An educational non-profit organization, for students who have grown up facing great obstacles such as homelessness, poverty, or violence. They provide leadership and professional success resources to a diverse community of leaders working together to ensure people of all backgrounds can live a life of their choosing.
Overview
My role during this project was lead UX Designer and Researcher.
My Role
I was involved with the following stages of this project:
User Interviews
Wireframing and Prototyping
Usability testing for validation
Visual Designs and Iterations
UI Design for Web & Mobile
Greenhouse Scholar is expanding to new regions each year and recruiting more students, yet the website lacks usability. Users are lacking context, unclear on who and what Greenhouse scholar is, and the application pathway confuses incoming recipients. Staying focused on prospective applicants and explored different methods on how we will improve usability.
Problem
Solution
Redesign program components of this scholarship website to be more visible to incoming recipients of the scholarship, improve their usability in the application process, and ensure incoming scholars are clear on the program's accountability requirements.
Impact
Current
Apply now and contact are located at the bottom of page and follows the users as it scrolls through the page. It needs to be placed somewhere more convivent and visible for all potenital scholars.
Apply Now & Contact Us Button
1:10 seconds +
Time:
The buttons are the same color are the bottom of the page footer, this made it diffcult for the users to see and was easily overlooked.
Redesign
Redesigned the navigation bar, apply & donate button were placed on the top right of the page to follow a seamless z-follow. Then guides users to the hero of the scholars page to read more and apply with the newly added apply CTA button,
Redesign Apply & Donate Button
Time:
20 seconds
Added CTA buttons, Replacement of Apply & Donate button, Newely designed navigation bar, and button color change, made it faster for scholars to apply than before.
Research: User Interviews, Stakeholder contact, Proto Persona, Competitor Analysis, Heuristics Evaluation, SWOT Analysis, Feature Prioritization Matrix, Surveys
Synthesis: Affinity diagram, Actionable Insights, UX hypothesis, Value Proposition, Card sorting, Sitemap, User flow diagram,
Design: User Journey map, Sketches,
Prototype: Wireframing, Web & Mobile app
Evaluate: User Testing, Design Guidelines,
Process
We began by getting in contact with the stakeholders and high school senior students to interview and gain insight into their unique problems. We analyzed the data that was collected from the interviews to inform a design workshop we held for our team remotely over a Zoom call, and found that new users felt the website was beautiful but lacked usability, half the users could not locate the apply button, and unclear who Greenhouse Scholars is and what they do.
Research
Once we gathered all the results from our research, we mapped out the data into larger categories to find identifying themes and patterns. This helped us identify the user’s needs, paint points, and opportunities for innovation that will ultimately guide the designs we create and test with the users.
Synthesize
Design and Iteration
We gathered all the insights and brainstormed mulitplie solutions to begin sketching early ideas that will accomplish the goals and needs of the user. Creating a user journey map, helped us empathize with the target user and inspired us to focus on the tasks a propestive schoolar needs to accompish.
Styleguide
Lo-Fidelity Wireframes
With the designs, styleguide, and lo-fidelity wireframes decided upon, it was time to combine them into one cohesive hi-fiedility prototype. It was important to keep the styleguide in mind while designing because the stakeholders mentioned it was critail to follow it.
Prototype
Hi-Fidelity Website Mockup
Hi-Fidelity Mobile Mockup:
This project taught me the importance of both beautiful visual design and functional design. With our first round of usability tests, I observed that while the styling of the Greenhouse Scholars site was immaculate, this styling lacked context and usability. At times, the visual design actual hindered usability. Our redesign focused on adding in usability centered on our persona, Kayla’s story, while also preserving the site’s original style.
The challenge was in actually redesigning a site that already had a strong color palette and a unique voice. We needed to work together in order to build and prototype strong designs that held both the visual appeal and the human centered usability. Our team brought multiple skills and insights to this project, generating a strong final solution.
Final Thoughts
Upon presenting my redesign to the stakeholders, they were thoroughly impressed not only by the modern aesthetics but also the clear improvements in usability and accessibility. They could see how these changes would significantly contribute to the non-profit's mission of fostering a supportive and engaging environment for scholarly pursuits.
The success of the redesign did not go unnoticed, and it ultimately convinced the stakeholders to invest in a complete overhaul of their website. As a result, my designs have been selected to serve as a foundation for this transformative project. It's an exciting opportunity for me to collaborate with the organization to ensure they can effectively serve scholars by providing an exceptional user experience that meets their evolving needs, and ultimately, strengthens the non-profit's ability to fulfill its critical mission.
Next Steps