. This helped simplify the onboarding flow and clarify the first-week checklist priority order.
Design System
A complete design system was built in Figma — color tokens, button variants, form controls, and icon libraries — ensuring consistency across all screens and states.
Color System
Button System
Form Controls
The Four Pillars
The Roadmaps
Step-by-step task guides: Arrival → DVV → Bank → SIM
Discovery Map
University, groceries, student lunch, essentials nearby
Student Life
Events, clubs, community connections
Support Hub
Mentor chat, AI FAQ, settling guides, emergency info
Reflection
This project changed how I think about design beyond interfaces. Coming from a computer science background, I initially approached the problem with a solution-first mindset. Through this course, I learned to slow down and focus on understanding why users struggle before designing features.
One key learning was the value of asking deeper questions. Students mentioned Google Maps and Telegram, but interviews revealed these choices were driven by trust and peer recommendations — helping us avoid designing unnecessary replacements.