Giver
Because we are better together
My analysis focused on platforms and apps connecting people, to help and support each other. Many of the analysed apps offer functional UI, rich content and lots of categories. Most of them almost felt not only rich but overwhelming. The discovery of the app took me quite a significant time. My takeaway was to design a simple and minimalistic experience for my users.
I also realised that my project requires two separate user flows, with an eventual interconnection. The journeys start after the initial choice of the user to either offer to give or ask for help. Taking into account the limited time I had for this project, I decided to focus mainly on the flow for users that decided to give.
The main goals of my user research were:
Luckily I had many acquaintances and friends with experience in giving and who had looked for better ways to help others. I conducted an interview with 5 potential users.
The final persona resulted from my competitor analysis and other research. Mika is 37 years old and connecting with other people and helping them comes natural to her.
Defining the user flow was a crucial moment for me since it helped me make sure that the flow fits the concept of "Giver".
When working on my wireframes I focused on making sure that the user experience is easy and intuitive. Additionally, I tried to avoid any features that may distract rather than help the user.
During the process of designing the Giver app, I was thinking about the type of user that will use it. Since it could literally be anyone, I knew that my app needs to be clear for adults of any age group.
I used the first draft wireframes to conduct usability testing with 5 potential users. Like that, I also collected a helpful list of takeaways to be taken into consideration by my UI design.
I also put together an affinity map to group and prioritise the collected findings for further iterations.
With my tested wireframes I moved to defining and refining my brand style. It was a challenging moment since may ideas were running through my heads based on the user interviews too. I knew that I wanted to design an app that expresses energy, joy and happiness.
My initial brand style included a logo, fonts, colours and CTAs with which I moved to UI. At this stage I found out that the name Giverr with double "r" was already taken by an app devoted to mirco-donations and thus needed to be changed. I decided to stick to Giver, which suited me well since it helped with my logo concept. :)
Designing the UI taught me a lot about building hierarchy. I exposed elements like "what, who, where and when" because from my interviews it was clear that these are essential elements for people willing to help. I designed a high-fidelity prototype which was ready to be tested.
Four potential users tested my high-resolution prototype. All of them completed the tasks successfully. Even though that I noticed that the topic of hierarchy still had space for improvement. I collected a very helpful list of remarks and ideas that made my project even better.
It was wonderful to feel the enthusiasm about my project and hear comments that they would love to have this app available soon.
When polishing my UI designs I also created a UI Kit. It was helpful to see if my UI is consistent across all screens, and if all elements work well together.
This project showed me that even designing a seemingly easy user flow can be very challenging. It is about finding the right balance of providing all necessary data and assistance whilst keeping the experience light, easy and intuitive.
Also and especially the UI design part held great lessons for me in terms of building the right hierarchy among elements on the screens. Also, removing some colours turned out beneficial to increase focus on the right elements.
I thoroughly enjoyed designing the app and would be keen to design also the user flow for those asking for support. Let Giver be live soon!
