Gradify

Reimagine the Education-to-Employment Path for International ixD Students.

Yanshan (Vanessa) Huang

Gradify turns invisible skills into visible strengths—helping international talent stay, grow, and thrive.

How might we better support international UX students in building real-world readiness, so they can confidently enter the workforce and companies can hire based on capability, not just credentials?

I was driven to close the gap between academic training and industry expectations by designing tools that foster business thinking, cross-functional thinking, self-discovery, and community-rooted job exploration.

"In school, the focus seems to be primarily on analyzing and identifying user needs, conducting user research, and so on. However, in a company, since it’s ultimately a capitalist market, any product you design will have a commercial purpose. So, from the perspective of business goals and the company’s overall strategy” - Big Tech Senior Designer

For international students in the U.S., transitioning from school to work can be tough. High study costs make landing a job essential, yet fewer H-1B sponsors and a 60-day visa limit create intense pressure.

Beyond visas, many face a skill gap: 50%  feel unprepared for real jobs, while 70% of companies say grads lack training to integrate into teams. Interviews with hiring managers revealed a consistent message—companies prioritize industry-level craft, data-driven thinking, business sense, and collaboration. However, traditional education often lacks real-world pressures and cross-functional simulation.

The final design includes three interconnected interventions:

  • Gradify Cards — Builds Industry Basic Skills Through Actions (MVP) 
    8 physical cards with 8 micro-challenges (e.g., hypothesis writing, A/B testing, design for sales, and prioritizing design trade-offs for commercial impact) are designed to help students build essential industry-required skills earlier, especially business thinking skills.

  • Gradify Mirror — is a self-discovery and behavioral signal web-based platform that transforms real behavioral performance via real-world challenges into career signals employers can trust.
    A self-discovery website that helps students identify in-demand skills across various industries, develop those skills through guided projects with professional feedback and specific company AI agents, highlight their strengths, and unlock potential career paths through personalized career growth reports.

  • Gradify Signal Mapping Wall  — Reveals True Job Offer Paths Beyond the Algorithm
    A physical, interactive storytelling wall invites students to explore diverse paths to employment—through real stories grounded in trust, community, and authentic connection. Visitors are encouraged to share their own successful job-hunting experiences and add personal “trust signal stories” to the wall. As more stories accumulate, the wall transforms into a living archive of reflections and fresh inspiration, challenging conventional ideas of how hiring can happen.

Yanshan (Vanessa) Huang

Yanshan (Vanessa) specializes in service design, UX strategy, and UX/UI design. She drives innovative, data-driven solutions and leads cross-functional teams to deliver high-impact results across multiple companies.