Socially Sustain

A donation mobile app

A new way of giving back

Socially sustain is a mobile application created to make donations and receiving used goods & clothings faster and easier for all people. It helps user locate charities based on specific needs and offers drop off and pick up options.

My role

UX researcher
UI Designer
Project Manager
Content writer

Tools used

Figma
Figjam
Google survey

Duration

4 weeks

BACKGROUND

The current percentage of Americans who donate used goods and clothing is rising, however, studies show that most used clothing/goods are being donated to big box organizations that convert these items for profit.

PROBLEM STATEMENT

It is believed that because of the research that goes behind finding trustworthy charities online being time-consuming and the lack of transparency in charities during the donation process can also cause hesitation amongst potential donors. People especially want to make sure that their items are going to something credible that will make an impact and help the cause.

GOAL

Minimize the user’s research process outside of the app through a user-friendly and intuitive interface that makes donating a simple process. Interface promotes transparency and trust by clearly indicating important information. One-stop solution donors. Search and discover verified charities in one place with some of the organization offering no-contact door pickup. One-stop solution for people in need: People in need (organizations or can be anonymous.)

DESIGN PROCESS

The Double Diamond Methodology

1. Discover

User research plan

Research Goal

Identifying and addressing the challenges faced by Americans who want to donate more and reduce clothing waste by ensuring their donations are going back into their community.

Methodologies

- Competitive analysis
- Survey
- User interviews

Assumptions/Risks

- Donations don’t go to people/places in need
- Used items are inconvenient to haul away

Research Objectives

- Identifying preferred user platform to donate gently used clothing
- Analyzing the frequency in which users donate to public organizations
- Researching what demographics of people donate household items
- Discovering frustrations users face when locating donation centers
- Understanding accessibility constraints with typical donation methods

Target audience

- Americans who donate gently used clothing/items
- Americans who are in need

Competitor analysis

User interviews summary

Survey

To further understand user needs and behaviours, I surveyed 7 individuals and intervied 5 more people to validate the idea for such an application.

Research Questions:
1) Where do you typically go when you are looking to donate to a charitable organization? ( Online/ Offline )
2) How frequently do you make donations to charities?
3) How do you search and donate to charities?
4) Do you make donations in your neighbouring locations? How?
5) Do you feel satisfied with donating in person to the charity?
6) Do you have any frustrations with finding organizations/shelters to donate your good/clothes to?
7) Do you have any constraints with current donation methods?

Research insights

1) 50% of users experienced trouble believing/ trusting that organizations are using their donations appropriately
2) 100% believe there could be more transparency surrounding organizations.
3) 25% would like a follow-up report on their impact.
4) 60% of users never utilized a donation directory.
5) 40% look for organizations that target specific causes (women’s shelter. school, persona, etc.)

Proposed solution

An authentic application that makes it effortless to donate to different charitable organizations or people that is also reliable without having to search every time. This app can help users minimize the time and research involved in finding causes and charities to which they can contribute. On the opposite end, organizations or people in need can use this app to communicate their specific needs by allowing donors to know exactly what their current needs are. The main focus of this directory is to create a seamless method that can help individuals give and receive easily.

2. Define

As I began to define my scope. I learned that studies show most used clothing and goods are being donated to big box organizations that concert these items for profit. This proposed a very important question.

How can we make sure the things we are donation are actually being donated?

Socially sustain makes it effortless to donate to different charitable organizations or people in need by cutting out the search and match you with a charity by the items you are donating. The app can also be used by organizations or people in need to communicate their specific need by allowing donated to know exactly what you their current needs are. The main focus on this directory is to create a seamless method that can help individuals give and receive easily.

User personas

Based on research results, I curated three user personas that align with the target audience for this product.

The users included a non-profit organizer with a passion for giving back, a nurse practitioner and mom of 3 who would rather her children wear gently used clothing unsustainable fashion and a UX designer who lives in the city and would rather give away unwanted items than trash them resulting in millions of items in landfills today.

Creating user flows

i.e. As a donor, I want to create an account, select my donation category, choose a donation group and submit donation request in one easy process.

3. Develop

After identifying the user journey, I began creating simple design solutions for creating an account and going through the donation submission process.

Lo-fi wireframing

As I started to design low fidelity wireframes, I created a basic template for the account creation, and moved forward by creating a landing page with two main options (give or receive) which was inspired by one of the existing competive apps during analysis.

4. Deliver

After creating the template for low-fidelity wireframes, I was really excited to how adding in colors and high-definition images can bring this project to life. I intuitively felt that warm, earth and natural color tones would align well with this sustainable vibe.

Core principals when designing

The goal of this app is the minimize user’s donors research by offering a easy to use browsing options.

Colour palette

#EFCB70

#009900

#ADD57F

Logo

Typography