Project Type:
UX Concept, Product Design, User Research
Role:
UX Designer (Research, Strategy, Design, Prototyping)
Tools:
Figma, Miro, Notion, Google Forms
Deliverables:
Personas, Research Summary, IA, Wireframes, Mid-Fi Prototypes
đź’ˇ Project Overview
In a rapidly evolving job market, LinkedIn users are seeking ways to present themselves differently to recruiters and their professional network. Our solution—Dual Profiles—enables audience-specific customization and visibility control, empowering users to control their professional image without compromising privacy.
🔍 The Problem
LinkedIn users currently face difficulty tailoring their profile content for different audiences, particularly when job hunting discreetly. Without granular visibility or separate profiles, they feel exposed and hesitant to engage openly.
🎯 Project Goals
• Create an intuitive way for users to toggle between recruiter and public-facing profiles
• Offer granular visibility controls per profile section
• Reduce friction and anxiety around job hunting
• Improve user engagement and comfort within the platform
đź’¬ User Research
User Interviews:
‍We interviewed 5 users across tech and creative industries to understand pain points around privacy, visibility, and self-presentation on LinkedIn.
Sample Research Questions:
• How do you currently customize your profile for recruiters vs. the public?
• What challenges do you face in tailoring your profile for different audiences?
• What features would you prioritize in a solution for profile customization?
“I wish I could connect with recruiters privately, without my boss seeing every move.”
“Even minor updates on my LinkedIn feel risky—it’s like announcing I'm job hunting.”
“I just want a way to manage my career that doesn’t feel like a broadcast.”
🧠05. Empathy Map
A breakdown of one persona’s experience while job searching on LinkedIn:
đź‘© Persona: Sarah Thompson
“Success is not just about climbing the ladder; it’s about finding fulfillment.”
Age: 32 | Role: Marketing Manager | Location: San Francisco
‍
Bio: Sarah is a high-achieving marketing manager at a tech startup. She's constantly networking and refining her brand, but job-hunting while employed makes her feel vulnerable.
Goals: Advance career, Build strong digital presence, Expand marketing skills, Balance ambition and personal fulfillment
Pain Points: Privacy concerns, Limited visibility control, Difficulty navigating career transitions discreetly
đź“Š Competitive Audit: Audience Filtering & Profile Personalization
This project reinforced how creative direction and UX design go hand in hand—especially when telling a new story to a new market. I learned the importance of designing for both form and function, and how strong visual strategy can elevate product trust and brand memorability.
Platform
Profile Personalization
Audience
Filtering / Control
Key Takeaway
LinkedIn
Facebook
Instagram
Twitter / X
Behance / Dribbble
❌
⚠️
Opportunity to introduce audience-based profiles
âś…
âś…
âś…
Inspires granular section-level privacy settings
⚠️
âś…
âś…
Shows value of mode-switching for audience context
âś…
❌
Reinforces real-time audience toggling
Supports curated experiences for specific viewers
🧩 Insights
From both user interviews and competitor analysis, three key insights emerged:
‍
• Users need separate spaces to manage recruiter interactions and public presence
• Trust and comfort increase with granular control over visibility
• No platform offers real-time toggling between audience-specific profiles
✏️ Ideation & Early Concepts
After synthesizing research, I began ideating ways to solve for LinkedIn users' dual needs: privacy and visibility. I explored how we might allow users to maintain a single profile structure while customizing its view for different audiences. I sketched key interactions and interface concepts:
‍
• A toggle that allows real-time switching between recruiter and public profiles
• Visual cues to indicate which profile is currently active
• A setup flow to guide users through which sections appear where
• Personalization templates based on career stage or industry
🧱 Information Architecture & User Flows
To support the new feature, I updated LinkedIn’s existing profile IA to introduce parallel paths for recruiter vs. public views, without disrupting current workflows.
🧪 Wireframes & Mid-Fidelity Prototypes
Once the flows were validated, I created wireframes in Figma to test how dual profiles might live within LinkedIn’s ecosystem. I prioritized mobile-first design, ensuring accessibility and clarity on smaller screens.
🧱 Hi-Fidelity Prototypes & User Flows
To support the new feature, I updated LinkedIn’s existing profile IA to introduce parallel paths for recruiter vs. public views, without disrupting current workflows.
🧠Key Takeaways
This project reminded me how complex simplicity can be. The dual-profile concept needed to feel seamless and intuitive, yet under the hood, it had to accommodate deep customization. Designing for privacy without creating barriers was a balancing act.
I learned the value of trust-driven UX—when users feel in control of their visibility, they engage more authentically. Merging research, ideation, and thoughtful structure helped deliver a solution that puts users' emotional safety and career aspirations at the forefront.
Skills Honed: Privacy-first UX strategy, Design thinking and iteration, Stakeholder storytelling and validation, Information architecture & mobile-first design
