Lio Ponce Pangilinan

U CONNECT, 2023

Upon graduating from university, students can have difficulty securing their first full-time job and transitioning to the workforce; thus, ‘U CONNECT,’ was created. Delivered as a mobile mentorship app, this major project aims to ease the transition university graduates experience as they enter the workforce. Giving graduates the opportunity to connect with professional mentors, they can gain insight into their chosen industry, build their network and connections, practise their interview skills, connect with other graduates, and get the guidance they need as they take that next step.

Specialising in both interaction and graphic design, Lio Pangilinan strives to create designs that are user-centered, long lasting, and above all, simple. Strongly influenced by Dieter Rams’ 10 principles of Good Design, he creates and iterates his designs with an empathy-driven approach. Informing every aspect of his work, from the prototyping, to the colour and graphics, this ensures he is keeping the target audience in mind and doesn’t stray away from the primary purpose of his designs. He also aims to reach as wide an audience as possible thus, he uses his skills in interaction and graphic design, along with his first-hand industry experience interning with a design agency, to form a bridge between functionality and aesthetics. Thus, delivering a meaningful, user-centered and visually appealing design outcome.