Overview

May 10, 2021 - September 10, 2021 (18 weeks)

Harmony Venture Labs @ Birmingham, Alabama

UX Research & Design Intern


HVL

At Harmony Venture Labs (HVL), our belief is that technology platforms can and should be used to benefit people and their communities and that new venture creation is a powerful vehicle to deliver those benefits. We are drawn to big ideas and to founders who are bold enough to bring their ideas to life.

Founded in 2020, Harmony Venture Labs is a venture studio and venture equity firm that builds, acquires, and advises SaaS and digital platforms. We champion consistent growth through concerted effort. Our goal is to help companies, advisory clients and our employees navigate the startup world and each stage with intentional momentum toward a desired outcome.

My Experience at HVL

At HVL, I had the opportunity to work in both the studio and advisory teams, where I was able to work on and observe many different aspects like mockup design, graphic design, web design, and UX research. As a part of the studio team, I worked on an internal studio project from its early stages to its launch. The studio project launched as Wellnest, a platform that connects unused gym spaces to service providers.

External Impacts


Design
  • Social media graphics (Twitter & LinkedIn)
  • Studio advertisement graphics
  • Mockups that were used in Wellnest
Web Design

Internal Impacts


UX Research
  • Researched and edited for a UX Design Audit
  • Researched best practices and processes for design-to-dev handoff
  • Researched markets and personas for potential internal studio ideas
  • Researched existing competitors of studio projects
  • Tested Wellnest for bugs and user experience
Design
  • Created Slack logo for HVL and portfolio companies
  • Assisted in Wellnest design reviews
  • Created wiredrames and mockups for Wellnest (would have external impact after launch)
Other
  • Participated in designer candidate interviews
  • Participated in impact mapping/mind mapping sessions
  • Participated in team that studied problem spaces of potential studio ideas

Reflection

As a part of the HVL design team, I learned a lot about best UX design practices and processes from my mentor and teammates. I also got the opportunity to see the process in bringing studio projects to life, from start to end.

Thank you to everyone in the HVL team for a great internship experience! I’d also like to thank my mentor Kayla for guiding and teaching me during these 4 months. If you’d like to hear more about my time at HVL, I’d love to talk!