THE REAL COST — Case Study · angel kim x spudsage

The problem

THE PROBLEM

Finding work is usually measured in applications, interviews, and offers.

But getting there has its own cost.

A commute. Mobile data. Food. Waiting. Preparation. Time away from everything else. Rejection. Then doing it again the next day.

THE REAL COST explores what happens when those invisible costs become visible.

The idea

MAKE THE INVISIBLE VISIBLE

THE REAL COST turns the job-search process into a measurable journey.

Instead of treating an application as a single click, the experience follows everything around it — the distance traveled, money spent, time consumed, and energy required to keep going.

TIME ·

MONEY

DISTANCE ·

ENERGY

Showreel

THE 62-SECOND JOURNEY

The showreel compresses one job-search journey into 62 seconds — from the first notification at 6:12 AM to the moment of rejection, followed by the decision to apply again.

Still from the showreel: a jeepney travelling a route from home to office while cost and time counters rise — Still · Sequence 03 — The Commute · opens the live experience

01QUESTIONWhat does it cost to look for work?
02EFFORTThe commute begins.
03COSTMoney starts accumulating.
04TIMEHours disappear into the process.
05REJECTIONNot every application becomes an opportunity.
06AGAINThe next application begins.
07REFLECTIONThe real cost is more than money.

Product

FROM STORY TO PRODUCT

The cinematic sequence becomes a functional product concept: a dashboard that tracks the real cost of a search, a journey map, an application tracker, and a day-in-the-search timeline.

Real cost₱1,284

Search6 applications

Time14h 32m

Distance87 km

Illustrative demo data — not real statistics

The dashboard hero metric and summary stats — Dashboard · fictional demo numbers

Interaction

A DAY IN THE SEARCH

The timeline connects time, money, distance, and personal energy across a single day.

As the journey progresses, the metrics change together — turning an abstract job search into something tangible.

The day-in-the-search timeline scrubbed to the interview, showing time, money, distance and energy — Timeline at 09:30 · energy is a demo metric

A SMALL 3D LANGUAGE

The 3D system was intentionally kept small.

Each object represents something directly connected to the journey, using one shared material, perspective, lighting treatment, and accent system.

Six icons: smartphone, jeepney, train, wallet, location pin, résumé — Smartphone · Jeepney · Train · Wallet · Location pin · Résumé

Context

DESIGNED AROUND REAL LIFE

The experience is grounded in everyday realities of looking for work in the Philippines — commuting, waiting, spending, preparing, checking for updates, and trying again.

The goal wasn't to decorate the interface with Filipino references.

It was to make the experience itself feel familiar.

Process

WHAT THIS PROJECT EXPLORES

PRODUCT THINKING

Turning a social observation into a usable product concept.

UI / UX

Designing the dashboard, tracker, timeline, and information hierarchy.

MOTION DESIGN

Using movement to communicate time, cost, distance, and emotion.

3D DESIGN

Building a consistent visual object language.

DATA VISUALIZATION

Turning fictional illustrative data into understandable visual patterns.

CREATIVE TECHNOLOGY

Building the experience as a functional interactive prototype.