Have you ever wanted to learn a specific skill but didn’t know where to start or begin and got lost in the process, not knowing what to do next? Introducing SkillMate, an app for skill exchange, where you’ll have friends’ assistance for every obstacle you encounter.

First, I began researching similar or competing applications. I asked Chat GPT to list a few applications, and it provided the following:

SkillShare

Tandem

Simbi

BarterWeek

Local Facebook Groups

Next Door

From the listed applications, Simbi is the only one that specifically focuses on skill exchange. That’s why I continued my research on Medium.

On Medium, I was looking for case studies, but I mostly came across SkillShare redesigns. Then I stumbled upon a headline “Top 15 Skill Sharing Platforms,” but most of them were course platforms.

When encountering new things we’re learning, we can often face many obstacles and questions, but we have no one to turn to, or we feel hesitant because we’re not offering anything in return, or we want a mentor but it can be extremely expensive.

The price of the knowledge you receive is paid with the knowledge you provide.

This way, no one will hesitate to ask for advice, assistance, or explanations. Furthermore, both parties will find it engaging, and it can lead to building meaningful friendships.

For the moodboard, I’ve selected a few applications:

1. SkillShare

✔️ A very attractive UI, a good application with both free and paid courses.

❌ Not all SkillShare courses might have mentors or a dedicated system for reciprocal knowledge exchange. This could limit the ability to freely ask for advice and assistance within the platform.

2. Simbi

✔️ It’s free.

❌ There are too many unnecessary sections. Although it’s free in terms of not requiring monetary payment, you have to complete specific tasks to earn Simbi currency, which you can use to pay other users depending on their demands. Additionally, the initial user experience can be confusing, potentially leading users to give up using the app.

3. Tandem

✔️ Easy to use, clear cards, and there’s a sentence to encourage each other to communicate.

❌ It’s only for learning languages.

4. Clascity

✔️ Easy to navigate. UI is clear and nice.

❌ There are no recommended skills so you have to already have in mind what do you want to learn. Also when you search if there’s no one nearby, you have to go through the map to find someone.

Meet Emily Turner and Nathan Mitchell, two vibrant and enthusiastic individuals brimming with energy and a fervent appetite for learning

Colors and fonts have a significant impact on the emotions and atmosphere that an application conveys.

My goal is for the user to feel relaxed, motivated, and to have the sense that they will have fun when they access the application.

The choice of the orange color is deliberate because it evokes feelings of fun, creativity, energy, and a friendly atmosphere. This way, users will be more motivated to learn and won’t hesitate to start a conversation.

I haven’t used the secondary color so much, but I chose it because it symbolizes education, intellect, as well as positivity.

I didn’t use pure white for the background to make it easier on the eyes when user look at the screen.

I didn’t use pure black for the font to make it easier on the eyes when user look at the text, just like with background.

Now let’s go to the final design.

We created account and now we are on home page — the beginning of user journey.

I will divide this section into two smaller parts, one for the Main Home Page and the other for the SkillMate section.

1. Main Home Page

We have a section where the user selects the industry they want to learn about (Design, Tech, Music, etc.). Additionally, there’s a button to choose the category within the industry for quick discovery of a compatible SkillMate and exploration.

2. SkillMate Page

In this section, the user will get to know the person with whom they potentially want to exchange skills better. The user will discover the specific skills that a person possesses, the skills they want to learn, their background, a brief biography, and they can also view some projects and reviews.

This way, the user will feel more secure in choosing their SkillMate, based on all the previously mentioned information, they can approximately gauge someone’s expertise in what they do.

These are some extraordinary skills that may captivate users interest.

By highlighting intriguing skills, we give users the opportunity to learn something unique and have fun. Users may never have thought of learning such skills, and they can be pleasantly surprised and excited to explore them.

This is where all the magic happens.

After the user finds their SkillMate with whom they want to exchange skills, the next step is communication. It’s quite simple — they communicate through messages and video calls. Additionally, there’s an option to record the call so that the user can always revisit the lesson at any time, even after a few years.

Knowledge is the greatest treasure and power we possess, and no one can take it away from us. However, learning can sometimes be boring and challenging, leading to easy discouragement. Learning with someone and alongside someone is always more engaging than doing it alone, especially when we witness our progress, which leads to excitement and fuels us with more energy and motivation for further learning. The problem has been successfully solved.