Donating with Ease: How UX Transformation Boosted Generosity on the Web
Overview
This was an Academic spirit created by Brainstation where we were tasked to redesign the landing page and the donation experience of an NGO (Non-Governmental Organisations) or charity of our choice. The aim was to extend their reach and growth for them to create an impact on the challenge they are facing. For this spirit, we were placed into teams of 4 and followed the design process below.
My Role
UX/UI Designer
Tools
Figma
Duration
1 Week
Client
Alzheimer's Association Academic Spirit
Daty 1 Mapping
Day 1 - Mapping
After examining the different charities our teams decided to redesign the Alzheimer's Association. The Alzheimer's Association leads the way to end Alzheimer's and all other dementia — by accelerating global research, driving risk reduction and early detection, and maximizing quality care and support.
To gain a better understanding of the charity's operations, we analyzed its website. This is because we wanted to get an understanding of what the user flow was for the site with a focus on the donation experience. Below is an annotations of our findings
Landing Page
Donation Experience
Key findngs
Pain Points of the Donation Expereince
Purple overload
There was an overwhelming use of the colour purple which made the website look outdated.
Too long to pay
The donation experience was long-winded and it does not provide other payment options such as Google and Apple Pay
Everything is everwhere
The website felt disorganised for instance the social media icons are usually located in the footer, not on the main home page. Also, the tabs on the left-hand side of the screen were not helpful for the user as you can only have the tabs on the home page.
Secondary Research
Diving deeper in to statistics and facts
Once we found the charity we wanted to help redesign we started to conduct research into the charity and explore some statistics on Alzheimer's. We also looked into reasons why people don't charities and what motivates people to donate to charity.
65
Every 65 seconds somebody in the US is diagnosed with Alz
42,635
of women die each year because of the disease which is more than men
900,000
900,000 people with dementia in the UK. This is projected to rise to 1.6 million people by 2040.
Why people don't donate to charity
Financial struggles
With more and more individuals and families struggling just to pay rent, many people simply don't have a lot of extra cash to toss into the donation basket. Even if they are able to pay their bills, they can be held back by the fear that their situation won't stay secure, especially as they are inundated with new messages about the increasing costs of retirement, education and other areas.
Organizational distrust
Corruption scandals plague charities and nonprofits just the same as they do politicians and traditional businesses. Take William Aramony of United Way of America, for example, who siphoned money from UWA through spin-off companies. Or consider Father Bruce Ritter, who stepped down from Covenant House under allegations of sexual misconduct.
Lack of clear personal influence
In a 2019 Ted Talk, psychologist Elizabeth Dunn noted that people are happier in charitable giving when they can see that what they are doing makes a distinct difference. They don't just want to give a check to an organization; they want to see, for example, the books or gallons of water purchased with their dollars, or to watch a video about how their donation changed the lives of specific people in a community.
User Interviews
Understanding the Donation Experience from the Point of View of the User
Based on the research we have gathered we decided to hear from the users about their own experience. We developed a few research objectives to understand and guide us on what we want out of the interviews. Below is the objective that we have come up with.
We wanted to understand what barriers are stopping people from donating.
What are the factors stopping people from donating to charity.
What is the users experience when you are donating on a charity website
What is the user's understanding of Alzheimer's
We wanted to understand what motivates the user to donate to charities
Insights from the Interviews
Difficult Donation Experience
The participants have donated to charity before via their website and had difficulties donating. One common frustration they had was that the site would not make it clear to the user whether they were making a one-time donation or a monthly donation. One user had donated to a charity on their website which didn't make it clear that the donation was a monthly donation. This left the user feeling frustrated and reluctant to donate again.
Knowledge Alzheimer's
The participants had limited knowledge about what Alzheimer's was and how affects people who have the disease. Users would have used sites such as Wikipedia to do research about the disease instead of charity websites as they believed that it's hard to understand the information on those sites.
Distrust When Donating
The participants can be reluctant to donate to charity and they don't know what the charity will do with their money. Users expressed that some charities have had sandals that donations went to the CEO of the charity and not to the intended. This made users reluctant to donate to charities because the charities did not make it clear enough where the donations were going.
Persona
Formulating a Persona to Improve the Donation Experience
We created a persona based on the research we have done. Our person Generous George has a grandmother who has been diagnosed with Alzheimer's and he is interested in donating to an Alzheimer's charity. Because of his interest in technology and science, he wants to make a donation that will go towards researching the disease, however, he finds that some charities don't make it clear or give the user options as to what his money is being used for.
Motivations / Goals
-
Likes to donate to organisations that represent their values and are close to their heart
-
Loves to learn as much as he can about topics that he finds interesting
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Feeling fulfilled and like he’s ‘filling his cup’ by supporting specific charities + and organisations
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Encouraged by transparency into where their money is going and how they have made an impact
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Feeling like he’s doing ‘good’ in the world
Behaviours
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​Likes to donate to causes close to his heart
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Always use Google Pay and hardly use a credit card if they can avoid it
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Uses the internet daily via his phone and laptop
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Always set up automatic payments for recurring expenses.
Generous George
Occupation: Software Developers
Age: 26
Location: London
Marital status: Single
Quote
“I know I am not going to save the world, but I like to think I am helping to solve a problem”
Biography
George is a software developer living with his grandmother in London. He has a deep passion for technology and its potential to make a positive impact on people's lives. His grandmother was recently diagnosed with Alzheimer’s and the news sparked a strong desire within him to learn more about the condition and actively support initiatives working towards finding a cure.
Frustrations
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Not knowing what his donation money is used for
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Confusing paywalls
-
Organisations that seem vague and lack transparency
-
Pushy sales tactics from organisations
How might we streamline the donation process and create a more user-friendly experience to encourage potential donors to give generously to the Alzheimer's Association of the UK?
Day 2 - Sketching and Decision making
Day 2 - Sketching and Decision Making
On day 2 we started to explore different ideas of what we could do for the redesign of the website. We wanted to keep in mind the worry of the donors about where their money is going and we also wanted to inform them about what Alzheimer's was.
To help us work on the donation experience we decided to map out our persona George Jounary through the site to make a donation.
The flow will begin when George lands on the home page. George has an interest in developing technology and therefore has an interest in seeing what new developers are being made to treat the disease. He clicks on the "Our projects" section where he views different causes that he is interested in.
Once he loved through all the projects that the charity was funding, he decided that he wanted to make a donation. when he clicks the donation button he is given the option of whether he wants his donation to be split between three causes or donate to one signal cause. This feature allows the user to know where their money is going and gives the user the power to decide where their money goes. The user will also be given many options in making the donation such as Google pay and Apple Pay.
Day 3 - Prototype
Day 3 - Prototype
Below is the prototype we have made. We introduced a new colour to combat the overuse of purple this gives off a more balanced look and feel to the website
Landing Page
Donation Experience
Day 4 - Fixing Prototype
Day 4 - Fixing Prototype
We conducted usability testing by inviting a group of users to interact with the prototype. This hands-on testing allowed me to gather valuable insights into user interactions, pain points, and overall satisfaction. Given the limited time we had on this project, we could only do one round of user testing.
3/5
Users were able to find the research project
5/5
Users successfully made donations on the site
4/5
Needed clear titles and labelling to navigate on-site
After we finished the user research we then improved the user experience. Below is the new prototype and annotations of the changes we made and why.
Landing Page
Donation Experience
Next Steps
Further Developments
Testing
Proceed with a more rounds of testing until the navigation process is seamless
Sign-off
Presenting to client and receiving the go-ahead
Develop
Setting up a technical team to bring the product from prototype to a marketable product