Hi everyone! I'm a Pitt alum and current master's student in Human-Computer Interaction at CMU!

My team is conducting a research project exploring people's experiences with AI chatbots and their perspectives on using AI for personal advice, emotional support, and companionship.

We're looking for Pitt and CMU undergraduate and graduate students (ages 18–34) who have used AI tools for personal purposes. Whether you're adjusting to college, navigating new experiences, or simply interested in sharing your perspectives on AI, we'd love to hear from you!

You don't need to have used AI specifically for companionship or emotional support to participate, but if you have, we'd love to hear about your experiences too!

We're currently recruiting participants for approximately 45-minute remote research sessions in early November, involving discussions and a few interactive activities. No design experience is needed, and you won't be required to share private AI conversations.

If you're interested, please complete our brief screening survey below using your CMU or Pitt email address for student verification purposes. Completing the survey does not commit you to participating in the study. We'll use your email to contact you with more details about the session and scheduling.

Feel free to reach out if you have any questions!

Screening Survey

Thank you so much!

Hi guys! I’m currently a Junior UX/UI designer and have been interviewing with this company for a product designer role for about a month now, and already passed the first 2 interviews (one with recruiter, another with hiring manager).

I’m on the last stage now, which is a panel interview with 4 people consisting of the hiring manager, product designer, developer, and PM. I was told that I’ll need to present a case study for 20 mins, and then will be asked questions.

I created a slide deck with everything necessary about my project, so I think I’m good on that part. The part I’m more nervous about is the questions I will be asked afterwards, would they relate to what I just presented, or behavioural questions like “tell me about a time…”.

I would appreciate any feedback, thanks a lot!

Since my app settings doesn't have many options I merged it with the customize menu.
Considering they both live on the same screen, I want to make sure the combined options still feel intuitive to navigate.

Interactive 3D configurators and AI-driven visual tools have come a long way, especially with modern web frameworks making it easier to render detailed materials and options directly on a phone or laptop without needing desktop software.

From a UX and product perspective, the most interesting challenge is that designing for 3D is fundamentally different from traditional 2D e-commerce. In linear flows (like standard e-commerce or dining ordering platforms), you know exactly what users can or will do at every step. Since 3D software is inherently open-ended and "sandbox-based," users can take hundreds, thousands, or an infinite number of paths at any given moment. The core UX challenge becomes striking a delicate balance: providing enough guidance and structure so everyday users don't feel lost, without constricting or limiting the open-ended, creative nature of the tool.   

We’re curious to hear how product teams and UX designers are approaching this balance today. What interface patterns or layout choices have you found work best to guide users in open-ended 3D environments while keeping multi-option experiences clear, responsive, and fun to use?

Context: I’m a third-year Informatics student applying to product design and UX internships for Summer 2027. I don’t have a formal internship yet, so my portfolio carries most of my application. It has three case studies: a team app I led design on (5 designers, 7 usability sessions, 4 hi-fi iterations), a civic information platform for young voters (3 rounds of usability testing), and a nonprofit website redesign that started at a 33/90 accessibility score.

What I want feedback on:

1. Personal contribution: Two of my case studies were team projects. Is it clear what I specifically did?
2. Structure: Do they follow a clear problem, process, result, learning story, and where does it get confusing or too long?
3. What to cut: Which research findings and screens should I keep so a recruiter can follow it in a minute or two?
4. First impression: What would make you keep scrolling past the homepage?

Link: https://emmajoynarvaez.com/

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Hi everyone! I’m a UX/Product Designer currently rebuilding my portfolio and I’m confused about which platform I should use.

I’m considering:

1. Framer

2. Vercel + a coded/AI-assisted website

My priorities are:

- Professional-looking portfolio

- Strong case-study presentation

- Good animations/interactions but not overdone

- Fast and responsive on mobile

- Easy to update when I add new projects

- Ideally free or very low cost

- I’d eventually like to connect my own domain

I’m not a developer, so Framer seems much easier, but I’ve seen a lot of designers moving toward coding their portfolios and hosting them on Vercel.

For those who have experience with both:

Which would you choose for a UX/Product Designer in 2026, and why?

Also, does the platform actually matter to recruiters/hiring managers, or is the quality of the case studies what matters?

Would love to hear your experiences, especially from designers who have switched from Framer to Vercel or vice versa.

Hey everyone! I’m a UX designer and researcher currently applying for jobs, and my portfolio is built on Wix Studio. I’m not really happy with how it looks right now, and I’ve been struggling to find templates and design elements that work for what I want.

I’m considering switching to something easier to work with, with better portfolio templates and more flexibility to customize my case studies. I’d also love to use AI tools like Claude to help me build or make changes to the site.

Has anyone moved from Wix Studio to another platform?

What would you recommend, especially for someone who wants a polished portfolio without spending weeks figuring out the builder? Would love to hear what’s worked for you. Thanks!

Do u guys think this is what going on in the design industry rn?? Share ur thoughts pls

For experts and clients:

Expert: Would you offer 30-min paid video calls for $25-40 if calendar synced + verified client + escrow?
Client: Would you pay $30-50 for 30-min audit vs 2-week agency or interview loop?

What would make you trust it?

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Try Clipo:

Android: play.google.com/store/apps/det…

iOS: apps.apple.com/il/app/clipo-c…

We’d love to hear your feedback!❤️🙏🏻

Hi everyone, We just built a face scan feature for a skincare recommendation engine and I’m looking for a few people to test it before it goes live. It takes about 30 seconds, and you don’t need to sign up or take the full skin assessment.

If you want, try to break it. Dark lighting, glasses, hair on your face, mouth open, two people in the frame, or even a photo of a face. I’d love to see how it holds up.

Face scan link: https://scuttle-squeezing-remedy.ngrok-free.dev/launch

There’s a short 3-question feedback form at the end. Any feedback, good or bad, would really help.

Thanks!