Case study · FIRST 30
Designing for the first thirty days.
Research → insight → product. How FIRST 30 went from a hard month to a calm daily screen.
- Role
- Product, UX research, interaction and visual design
- Scope
- Milan, Italy
01 — Intro
FIRST 30
A digital onboarding system for international students. Designed for students arriving in Milan.
02 — Context
Moving to another country is exciting. The first month isn’t.
Arrival is a long list of different tasks: housing, registration, banking, insurance, transport and academic onboarding, all at once and in a language you are still learning.
03 — Problem
The information exists. It is just everywhere.
University pages, government portals, forums, group chats and advice from friends each hold a piece. None of them says what to do first.
04 — Research
What makes the first month difficult?
Aviora’s earlier research with more than 150 students, followed by interviews about the first weeks after arrival. The answers were grouped into an affinity map.
- — What was the first thing you did after arriving?
- — What information was difficult to find?
- — What did you ask other students?
- — What took longer than expected?
- — What do you wish someone had told you?
Information
- Too many sources
- Outdated forum threads
Administration
- Which office first?
- Forms only in Italian
Money
- Can’t open a bank account yet
- Deposit surprises
Navigation
- Which ticket to buy
- Where the office actually is
Social
- Asking other students
- Group chats as a manual
Emotional
- Feeling behind
- Fear of missing a deadline
05 — Insights
Four findings
Each finding became a constraint for the product.
Finding 1
Students don’t lack information. They lack prioritization.
Finding 2
Official university information is useful but fragmented.
Finding 3
Students rely heavily on other students for how things actually work.
Finding 4
The first week contains many tasks with hidden dependencies.
06 — Opportunity
How might we help students understand what to do next, rather than simply giving them more information?
The product is not a guide. It is a sequence.
07 — Ideation
From many ideas to one daily screen
Checklists, chatbots, city wikis, buddy systems and calendars were all explored. The strongest idea was the simplest: a short list for today that changes tomorrow.
08 — Information architecture
Five places, one question each
Today: what now? Timeline: what is coming? Task: how exactly? Map: where? Budget: how much?
Today
What now?
Timeline
What is coming?
Task
How exactly?
Map
Where?
Budget
How much?
09 — User flow
Arrival → onboarding → dashboard → task → completion
Three questions on the first visit. Every visit after that opens on today’s plan.
- Arrival
- Onboarding
- Dashboard
- Task
- Completion
10 — Wireframes
Grey boxes first
Early versions showed every task at once, grouped by category. It looked complete and felt overwhelming.
11 — Visual design
Calm on purpose
Olive, linen and cotton from the Aviora palette. An editorial serif for moments, a clear sans for actions. Colour is used for priority only.
Cotton
#F2F3ED
Egg Shell
#EDE7DB
Linen
#DDCCB7
Olive
#9B9879
Forest
#4C513A
Cedar
#292728
12 — Prototype
A working product, not a mockup
The prototype is this website. Try it: tell it when you arrive and it builds your month.
Day 07/30
You’re officially here.
Your priorities
Residence registration
60 min · Important
Do first
Student ID
20 min · University
Next
Find a supermarket
10 min · Nearby
When you can
You might also need
- Get an ATM transport pass
- Sort out healthcare
- Open a bank account
From students
“Don’t try to do everything on your first day.”
13 — Usability testing
“You have just arrived in Milan. Find out what you need to do today.”
Five students, one task, observed without help. The goal: see where they hesitate, not whether they finish.
14 — Iteration
Before: 9 different actions. After: 3 priorities.
Everything else moved one level down, still reachable, no longer competing for attention.
Before · 9
- Get codice fiscale
- Permit kit
- SIM card
- Bank account
- Health insurance
- Student ID
- Transport pass
- Find housing documents
- Join a student group
After · 3
- Residence registration
- Student ID
- Find a supermarket
15 — Final product
Know what to do next.
Milan first. The tasks live in data, so another city is a new file, not a new interface.
The concept can later scale to Rome, Bologna and other student cities.
16 — Reflection
What I learned about designing for uncertainty
People under stress do not need more options. They need permission to ignore most of them today.