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OPTimize

A Milestone Tracker for 2-Year F1 Students

My Role
UX Designer, Web Developer

Project
School Project

Timeline
Sept 2024 - Dec 2024

Tools Used
Figma, VSCode, HTML, CSS, JavaScript, ChatGPT

Overview

Background

OPTimize is a semester-long course project completed within a limited timeframe. The project focuses on solving a real-world problem faced by international students on F1 visas.

User Needs

Through conversations with my friends, I discovered that many of them struggle with managing their OPT process, often feeling overwhelmed by the strict deadlines and complex requirements.

 

Given the tight schedule and the scope of the task, I decided to narrow my focus and tackle the problem through the lens of timeline visualization. This approach allowed me to design a clear, user-friendly solution to help students track their milestones efficiently while addressing their pain points in a manageable way.

Coding Journey

Sketching
sk.png
Coding Process

Faced early challenges with code structure and layout clarity, which impacted usability.

Refactored and iterated on both design and code to enhance UX and readability.

Studied best-practice websites (e.g., Apple) to improve visual hierarchy and navigation.

Reflection

Takeaways

  • Clean code matters – Clear structure makes debugging and updates much easier, especially as projects grow.

  • Learn from great design – Studying well-built websites helped me improve layout, hierarchy, and UX.

  • Embrace iteration – No design is perfect at first; feedback and continuous refinement are key.

  • Design & dev are connected – Coding the design deepened my understanding of usability and interaction.

  • Stay persistent – Despite challenges, consistent effort helped me turn ideas into reality.

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