04.Case study

Beyondfor those navigating it.

A social enterprise for Asian students navigating career ambition under cultural pressure.

SERVICE DESIGNETHNOGRAPHIC RESEARCHDUAL EXPERIENCELIVE PILOT
Role
Founder & Host
Year
2020 — 2025
Location
Dubai & London (live on Instagram — @beyond.show)
Discipline
Service & Experience
— The challenge

Asian students don't get to choose their career ambition.

Not when culture tells you what to be, society reinforces it, and family expects it. Fear of the unknown kills more dreams than failure ever will.

Family sets the route. Society validates it. The destinations are already decided and detours are forbidden. Dare to want something creative, unconventional, or abstract? You're met with silence, and judgement.

— The solution

So, I built Beyond. An Instagram platform for both sides of the conversation.

A social enterprise platform on Instagram designed for Asian high school students and crucially, for their parents, because real change requires designing for both sides of the room. Beyond bridges parental pressure and student ambition. It doesn't stop at the student; it educates parents too.

Beyond on Instagram
— Process
01
Ethnographic research — field studies, dual surveys and interviews surfaced the real problem: a broken system of expectations, fear and cultural status.
Process step 01
02
Empathy and systems thinking — empathy maps, personas and systems thinking made the invisible collision between students and parents visible.
Process step 02
03
A dual-sided prototype — wireframes and flows in Figma, designed to serve both student and parent because one alone was never going to be enough.
Process step 03
04
Live on @beyond.show — the app is in development, but the platform is already live on Instagram, building community, sharing mentor insights and piloting in Dubai schools.
Process step 04
— Research & data · dual-sided inquiry

The silence spoke louder than any statistic. Behind every number was an Asian student too afraid to say it out loud.

0%
said career pressure impacted their mental health.
Has academic/career pressure ever impacted your mental health?
Has academic/career pressure ever impacted your mental health?
0%
said their goals were shaped by parents, not themselves.
Are your personal goals shaped by your own interests or your parents' preferences?
Are your personal goals shaped by your own interests or your parents' preferences?
0%
of parents expect a traditional career path.
Which careers are most respected in your community?
Which careers are most respected in your community?
0%
of parents want a platform to learn more.
Would a platform on creative pathways help you support your child?
Customer journey research
Customer journey · four phases mapped
Research montage — timeline, ethnography, press and systems mapping
Field studies · press review · systems mapping
— Outcomes
  • —500 organic followers
  • —16 speakers featured, each interviewed and produced from scratch.
  • —112 posts published across reels, carousels and long-form captions.
  • —Live pilot inside Dubai schools, validating the model in person.
— Pilot in numbers
0
Organic followers
0
Speakers featured
0
Posts published
Piloted in Dubai schools.
Live test
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Beyond

Founder & Host
— You are here