Creative Nomads
Redesign for a non-profit organization
Project Overview
The objective was to assess the effectiveness of Creative Nomads’ current website in alignment with their mission and goals. Creative Nomads sought feedback on aspects such as layout, user functionality, mobile-friendliness, visual design, and content.
Their primary goals include facilitating student access to the arts and showcasing their culture to inspire support and donations. The project involved conducting a website audit through heuristic evaluation, backed by research and a prototype. Key enhancements were made to improve user-friendliness and align the website with contemporary standards, encompassing updates to photos, navigation, and information hierarchy.
Reorganize informational architecture to enhance user experience
Refresh branding to express culture
Encourage donations and inform users of how their support is making a difference
Deliverables
Business Goals
User research report, site map, information architecture, task and user flows, visual redesign, style guide, prototype, usability testing
UI/UX Designer, UX Researcher– involved assessing various aspects of the website, including layout, user functionality, mobile-friendliness, visual design, content, and research.
Roles
Challenge
Establish an inviting platform that effectively communicates Creative Nomad’s mission and objectives
Develop user-friendly navigation to instill confidence in potential donors as they browse the website to make contributions.
Enhance accessibility for both youth seeking information about the programs.
Constraint: Consider solutions that can be implemented using the stakeholder’s website builder and user-friendly for independent modifications.
Research
Evaluating the Existing Website
Conducting usability testing on the existing website was important for pinpointing challenges and hesitations. To gain insights into user needs and pain points, I carried out user interviews. In my analysis of competitors, I identified features that proved effective, while also recognizing features that should be avoided.
Competitor Analysis
In examining competitors, I explored local organizations with similar missions situated in the same location to gather positive assets of their websites. Their local competitors, Arts for learning, Arts Every Day, and Beats not Bullets:
Positive Assets
Programs are easy to find and understand
Important links and pages are visible
Information is organized and highlights important content
Consistent branding to represent their personalities
Avoid
Having a lack of control over the slider
Poor flow returning to the homepage
Inconsistency in the appearance across pages
Having extensive text, possibly too overwhelming to read
Gathered four participants to gather their initial impressions of the website, aiming to uncover any challenges they might encounter during navigation and the donation process.
First Impressions
Sensed an artistic affiliation with the organization but remained uncertain about its mission
Found the navigation bar too cluttered with numerous categories
Noticed an abundance of colors that appeared random rather than intentional
Felt overwhelmed on the donation page, struggling to identify where to click due to the visual noise pulling attention in multiple directions
The organization found that most donors primarily give within their religious institutions. To understand why and when donors contribute outside, I interviewed three active donors within their religious community. The discussions covered factors influencing donations, motivating occasions, perceptions of institutional use of donations, giving outside the community, information sources for selecting charities, and goals for charitable contributions.
User Interviews
Donating to their religious institutions allows for the continuation of programs and events
Transparency in donation funds and certified charities. Trusts in the process.
Donating to grow, expand the religious institution to support their efforts towards community development
Donates outside the institution when it’s a special cause, emergency, personal cause they believe in, someone they know personally
Findings
Painting their Experiences
Motivations
Continuation of Programs and Events: Donors are motivated by the desire to ensure the ongoing success and sustainability of religious programs and events within their institution.
Community Development: The motivation to grow and expand the religious institution drives donations, with a focus on supporting efforts towards community development.
Goals
Transparency and Trust: Donors aim for transparency in donation funds and prefer certified charities, reflecting a goal to trust the process and understand how their contributions are utilized.
Institutional Growth and Support: The goal is to contribute to the growth of the religious institution, enabling it to better support the community through various initiatives and programs.
Pain Points
Lack of Knowledge about Donation Usage: The lack of knowledge about how donations will be used is a significant concern for donors, posing a potential obstacle to their willingness to contribute.
Distrust in Institutional Use of Donations: Donors may experience discomfort or reluctance if there is a perceived lack of trust in how the religious institution utilizes the donated funds.
Define & Ideate
Explore Creative Solutions
In order to convey Creative Nomads’ goals clearly, I started my ideation process on focusing on the user’s motivations and pain points. I reconstructed the site architecture to improve navigation and simplified the flow for efficiency.
Restructured the site's architecture to enhance navigation after users expressed:
Confusion regarding the number of programs available
Difficulty in returning to previously viewed pages
Overload of irrelevant content
Site Architecture
By incorporating subpages within the main categories in the navigation bar, I aimed to provide users with a more intuitive and user-friendly experience, ensuring they can easily find the information they need without feeling disoriented.
Enhanced the user experience in making a monetary donation by reducing the number of steps in searching for the donation page. Simplifying the flow and reducing confusion is essential to prevent user frustration, whether they successfully find what they need or not, as a convoluted process often leads to discouragement and abandonment.
Donation Task Flow
Existing Flow to the Donation Page
Revised Flow to the Donation Page
Users observed an abundance of colors, leading them to believe there was a lack of brand identity. Acknowledging this feedback, I refined the application of Creative Nomads' colors, aligning them with the organization's intended welcoming, creative, and enthusiastic personality.
For headings, I selected Montserrat for its rounded font, expressing friendliness, and bold style to capture user attention. Inter was chosen for body text to enhance readability.
To showcase their creative flair consistently and offer a solution for varying image edits, I adopted a duo-tone style for images.
Brand Refresh
Clarifying the Organization's Purpose
I simplified the website entry for immediate insight by removing the "enter site" step for direct homepage arrival, where the organization's purpose and mission are immediately showcased. This reduction in steps and scrolling expedites user understanding of the organization's offerings.
Usability testing revealed a complex navigation bar hindered quick comprehension of the organization's objectives. In response, I refined the navigation, creating a more intuitive structure with clear categories and subcategories.
To encourage donations, I made the donation button more prominent and consistently located at the top right, ensuring users can easily contribute whenever they decide.
Defining the Organization's Goal
The visual layout was cluttered, making it challenging for Call To Action buttons to stand out. A reorganization was necessary to streamline the design, guiding users' eyes effortlessly through the information and clearly indicating which actions to take and the outcomes of their clicks.
Prototype & Testing
Gathering User Feedback
Conduct usability testing using the prototype with the same 5 participants who took part in the initial usability testing of the existing website. Evaluate whether the issues have been addressed and identify any additional areas that require improvement.
Assess users' comprehension of the organization's purpose
Observe navigation ease
Determine users' understanding of various donation methods
Objectives
Testing Results
Users noted an improvement in the informational architecture, allowing them to access one piece of information at a time. The time spent finding the organization's mission, services, and donation page was reduced, resulting in enhanced navigation.
Regarding the "Ways to Support" section, users appreciated the concise overviews of each donation type, which clarified their options. They also praised the use of colors, which were previously overwhelming and ineffective in locating the donation button and learning about donation methods.
“Rebecca was wonderful. She provided a clear audit that had suggestions that we have gone on to implement. We would recommend her and use her again!”
End Notes
I evaluated the effectiveness of their existing website in supporting its mission and goals, identifying necessary changes and improvements. This assessment was crucial to ensure the website actively encouraged engagement and investment in Creative Nomads. This endeavor is projected to save Creative Nomads $4,762+, enabling the expansion of their art programs for youth and families at little to no cost.
My prototype guided the hiring of a web developer for updating their site. I prepared detailed documents for discussions, keeping the Executive Director and relevant stakeholders informed about my progress and proposed solutions. The Executive Director appreciated helping her to understand the website's challenges and the positive impact of my suggestions on user engagement and the organization's cultural portrayal. The refreshed brand appearance was met with enthusiasm.
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