Case study
Learn, Earn & Grow with Academic Peer Power
Project Overview
In today’s college environment, many students struggle to ask doubts in class or approach faculty for help — they feel more comfortable learning from peers, especially from topper friends who explain things in a relatable way. But not every student has that support system. Some want to study from toppers in other universities. Others just want a safe space to clarify doubts without judgment.
VidNio was created to solve this — a platform where students can connect beyond their own campus, access trusted notes from toppers, and clarify academic doubts inside subject-based communities. Students who excel can share their knowledge and earn, while others can learn in a way that feels more human and approachable.
This case study explores how I designed VidNio as a verified, student-first platform that blends peer support, academic resource sharing, and ethical monetization — all without ads or noise.
The Problem
Students often feel uncomfortable asking doubts to professors, especially in large or formal classrooms.
Many learners rely on their topper friends' notes — but can’t always access them when needed.
There's no trusted, student-focused platform where learners can connect with toppers from other universities, access their notes, or get doubts clarified in a casual, respectful way.
Creators of notes have no way to earn or protect their work from being copied or shared freely.
My Role
UX Designer & Researcher
Project Duration
1 Week
The Goal
Build a platform where students can connect beyond colleges, ask doubts, and share academic resources freely and safely.
Allow students to monetize their notes, while protecting their content from misuse.
Make learning more approachable, peer-driven, and flexible by enabling subject-based and university-based communities.
Support ethical academic collaboration without relying on ads or unverified uploads.
Responsibilities
Conducting user interviews and surveys
Synthesizing insights into personas and problem statements
Creating user journey maps and task flows
Designing wireframes, mockups, and prototypes
Conducting usability testing and applying feedback
Ensuring accessibility and responsiveness
Understanding the user
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User Research
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Personas
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Problem Statement
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User Journey Map
User Research
Summary
User Research
To understand student behavior and their academic needs, I conducted interviews with students from different colleges and streams, including engineering, arts, and science. Initially, I assumed students just wanted better access to study material. However, the research revealed something deeper: many students felt hesitant to ask doubts to faculty and relied more on peer learning — especially from topper friends. They also expressed interest in accessing notes from toppers in other colleges, and earning through their own notes.
These insights shifted the product direction from being just a note-sharing app to a peer-powered academic ecosystem that emphasizes connection, comfort, and trust among students — not just content access.
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Pain Points
Hesitation to ask doubts to faculty
No trusted platform to find legit notes
Fear of content being copied or stolen
No direct way to earn from academic work
Verified profiles, ratings, previews, reviews
10% preview, watermarking, view-only access
Upload + custom pricing, profile ratings
Community feature with student-based help
Personas
Students often struggle to find reliable, updated, and subject-specific notes, especially during exam crunch time. At the same time, many academically strong students put in the effort to create excellent resources — but lack a platform to share them safely or profitably. Existing solutions are fragmented, ad-heavy, and lack verification, leading to copying, misuse, and trust issues.
Problem Statement
Buying Notes
User Journey Map
Selling Notes
Key Features
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Upload & price your own notes
Preview-only access with watermark
View-only access for purchased notes
Student verification through APAAR ID
Community forums by subject or college
Voting system for doubts
Sales dashboard for note creators
Starting the Design
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Sitemap
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Paper wireframes
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Low-fidelity prototype
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High-fidelity prototype
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Accessibility considerations
Sitemap
Paper Wireframes
Low Fidelity Prototype
Sign In and Sign Up
Profile-Homepage-Buy Notes
Upload Notes-Profile
High Fidelity Prototype
Community
Mockup
Usability Testing Insights
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Students wanted more clarity before uploading → added ownership declaration
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Some buyers wanted to download → clarified with view-only notices
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Users enjoyed community voting → highlighted popular questions with upvote count
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Seller dashboard was appreciated → made top-selling notes visible
Accessibility considerations
Accessibility considerations
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Used high-contrast color schemes for readability
Used high-contrast color schemes for readability
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Enabled voice search and screen reader support
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Ensured all interactive elements are large and touch-friendly
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Designed with minimal steps per task to reduce cognitive load
Going forward
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Takeaways
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Next steps
Takeaways
Impact
Helped students monetize their learning efforts
Created a trusted, ad-free academic space
Made student-to-student help easier and safer
What I learned
Trust is as important as usability
Protecting creators builds long-term community
UX needs to balance freedom with structure
