Design for America Web Design

Spring 2017

ux research

web design

storytelling

Intro

Design for America is a rapidly changing network of students whose projects and teams change year-to-year. As such, the organization's website requires constant updates in order to keep up with the student base. 

The previous design of the website catered to “prospective collaborators” or external students and professionals who might consider joining the organization. We asked ourselves - is infinite growth still our goal? Or do we need to look inwardly, to better engage our current DFAers, Alumni, and partners?

During a sprint-update project, I focused on creating new web content to engage alumni and partners, simplify navigation, and provide clear calls to action.

Read more about my time at DFA here.

Challenge
Rethink and redesign a nonprofit’s website to better address their mission, while providing clear ways to get involved
My Role
User research, wireframing & site mapping, content creation, copywriting, Wordpress updates & maintenance
Outcome
A new and improved site that clarifies organizational goals, better engages alumni and sponsors, and boosts donor traffic

Discovery

Understanding DFA's Stakeholders

In meeting with various members of the DFA network, such as current students, professional mentors, and community partner organizations, we gathered feedback about the current website’s user experience, what information was missing, and where people felt confused or had trouble navigating to what they needed.

Identifying Key Findings & Problem Areas

We then synthesized our takeaways from the interviews and internal team meetings into 4 opportunity areas, addressing key issues to be addressed in the design process.

Process

Design Goal #1
Clarify what DFA does and the value it provides to students and communities. Make it easy for visitors to see how they can join, partner, or reconnect with DFA.
Design Goal #2
Build thought leadership. We are a network of thousands focused on design for social good - our tools and resources like our design process guide are used globally. Our website should reflect our expertise.
Design Goal #3
Balance static with dynamic, relevant content. Minimize content that needs constant updates and instead direct to our blog and social media, which are automatically updated.

Rapid User Feedback through Low-fidelity Prototyping

We began with creating paper mockups and doing quick feedback sessions in the office to try out navigation options and to define the overall information architecture.

Building Wireframes to Understand our Framework

We then developed digital wireframes and did more in-person testing to finalize graphic styles, image options, language edits, and tweaks to the framework of the site.

Final Website

Finalizing the Project & Ensuring Continuous Iteration

We spent 2 weeks updating the site with our new design, but we continued to made edits throughout the year as we further developed DFA's Alumni, mentorship, and sponsorship programs.

The biggest change we made was in drastically simplifying information about DFA, and instead providing ample opportunities to contact DFA directly or connect through our newsletter, blog, and social media. The end goal was to create a less overwhelming experience, and provide a quick, friendly, approachable way to get involved.

Below are a few final examples of the new pages created. Since I left DFA, the team continues to iterate the website; you can view the live site here.

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