An engaging application that helps connect like-minded individuals and promotes social change through volunteering and community service.
Drawing from personal challenges I encountered when trying to find and take part in local volunteering opportunities, I created Link: a mobile app designed to make the process of finding local volunteering opportunities less painful and more engaging.
The absence of a supportive community and the inability to connect with like-minded individuals can discourage individuals from engaging in volunteering and limit their ability to make a positive difference in the world.
Research suggests that attending events with others leads to more enjoyment and engagement compared to attending alone. This is especially true for volunteering and community service, where friends or acquaintances can provide accountability, support, and motivation.
While conducting a comprehensive analysis of white papers and academic articles, I stumbled upon a striking statistic in The Journal of Experimental Social Psychology that added a valuable perspective to my research:
While researching habitual frameworks, I found the Fogg Behavior Model to be particularly relevant for the volunteering app. This model highlights the importance of motivation, ability, and trigger in encouraging a behavior.
After conducting 6 user interviews, I analyzed and synthesized the data into an affinity map which served as the foundation for developing personas, empathy maps, journey maps, and design concepts.
Based on the insights and observations from the research methods, I created two personas that captured the essence of the users and their characteristics. I also formed empathy maps to understand their needs and frustrations in more detail.
During the ideation phase, I engaged in preliminary brainstorming and sketching to generate initial concepts and ideas.
After conducting the research and analysis, I proceeded to plan the app's structure, carefully considering the optimal placement of each feature to enhance the user experience.
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Working on this project challenged me to create a user-centered design that balances form with function, teaching me valuable lessons about the importance of balancing aesthetics and usability.
Many of the decisions I've made for this platform were informed by the insights gathered during user interviews in the research stage. However, it's important to validate these assumptions and confirm that the user experience choices made are effective. Once this is complete, the next crucial steps will be to implement additional features such as the integration of a community forum and a feedback and rating system.
