Branch Out

Role
Product Designer, UX Strategist, Content Designer

Timeline
2026 - Present

Overview
Branch Out is a concept platform designed to help students build community and belonging through personalized recommendations, behavioral design, and guided engagement experiences.

Challenge
Students often struggle with participation, not awareness. Existing platforms provide information but do little to help students take action.

Approach
Designed a behavior-change platform focused on reducing activation barriers through personalization, small-win experiences, and a digital companion that guides students toward meaningful community engagement. Created the product's visual identity, including Buddy, a custom character system designed to make the experience feel more approachable, supportive, and emotionally engaging.

Impact

  • Created an original product concept, brand, and design system centered on student belonging and community engagement

  • Designed a personalized engagement model focused on action rather than information

  • Applied behavioral design principles to support confidence, participation, and habit formation

  • Developed a character-driven experience that increased approachability and emotional connection

  • Explored new approaches to fostering belonging through digital experiences and community-building tools

Key Takeaway
Technology cannot create belonging, but it can create conditions that make connection more likely.

Next

Willo