Overview
About: The Givers app is designed to connect you with local opportunities to give back. It allows you to discover nearby donation drop-off points, charity events, and volunteer positions. We aim to make it easier for you to find and engage with community volunteer groups and donation options.
Objective: How might we create a platform that allows users to 1) explore and filter diverse local giving options and 2) make it incredibly easy for users to find and engage with meaningful giving opportunities in their local community?
Solution Statement: The Givers app seamlessly connects busy professionals with local donation and volunteer opportunities. Users can easily filter for specific donation items or find volunteer groups within their area and interest. This platform empowers organizations to effectively promote their donation events and volunteer needs, while helping to create a stronger community connection.
Quantitative Analysis
How old are you?
1 participant reported being between the ages of 18-29 years
4 participants reported being between the ages of 30-39 years
1 participant reported being between the ages of 40-49 years
How many organizations do you donate to?
4 participants reported donating to 1-2 organizations
1 participant reported donating to 3-4 organizations
1 participant reported donating to 5-6 organizations
How often do you volunteer?
2 participants reported donating once a year
3 participants reported donating quarterly
1 participant reported donating once a month
What is the organization/group you are most likely to volunteer for?
4 participants reported volunteering 2-3 times a year
1 participant reported volunteering monthly
1 participant reported volunteering weekly.
The next section of the survey allowed participants to select multiple options. The goal was to understand how participants discover volunteer opportunities and identify the types of activities they are most interested in volunteering for.
How do you find out about volunteer opportunities?
How often do you donate goods, items, or products?
Pain Points
The Donation Disconnect
There is a disconnect between the community and organizations. While individuals are eager to donate, they struggle to identify the specific items or products needed. This uncertainty makes them hesitant to contribute, as they fear their donations might not be useful.
Donate Locations & Hours transparency
Users often struggle to locate the donation center and accurately determine its operating hours. This creates significant difficulties for individuals needing assistance, and those who may be unfamiliar with the local area and resources.
sCHEDULING Conflicts
Users often experience significant frustration when attempting to align their personal schedules with the available volunteer shifts offered by multiple organizations in their community. This challenge arises from the lack of a streamlined system that makes it easy to see suitable opportunities.
Competitive Analysis
Persona
Name: Lane Wilson
Age: 35
Education: Bachelor’s in
Health & Science
Location: Kansas
Family: Husband & Three Children
frustration
Discovering appropriate donation drop-off locations is a significant hurdle.
It's hard to know exactly what items are currently needed by charities, as their needs change frequently.
It is frustrating to find volunteer opportunities that work with her schedule.
Needs
To find volunteer opportunities that can be undertaken without interfering with her existing personal activities and schedule.
To understand which items are most needed and beneficial for donation.
To easily find and locate donation centers and drop-off locations.
Biography
Lane Wilson skillfully balances her career and being a dedicated parent who believes in giving back. She's looking for meaningful ways to contribute to her community, both through volunteer time and material donations, and to instill a sense of civic responsibility in her children. While she volunteers with a church group and the children's PTA, she's particularly interested in serving the community through food-related charities.
Goals
Flexible Volunteering-Opportunities to volunteer that are easily accessible.
Ideal Donation Items- To know the charity's most needed items.
Nearby Donations- Quick access to local donation drop-off points.
We support busy professionals, aged 25-60, to find and engage with charities. These individuals want a platform that simplifies donating and volunteering based on their interests and values. Specifically, they need to easily filter donation options to match charity requirements and find suitable recycling centers. The platform should also showcase volunteer opportunities and allow charities to create event listings like coat drives and bake sales.
Empathy Map
says
There's gotta be a simpler way to spread the word about needing volunteers.
Finding donation locations and scheduling is time-consuming.
I want to donate regularly and wants to ensure the donations are useful to the charities.
Does
Checks information spread out on multiple newsletters, social media platforms, and email to find volunteer and donation opportunities.
Drops off at Goodwill every time due to the ease of drop-off, instead of supporting local community groups or stores with donations.
Feels
Overwhelmed by the effort required to find opportunities that match their schedule.
Guilty for not volunteering more often.
Frustrated by the lack of clear information regarding donation drop-off locations at donation events.
thinks
I wish there was one place to easily find donation and volunteer options.
I want to donate to community events but can’t remember the events and donation drop-off locations.
Information Architecture
User Flow
The Givers App allows users to easily create donation and volunteer events, helping to spread awareness within their local community. Clear event details and intuitive layouts make it simple to see what's happening nearby.
The Givers App empowers users to make a positive impact by providing a comprehensive platform for donations and volunteering. Users can easily find nearby donation and recycling centers, donate items that are truly needed, and discover volunteer opportunities that match your interests. They can stay informed about charity events and keep track of your favorite organizations, all within a user-friendly interface. This app provides a seamless and visually pleasing user experience, ensuring users can easily find and access information without feeling overwhelmed.
STyle guide
Primary Colors
The goal was to ensure the colors reflected the app's mission of connecting individuals with meaningful opportunities to make a difference. To establish a sense of trust and security, a strong navy blue was chosen, assuring users of the platform's reliability. A deep teal green was incorporated to symbolize the positive impact and growth resulting from volunteering and donations. For key calls to action, a playful red was strategically used to draw the eye and encourage engagement. Finally, the design team prioritized clarity and accessibility by implementing clean backgrounds and high contrast, ensuring a comfortable and user-friendly experience for all.
Secondary Colors
Active Tabs: The active tabs in the Givers App are designed for clarity and ease of use. Utilizing darker colors to denote the currently active tab ensures that users can quickly identify their location within the interface.
Featured Event Card: Core details are presented for optimal scannability and quick comprehension. This card format includes a dedicated Details button, allowing users to delve into further details without cluttering the primary view.
List/Grid Event Card: It effectively showcases a collection of events, such as those associated with a volunteer host, enabling users to scan offerings efficiently.
Volunteer Card: Utilizes a minimalist design to provide visual relief and maintain clarity within an otherwise text-heavy screen layout. It features essential elements: the volunteer's name, an image, and a Follow button.
Typography
Font: A highly legible font was selected to optimize readability across various screen sizes and lighting conditions. This ensures that users can comfortably consume content without eye strain.
Low Fidelity Wireframes
Format: A straightforward wireframe design was prioritized to create a clean and user-friendly experience. To ensure that the impact of many photos was balanced, the text and layout were purposefully simplified and optimized to reduce distractions.
High Fidelity
Introducing the Givers App prototype, a platform designed to simplify charitable giving. It connects users with causes and organizations, allowing efficient donation management. Click here to see the prototype.
The Home tab features quick access to nearby donation spots and a list of upcoming donation events. The main navigation allows you to explore donation and volunteering opportunities in more detail.
Home
The Events tab provides a search feature to help you filter events. It's divided into three sections: Upcoming, Favorites, and My Events. Upcoming shows all available donation events in your area. Favorites displays events hosted by the charities you've chosen to follow. My Events lists the events you've created.
Events
The My Events tab lists all events created by the user. Each event will be labeled as either Published or Draft. Published events are accessible to other users in the Upcoming and Favorites tabs. Draft events, which are not yet public, can be edited directly within the app using the available edit button.
My events
To create a new event, tap Add Event on the Events tab. A form will appear where the users can enter event details like the title and organization name. After filling in the information, the user can either Save the event to edit it later in My Events or Publish it to make it appear in the Upcoming section on the Home and Events tabs.
Add Event
Donation
The Donation tab uses your location to show nearby stores and recycling centers for donations. The user can refine their search by using the filter within the search bar.
Volunteer
The Volunteer tab can connect users with volunteer groups. Use the search bar to filter groups by interest and preferences. The user can see groups they are following and nearby volunteer opportunities with details.
Usability Study: Findings
Problem: Users had difficulty locating and identifying the "Add Event" button. Initially, a floating button displaying “Add Event”, it would shrink to a "+" icon, which users found difficult to discover and not readily apparent.
Solution: Based on user feedback, the “Add Event” button was repositioned to the tab section, alongside “Upcoming,” “Favorite” and “My Events.” This change led to users finding the button more easily and experiencing fewer distractions.
Before
After
Problem: Each organization can create profile that has section which includes “Events,” which highlights the organization's hosted events, and an “About” page, which provides details about the organization. Users had difficulty locating the “About” page. To indicate the active page, a small teal bar appeared beneath “About” or “Events.” However, after review, it was determined that the design was too subtle for users to recognize that the pages contained actionable elements.
Solution: It was decided that the pages needed to be more visually distinct. Instead of a simple line beneath “About” or “Events,” the indicators were redesigned as button-shaped elements for improved clarity.
Before
After