Concept App • 2023
Link
Role
Solo Project
Timeline
February - March 2023
Tools used
Figma, Adobe CC
Brief
Drawing from personal challenges I encountered when trying to find and take part in local volunteering opportunities, I created Link: a mobile app designed to make the process of finding local volunteering opportunities less painful and more engaging.
Problem
The absence of a supportive community and the inability to connect with like-minded individuals can discourage individuals from engaging in volunteering and limit their ability to make a positive difference in the world.
Research suggests that attending events with others leads to more enjoyment and engagement compared to attending alone. This is especially true for volunteering and community service, where friends or acquaintances can provide accountability, support, and motivation.
Solution
01
The onboarding experience
The onboarding process helps users understand the main features of the app and allows them to personalize their feed by selecting their interested causes.
Additionally, users can connect with friends to join volunteering events together and add their location to find local opportunities in their neighborhood.
02
Join forces for a greater impact
Users can see which of their friends are interested in similar volunteering activities.
By inviting their friends to join them, users can create a sense of community and shared purpose, while also increasing the impact of their volunteer work.
03
Create, Collaborate, Make a Difference
With the event creation feature, users can design their own volunteering experience to fit their unique goals.
Research
While researching habitual frameworks, I found the Fogg Behavior Model to be particularly relevant for the volunteering app. This model highlights the importance of motivation, ability, and trigger in encouraging a behavior.
While conducting a comprehensive analysis of white papers and academic articles, I stumbled upon a striking statistic in The Journal of Experimental Social Psychology that added a valuable perspective to my research:
After conducting 6 user interviews, I analyzed and synthesized the data into an affinity map which served as the foundation for developing personas, empathy maps, journey maps, and design concepts.
RESEARCH QUESTIONS:
Tell me about your experience with volunteering?
What motivates you to volunteer and how do you stay motivated?
What challenges have you faced while volunteering and how did you overcome them?
What features or incentives would encourage you to use a volunteering app?
How do you currently search for volunteering opportunities and what are the pain points in the process?
Empathy map
Based on the insights and observations from the research methods, I created two personas that captured the essence of the users and their characteristics. I also formed empathy maps to understand their needs and frustrations in more detail.
Ideation
During the ideation phase, I engaged in preliminary brainstorming and sketching to generate initial concepts and ideas.
After conducting the research and analysis, I proceeded to plan the app's structure, carefully considering the optimal placement of each feature to enhance the user experience.
The final product
Onboarding
Create Event
Home, Invite, Search & Maps
Chat & Profile
Reflections & Next steps
Many of the decisions I've made for this platform were informed by the insights gathered during user interviews in the research stage. However, it's important to validate these assumptions and confirm that the user experience choices made are effective. Once this is complete, the next crucial steps will be to implement additional features such as the integration of a community forum and a feedback and rating system.