Denise H.
All case studiesCase study 02 of 03 · 4 min read
Ideathon winner · Concept, brand & prototypeIdeathon winner

AfterClass

Where students find their team.

A platform that matches students across tech programmes by the role they want to grow in, so they can build real projects before they graduate.

AfterClass landing page on a laptop, surrounded by the four role characters
My role
UX/UI designer & illustrator
Team
4 students · Team Likeable
Event
Drivhuset Ideathon · 2026
Users
University students in tech
Deliverables
Concept, brand, illustrations, clickable prototype, pitch
Tools
Figma, Lovable, Clip Studio Paint
In short
The problemEntry-level jobs ask for experience, but students rarely get to build real projects with people outside their own programme.
What I didResearch, contributed to the branding, drew the four role characters, helped design the UI for the prototype and helped with the pitch presentation.
The outcomeOur team, Likeable, won the Drivhuset Ideathon with AfterClass.
01 — The problem

It's hard to get experience without experience.

Entry-level jobs ask for experience, but most students only build projects inside their own programme, with classmates who have the same skills. A developer rarely gets to work with a designer before their first job, and the other way around.

1 in 4new university graduates have trouble finding a job.

It is also social. Sweden is known as a hard place to make new connections, so finding people to build something with outside class is a barrier of its own.

The brief

At Drivhuset's Ideathon, student teams had a short, intense window to come up with an idea, prototype it and pitch it to a jury. We were four tech students, and the problem we picked was one we knew first-hand. It also ties to the UN's Sustainable Development Goal 8, decent work and economic growth.

Design challengeHow might we help students find teammates across disciplines and build real projects before they graduate?
02 — The idea

Start from the role you want to grow in.

Instead of starting from a degree or a CV, AfterClass starts from a role. You pick what you want experience in, and the platform shows projects that are missing exactly that role. Or you post your own idea and find the people you need.

  1. 1Choose the role you want experience in
  2. 2Find a project that needs you, or start your own
  3. 3Build it together and add it to your portfolio
Four roles
Illustration of the Builder characterBuilderEnjoys development, back-end, front-end or vibe-coding.
Illustration of the Designer characterDesignerShapes how things look, feel and work.
Illustration of the Researcher characterResearcherDigs into users and tests whether ideas hold up.
Illustration of the Strategist characterStrategistPlans, pitches and keeps the project on track.
Every project is built by a mix of different roles. I drew a character for four possible roles in a project. These were just the start, but with the idea to add more later.Every project is built by a mix of different roles. I drew a character for four possible roles, as a start, with the idea to add more later.
First wireframeThe landing page asks two questions: who you are, and whether you want to build your own idea or join someone else's.
Wireframe of the AfterClass landing page with role cards for Researcher, Builder and Designer
03 — Design

A friendly identity for a serious problem.

Part of my contribution was the look and feel: the brand, the characters and the logo. Job hunting is stressful, so we wanted AfterClass to feel welcoming and playful, closer to a student community than a recruitment site.

Moodboard and palette
Moodboard of pink and blue colour palettes and playful web references

I created a moodboard with different colour combinations, and together the group chose this palette: Egyptian blue for trust and pink quartz for warmth, with soft blues and a pale yellow to keep it light.

Egyptian Blue#1B22A6
Truesky Gloxym#9EB3FF
Blue Titmouse#456AFF
Pink Quartz#FFBFEC
Calcareous Sinter#DEEDFF
Spring Heat#FFFCDE
Logo
AfterClass logo variations: two figures forming the letters A and C
Two figures stand side by side and form the A and the C: two students teaming up. It works as a symbol on its own and in light and dark versions.
The prototype
AfterClass landing page on a laptop, surrounded by the four role characters
The landing page with the four characters. The prototype was built in Lovable from our Figma designs.
Project feed with role filter and project cards showing joined and missing roles
Project feed: filter by your role. Cards show who has joined and which roles are still missing.
Team chat for the Green Route project with each member's role shown
Team chat: every member's role is shown at the top, so you know who does what.
04 — Outcome & reflection

We won the Drivhuset Ideathon.

The jury picked AfterClass as the winner. In the pitch we showed value on three levels: students get to innovate together and become industry-ready, companies get access to motivated talent, and universities such as Stockholm University get students with real project experience.

Team Likeable on stage with the jury after winning the Drivhuset Ideathon
The team waiting for the results at the ideathon
Left: Team Likeable on stage after the win. Right: waiting for the results.
What I learned
1We designed mostly from our own experience. Next time I would interview students from other programmes early.
2Starting from a role instead of a CV made the idea easy to explain in a short pitch.
3A clear visual identity and characters made the concept memorable on stage.
If I continued
Interview students across programmes and universities
Test the role matching with real project teams
Explore partnerships with universities such as Stockholm University
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