O
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WORKPLAYGROUNDABOUT

Volo

Connecting high school students to volunteering opportunities through a comprehensive platform of discovery

role

user research,
wireframing,
graphic design,
prototyping

tools

Figma
Photoshop

duration

8 weeks
(Nov-Dec 2021)

THE PROBLEM

How can high school students find interesting and accessible volunteering opportunities in their community?

We all know that volunteering at a young age has many benefits, like devloping important life skills, discovering a passion, or simply giving back in an effort to make a positive impact on the community. Unfortunately, many high schoolers miss out on these opportunities, due to their inability to find volunteering events that are both, interesting and accessbile to them. Besides, most students lack the motivation to find community service opportunities, due to the long and effortful process of finding the right ones.

In an effort to fill this existing gap, and increase the amount of highschool volunteerism, I plan to design a solution that streamlines the volunteering experience for high school students.

Solution coming soon!

EXISTING METHODS

How do high school students discover volunteering opportunities currently ?

HOWEVER...

I want to create a mobile volunteering app that implements the above elements in an effort to increase high school student volunteerism.

ROOT CAUSE ANALYSIS

Why do high school students struggle to volunteer in their community?

DESIGN CRITERIA

I want to create a design solution that...

Engages students with fellow volunteers, community organizations & the platform itself
Streamlines the student volunteering experience, from discovery to school verification
Vizualizes completed student service on a micro & macro level

In an effort to...

Increase the amount of high school students that successfully volunteer in their community on a regular basis.

COMPETITIVE ANALYSIS

What do current digital solutions have to offer?

To ensure that my solution was superior to existing volunteering apps, in both content and experience, I conducted a competitive analysis on three established volunteering apps: Golden, Point, & Just Serve.

Specifically, I wanted to gain deeper insights into each platform's flows, functions, and features. Understanding these aspects within my competition would allow me strategically design a solution that built upon existing ones.

USER RESEARCH

Understanding the Students

After identifying several problems that exist within current volunteering discovery options, I deployed a survey to gather more insights from high school students.

INTERVIEWS

I conducted three semi-structured interviews with current high school students to learn more about the painpoints surrounding current volunteering discovery methods and their volunteering habits. I used this interaction as a means of brainstorming a ditial solution for the problem.

The purpose of these interviews was to gauge whether:
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Students would percieve volunteering as more impactful and be encouraged to volunteer if the discovery method is easy to use, engaging, and accessible.

Insights:
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USER PERSONA

I used interview and survey responses to construct a persona that captures the frustrations and desires of a typical high school student looking to gain volunteering experience.
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The user persona defined above served as a great tool, allowing me to reassure my design decisions throughout the entire process. The persona was especially useful in the beginning stages of ideation, when I first started to brainstorm solutions that solved Justin's frustrations, and answered his needs and desires.

DEFINE & IDEATE

Solution Ideas

I want to design a digital solution that acts as a one-stop volunteering platform for students. Interviews revealed that an on-the-go solution, such as a mobile app, would be most accessible to students.

How might we...

  • Create a tool that tracks & verifies student community service hours?
  • Simplify students’ flows for browsing opportunities & decrease the speed for registration?
  • Socially engage volunteers with each other and community organizations?
  • Incentivize students to volunteer more by rewarding them for when they do?
  • Personalize this platform of discovery for volunteering opportunities.

While writing these statements, ideas for designing their implementation came rushing in. I was able to visualize the perfect volunteering app for students, one that serves as a hub for volunteering exploration and needs.

USER FLOWS

DESIGN SOLUTIONS

Sketches & Wireframes

To finally bring my ideas to file, I sketched each screen defined in the user flow above. These sketches helped me establish the app's information architecture and overall navigation. I planned to convert these sketches into wireframes, and conduct some user testing to confirm the design's layout.

USABILITY TESTING

Revising Designs

FINAL DESIGNS

The Solution

I want to design a digital solution that acts as a one-stop volunteering platform for students. Interviews revealed that an on-the-go solution, such as a mobile app, would be most accessible to students.

  • Create a tool that tracks & verifies student community service hours?
  • Simplify students’ flows for browsing opportunities & decrease the speed for registration?
  • Socially engage volunteers with each other and community organizations?
  • Incentivize students to volunteer more by rewarding them for when they do?
  • Personalize this platform of discovery for volunteering opportunities.

USER FLOWS

Thanks for visiting :)

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