Andronik K Mamayan
UX | UI Researcher. Designer. Empathetic Listener.
We Don't Waste*
*a redesign
A case study of one of the largest food recovery organizations in Colorado. A nonprofit website redesign from start to finish.
BACKGROUND
Our team believes in the mission of We Don't Waste and selected this nonprofit for a redesign solely based on that.
The nonprofit was founded to bridge the gap between food waste and food poverty. They take food donations from organizations and monetary donations from the public. The primary users of WeDontWaste.org are public donors and recipients looking for access to food, although there are many individuals who wish to make an impact either through time or money.
TEAM MEMBERS
myself
Cara S.
Kelsey S.
DURATION
2-week Agile Sprint
TOOLS
Adobe XD, Google Docs, Trello, Miro
The Challenge
Connecting donors to a cause they believe in and through that aim increase monetary donations to their campaign.
We Don't Waste relies heavily on user monetary donations for their operating costs. Users need a cause to be socially loud, locally relevant and connect to their intrinsic values to compel them to donate.
The Situation
A Solution
Redesign the site WeDontWaste.org to increase monetary support and volunteer engagement.
Through UX research and UI analysis, we redesigned the We Don’t Waste website to strengthen the access points for users who are able to give in various ways, including time and money. We believe that making call-to-actions easier to find and the process of completing a donation more user friendly, it would encourage an increase in overall donations.
ACTION PLAN
The primary objective was to determine what motivates someone to donate and/or volunteer for a specific cause.
To begin our research, we assumed that most users care strongly about food waste, but need a personal connection to drive them to financially commit (by way of monetary donation) to a particular cause. Therefore, we believe that if we can effectively communicate the impact donations have for the particular cause and their local community, we should expect the typical user to be moved to donate to We Don't Waste.
We Might Do This... by enhancing the user flow through the donations page of the site and by personalizing the mission of We Don't Waste. Doing this will allow our users to see the value of their contributions and could lead to recurring or repeat donations.
SURVEY RESULTS
Our team contactedWe Don't Waste to better understand what is needed to increase awareness. We also collected responses from 30 surveys.
We discovered from the Director of Operations the following key insights:
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The site's intended use is for public donors and volunteers.
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Monetary donations are the most impactful form for the public to support operations.
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Food recipients often call to find out where they go for food access, this service can be better visible on the website itself.
We discovered from a small sample size of donors via surveys:
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Most people care about and are aware of food waste as a problem.
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Users need a cause that connects to their intrinsic values and to be socially loud in order to be compelled to donate.
To see the survey responses in more detail, click here.
1:1 INTERVIEW TRANSCRIPTS
Each member of our team interviewed someone they knew personally, to glean insights on charitable behavior, views on food waste, and the direction we should take to encourage charitable contributions from like-minded individuals.
Business Development Specialist
Tamara B., 32
"I know donating money is more impactful, but I'll donate my time wherever possible."
Education Coordinator
Kris R., 33
"Money buys material things and time builds trusting relationships and bonds, which money can’t buy."
Electrical Technician
Carl J., 49
"Giving money doesn’t seem as impactful as buying food. "
AFFINITY DIAGRAM
As a visual map of all responses from 30 surveys and select one-on-one interview, the following affinity diagram was produced as a guide for our user persona.
DEFINING the USER PERSONA
Based on user insights, survey data, and a discussion with a director, the below user persona was defined.
How might we effectively communicate the impact donations have for the cause and local community to increase donations for We Don't Waste?
PRIORITIZATION MATRIX
Our challenge was with deciding what our priorities should be. With so many ways impactful change can arise, we had to get organized. Thus, we drew up the matrix below.
The decision was made to focus on the "sweet spot" of the matrix: aptly labeled "Do Now". To paraphrase our user's concerns: our team needed to make it clear where users go to donate and obvious how a donation makes an impact in real terms.
COMPETITOR ANALYSIS
It would be helpful to see what the competition is doing. However, in the world of nonprofits, these are all peers.
The direct peers in this category of food banks are Food Bank of the Rockies and Denver Food Rescue. Two related but less direct organizations are the Capital Hill Community Services and Denver Inner City Parish. We charted a feature analysis, competitive advantage of each organization and generally a SWOT analysis of their websites. All viewed here.
HEURISTIC ANALYSIS
Of course, discovering the site's usability problems is the next obvious step. To that end, we implemented Nielsen Norman Group's 10 Usability Principles.
Do user's feel like they are in control? We thought to change the status bar on the donation screen. There are key changes to the donation button, making it highly visible. The site maintains a high level on consistency but that even this was an area for improvement. For a look at our maps, check out the donation page and the homepage.
INFORMATION ARCHITECTURE
So much more than just a sitemap, this section goes over the site's 'first and lasting' impression. From landing on the homepage to completing a donation.
When we approached the sites' navigation and overall sitemap, we asked ourselves what can be made more efficient to allow users to learn about the organization, to volunteer and/or contribute monetarily, and (most importantly) allow those seeking food assistance, the help they need?
The first step (top/left) was card sorting exercise of the site's current layout. The next step (top/right) was to drop these "cards" into a pile and rearrange them (bottom/right) into a more logical organization. This open card sorting exercise allowed our team to remap the site (bottom/left) to improve understanding and facilitate action by way of donating time and money.
As for the user flow itself, we can see that searching for a nonprofit such as We Don't Waste, clicking on it to learn more, discovering opportunities to give and finally committing to a one-time or recurring donation is not as simple as online shopping. It requires awareness, education and an emotional connection--all very challenging objectives for a website to meet.
USER FLOW & STORYBOARD
How would someone go about discovering We Don't Waste, being moved by their mission, and ending up becoming a supporter?
Storytelling has an important role in the development of our user flow scenario (presented below). In this first scenario, we introduce you to Brad, a bakery owner and community leader, who is looking to make an impact through his business by way of donating surplus product.
If the process wasn't so easy, he'd drive it to a local church or hand it out on the street to people in need. In this way, he can expect a professional and experienced staff to facilitate the end-to-end operations so he can focus on running his business!
WIREFRAMING
Likewise with the sitemap and the evolution of the redesign, we thought about in what ways we can optimize the user experience. After all, the point is to win over your donations!
The team approached wire framing as a collaborative effort. Each member presented what they thought illustrates the mission best and focused on the homepage and the donation page, as this was a 2-week Agile sprint.
Although you will see colorized versions, these are all initial prototypes to be used as the basis for the style tile shown in the next section.
WIREFRAMING
Likewise with the sitemap and the evolution of the redesign, we thought about in what ways we can optimize the user experience. After all, the point is to win over your donations!
The team approached wire framing as a collaborative effort. Each member presented what they thought illustrates the mission best and focused on the homepage and the donation page, as this was a 2-week Agile sprint.
Although you will see colorized versions, these are all initial prototypes to be used as the basis for the style tile shown in the next section.
STYLE TILE
New logo? Check. New color scheme? Check. New Font and iconography? Double check.
If we were going to redesign the site, we had to go all in. The new design was meant to illicit a cordiality and modernity that befits an austere movement like food waste. As many interviewers have mentioned, they tend to support the 'loudest' movements that make national and local headlines. If we wanted move people to accept this a movement to stand behind, it had to look fresh.
PROTOTYPE
Plating the final presentation.
When planning the UI for the final prototype, we referred back to what was uncovered in our user tests. The feedback we received included: circle buttons are confusing--square them out; we needed to describe what the nonprofit does from the get-go; there should be an open-ended donation feature; small tweaks include phrasing "get food" to "find food" and applying larger icons.
I hope you find the final product representative of the mission an organization like We Don't Waste should have--one that connects a community in need with the larger community of charitable individuals and businesses.
I encourage anyone who is able to check out We Don't Waste after looking at this to see how you can help.
When designing for this organization (and within the time-frame set out) we aimed at a focus approach. However, given enough time additional work would be done on pages like: finding food (with an interactive map and search tool), getting involved as a volunteer (with a sign up page) and revitalizing the social media and SEO content.
User feedback goes a long way in terms of letting us know if we're on track or need to start over. Nothing beats research!