About the Project
A bit of context: at HIT, the standard for presenting our work is just as high as the standard for the work itself. The presentation is expected to be impressive and polished, something that respects and elevates the project, not something that weakens it.
Across the hallways, colored podiums are present for students to use during their presentations. To secure one, students physically come to campus sometimes a week in advance, tape a note with their name and date, and pray no one takes it or that the note doesn’t fall off. Spod was designed to end this nonsense; bringing presentation prep into 2026 and giving students one less thing to worry about.
Spod was designed as part of a semester project in the Introduction to Interactive Design course, under the guidance of Iris Duani. I've worked on it with 2 good friends of mine and amazing designers on their own right: Noa Kuterman and
Sharon Kisilevich. You're welcome to check their amazing work in their portfolios:
The Problem
As Visual Communication students, we are expected to present our work in the best possible way, using podiums. Meaning, we need to search the building, floor by floor, a podiums that fits our concept by color shape and size, a one that isn't broken or saved by someone else. Until this moment, we written our name and phone number on a note. Did it help? Not always. There was always the fear the podium will be gone until the day of the presentation.
The Research
We've commited a deep user research to see how many of the students have the same worries as us. here are the numbers:
- 70% of students arrive ahead of time physically to campus to check for available podiums
- 60% of students reported running into overload and chaos during submission week due to poor organization.
- 42% of students use a podium more than five times a year.
- 90% of students rated their desire for a podium reservation app at 4 or higher out of 5, with 5 being the strongest interest.
- 40% of students signed up for the newsletter to receive project updates, join the pilot, and get notified when it launches.
The numbers are clear. We've found a real problem that needs solving.
User Interviews & Personas
To get a deeper understanding of the problem, we conducted deep user interviews with 5 students from different departments and years. based on the interviews we created 3 personas that represent the different types of users we are designing for:
Netanel Plank
- 26-year-old student balancing studies, work, and commuting, constantly short on time
- Values strong visual presentation but is frustrated by disorder and unnecessary hassle
- Tends to improvise under pressure when no clear system supports him
- Sensitive to deadline stress and seeks certainty and control
- Wants to focus on creating, not on the logistics.
Marina Milderman
- 24-year-old student juggling studies, work, and a packed weekly schedule
- Highly organized and practical, plans ahead to avoid last-minute stress
- Treats presentation as part of the work, not an afterthought
- Relies on structure and clear systems to manage her time
- Wants a smooth process so she can stay focused on learning and creating
A single place that shows the full podium inventory, with filters so users can quickly find what they need
Icons that show podium material, cable hole availability, and height for fast scanning of key details
The Explore page is available without signup, so users can confirm what they need exists before registering
Signup use college credentials to pull the student’s presentation schedule based on their department and year, without manual input.
Signup happens during the reservation flow, so the podium is saved for the specific student who booked it, and only for them.
Home screen with one place to see all upcoming presentations
Presentations are sorted with those missing a podium first, then by the closest date
Shows how many podiums are still available for the selected presentation
For presentations without a booked podium, the app suggests suitable podiums to reduce unnecessary searching
App reminders, with an option to turn them off, about a week in advance
One place to see all reserved podiums and locate them in the building
AirTag-based tracking for live directions on presentation day
A QR code that shows who reserved the podium and for which date, to prevent someone from taking a podium that’s already claimed.
