WORKATO · AI RESEARCH + PRODUCT MANAGEMENT + DESIGN

Designing an AI-Powered Academic Companion That Reduces Cognitive Load

Designing an AI-Powered Academic Companion That Reduces Cognitive Load

Designing an AI-Powered Academic Companion That Reduces Cognitive Load

Priorio

Priorio

Priorio

OVERVIEW

OVERVIEW

OVERVIEW

Priorio is an AI-powered academic productivity platform designed to help university students manage information overload across multiple apps and systems. Our team discovered that students currently lack a centralized system, which often leads to difficulty in prioritizing and organizing assignments, announcements, calendars, documents, and communications across several platforms. Priorio addresses this problem by centralizing academic information and leveraging AI to help students organize tasks, prioritize responsibilities, and plan their schedules more effectively.

Priorio is an AI-powered academic productivity platform designed to help university students manage information overload across multiple apps and systems. Our team discovered that students currently lack a centralized system, which often leads to difficulty in prioritizing and organizing assignments, announcements, calendars, documents, and communications across several platforms. Priorio addresses this problem by centralizing academic information and leveraging AI to help students organize tasks, prioritize responsibilities, and plan their schedules more effectively.

Priorio is an AI-powered academic productivity platform designed to help university students manage information overload across multiple apps and systems. Our team discovered that students currently lack a centralized system, which often leads to difficulty in prioritizing and organizing assignments, announcements, calendars, documents, and communications across several platforms. Priorio addresses this problem by centralizing academic information and leveraging AI to help students organize tasks, prioritize responsibilities, and plan their schedules more effectively.

DEMO LINK —>

GITHUB LINK —>

ROLE

Project Manager, UX Designer

TEAM

Ben N., Jessica W., Kazuma I., Yuki Z.

DURATION

10 Months (2025.09- 2026.05)

SOFTWARE

Figma • Workato • Canvas API • Google Calendar API • Claude MCP

AT A GLANCE

PROBLEM

Students manage assignments in Canvas, schedules in Google Calendar, announcements through email, and personal tasks using separate productivity apps. Every additional platform increases the cognitive effort required to stay organized. Rather than helping students study more, many existing planning tools simply create another place where information must be manually entered and maintained.

Students manage assignments in Canvas, schedules in Google Calendar, announcements through email, and personal tasks using separate productivity apps. Every additional platform increases the cognitive effort required to stay organized. Rather than helping students study more, many existing planning tools simply create another place where information must be manually entered and maintained.

Students manage assignments in Canvas, schedules in Google Calendar, announcements through email, and personal tasks using separate productivity apps. Every additional platform increases the cognitive effort required to stay organized. Rather than helping students study more, many existing planning tools simply create another place where information must be manually entered and maintained.

CHALLENGE

Conduct user research, design AI-assisted planning experiences, and partner with Workato to explore workflow automation within a unified dashboard.

Conduct user research, design AI-assisted planning experiences, and partner with Workato to explore workflow automation within a unified dashboard.

Conduct user research, design AI-assisted planning experiences, and partner with Workato to explore workflow automation within a unified dashboard.

OUTCOME

An AI-powered planner that centralizes coursework, schedules, announcements, and personalized study support.


A research-driven concept demonstrating how AI can reduce planning friction while keeping students in control of their decisions.

An AI-powered planner that centralizes coursework, schedules, announcements, and personalized study support.


A research-driven concept demonstrating how AI can reduce planning friction while keeping students in control of their decisions.

An AI-powered planner that centralizes coursework, schedules, announcements, and personalized study support.


A research-driven concept demonstrating how AI can reduce planning friction while keeping students in control of their decisions.

FINAL DESIGN

PART 1 TEXTURE MAKER

FULL DEMO

ONBOARDING DASHBOARD

AI CHAT AGENT

RESEARCH

CONTEXT

Why This Project Matters

  1. Academic planning has become increasingly fragmented.

  2. Students manage assignments in Canvas, schedules in Google Calendar, announcements through email, and personal tasks using separate productivity apps. Every additional platform increases the cognitive effort required to stay organized.

  3. Rather than helping students study more, many existing planning tools simply create another place where information must be manually entered and maintained.

QUESTION

How might AI reduce the mental effort of managing school without taking control away from students?

How might AI reduce the mental effort of managing school without taking control away from students?

How might AI reduce the mental effort of managing school without taking control away from students?

METHODS

How might AI reduce the mental effort of managing school without taking control away from students?

How might AI reduce the mental effort of managing school without taking control away from students?

How might AI reduce the mental effort of managing school without taking control away from students?

User interviews

Competitive analysis

Journey mapping

Task flow analysis

Literature review

KEY FINDINGS

Why This Project Matters

  1. Academic planning has become increasingly fragmented.

  2. Students manage assignments in Canvas, schedules in Google Calendar, announcements through email, and personal tasks using separate productivity apps. Every additional platform increases the cognitive effort required to stay organized.

  3. Rather than helping students study more, many existing planning tools simply create another place where information must be manually entered and maintained.

KEY FINDINGS

Students manage assignments in Canvas, schedules in Google Calendar, announcements through email, and personal tasks using separate productivity apps. Every additional platform increases the cognitive effort required to stay organized. Rather than helping students study more, many existing planning tools simply create another place where information must be manually entered and maintained.

Students manage assignments in Canvas, schedules in Google Calendar, announcements through email, and personal tasks using separate productivity apps. Every additional platform increases the cognitive effort required to stay organized. Rather than helping students study more, many existing planning tools simply create another place where information must be manually entered and maintained.

Students manage assignments in Canvas, schedules in Google Calendar, announcements through email, and personal tasks using separate productivity apps. Every additional platform increases the cognitive effort required to stay organized. Rather than helping students study more, many existing planning tools simply create another place where information must be manually entered and maintained.

KEY FINDINGS

Students manage assignments in Canvas, schedules in Google Calendar, announcements through email, and personal tasks using separate productivity apps. Every additional platform increases the cognitive effort required to stay organized. Rather than helping students study more, many existing planning tools simply create another place where information must be manually entered and maintained.

Students manage assignments in Canvas, schedules in Google Calendar, announcements through email, and personal tasks using separate productivity apps. Every additional platform increases the cognitive effort required to stay organized. Rather than helping students study more, many existing planning tools simply create another place where information must be manually entered and maintained.

Students manage assignments in Canvas, schedules in Google Calendar, announcements through email, and personal tasks using separate productivity apps. Every additional platform increases the cognitive effort required to stay organized. Rather than helping students study more, many existing planning tools simply create another place where information must be manually entered and maintained.

KEY FINDINGS

Students manage assignments in Canvas, schedules in Google Calendar, announcements through email, and personal tasks using separate productivity apps. Every additional platform increases the cognitive effort required to stay organized. Rather than helping students study more, many existing planning tools simply create another place where information must be manually entered and maintained.

Students manage assignments in Canvas, schedules in Google Calendar, announcements through email, and personal tasks using separate productivity apps. Every additional platform increases the cognitive effort required to stay organized. Rather than helping students study more, many existing planning tools simply create another place where information must be manually entered and maintained.

Students manage assignments in Canvas, schedules in Google Calendar, announcements through email, and personal tasks using separate productivity apps. Every additional platform increases the cognitive effort required to stay organized. Rather than helping students study more, many existing planning tools simply create another place where information must be manually entered and maintained.

RESEARCH

As Project Manager, I coordinated the collaboration between the iJournal executive and design team and Web Impact developers to transform the site into a scalable web app. We implemented a scalable content management workflow using Sanity CMS, enabled easier publishing, integrated reader engagement features like comments, and improved the user experience through an embedded PDF reader with page-flipping interactions.

As Project Manager, I coordinated the collaboration between the iJournal executive and design team and Web Impact developers to transform the site into a scalable web app. We implemented a scalable content management workflow using Sanity CMS, enabled easier publishing, integrated reader engagement features like comments, and improved the user experience through an embedded PDF reader with page-flipping interactions.

As Project Manager, I coordinated the collaboration between the iJournal executive and design team and Web Impact developers to transform the site into a scalable web app. We implemented a scalable content management workflow using Sanity CMS, enabled easier publishing, integrated reader engagement features like comments, and improved the user experience through an embedded PDF reader with page-flipping interactions.

OUTCOME

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES

The project was recognized with the Best Overall Award, reflecting the successful collaboration between the client and development team.

01.

Priorio demonstrates how thoughtful AI integration can simplify complex workflows without sacrificing transparency or user agency.

02.

By grounding every design decision in research and focusing AI on moments of genuine need, we created a concept that emphasizes trust, personalization, and cognitive support over novelty.

03.

More importantly, the project reinforced a product philosophy that continues to guide my work:

04.

The best AI experiences don't replace human decision-making—they make better decisions feel easier.

The best AI experiences don’t replace human decision-making—they make better decisions feel easier.

NEXT STEPS

REFLECTION

Designing Priorio fundamentally changed how I think about AI products.

Throughout the project, I learned that effective AI experiences are defined as much by restraint as capability. The most valuable interactions were often those that quietly reduced complexity without interrupting the user's existing workflow. Working alongside Workato also expanded my understanding of product ecosystems. Rather than viewing integrations as isolated technical features, I began thinking about how automation platforms, APIs, and AI systems can work together to create seamless end-to-end user experiences.

NEXT PROJECT

iJournal →