Start with empathy. Build with clarity. Design for trust.
The approach
1. Rapid Discovery
- Led interviews with HR leaders, learning and development experts, and employees across sectors
- Mapped current experience journeys showing friction in planning, reviews and progression
2. Strategic Framing
Synthesised findings into three opportunity areas:
- Giving employees more control and clarity
- Making skills both visible and credible
- Aligning development with business needs
3. Concept Exploration
Created early prototypes around key ideas:
Skills Graph: An interactive map of AI-recognised and verified skills
Smart Pathways: Adaptive career paths aligned to business needs
Skill Wallet: A portable, user-owned skills record backed by blockchain
Key insights from early testing:
- High engagement with personal skill ownership
- Interest in AI-powered guidance that felt like mentorship
- Initial mistrust around verification, which we addressed with full transparency and opt-in control