UNICEF USA
REDESIGNING THE UNICEF WEBISTE TO ENHANCE USER EXPERIENCE AND EMPOWER ITS GLOBAL IMPACT
PREFACE
UNICEF (United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund) is a global organization that works to protect the rights and well-being of children worldwide. Established in 1946, UNICEF provides humanitarian and developmental aid to children in over 190 countries and territories. The organization's focus areas include education, healthcare, nutrition, clean water and sanitation, emergency relief, and advocacy for children's rights. UNICEF is committed to ensuring that every child has the opportunity to grow up in a safe, healthy, and supportive environment
Timeline - 3 weeks
My Role - UX/UI Designer
Tools - Figma, Trello, Zoom, InVision
PROBLEM SPACE
Non-profit organizations focused on children's welfare face significant challenges in securing the support for their initiatives. It is crucial to understand that how potential donors and other stakeholders interact with the non-profit websites and what could be the key elements influencing their donation considerations
HOW MIGHT WE?
How might we design visually appealing website for UNICEF USA that enhances user experience and encourages them to make donations, ensuring that it also reflects the positive impact and energy of the children welfare cause?
ULTIMATE IMPACT
I want to shift the current website theme to a more colorful and vibrant design that fosters a stronger emotional connection with visitors encouraging them to explore the site more deeply and feel inspired to donate. My goal is to increase the usability and visual appeal of the UNICEF website by incorporating colors that strongly represent children and their rights
ASSUMPTIONS
A website dedicated to children's welfare should be vibrant and colorful as these elements are more likely to engage people. Dark and somber themes are uninviting and may deter potential users from making donations and exploring the content
CONSTRAINTS
The redesign had to align with UNICEF’s existing brand identity, ensuring consistency in the visual elements and allowing updates to the navigational features Further, the project was to be completed within a tight timeline requiring prioritization of key elements only
MY DESIGN PROCESS
Diving deep into user research & crafting every detail to align with what the users truly want
PROBLEM STATEMENT
The current UNICEF website lacks a vibrant design. The dark and somber theme may inadvertently create a disconnect with visitors reducing their willingness to explore the site or further contribute to the cause. The gap in visual appeal and usability hinders the website’s potential to inspire the visitors to take action
UX HYPOTHESIS
By redesigning the UNICEF website with a more colorful and vibrant theme that strongly focuses on children's rights, the user will feel a stronger emotional connection with the content
INITIAL INTERVIEW FINDINGS
Initial interviews were conducted to get insights on UNICEF website. During the interviews it was identified that the current UNICEF website does not look visually appealing. Most participants hold the view that the dark and serious tone of the website feels disconnected from the hopeful spirit of UNICEF mission
What emotions do you feel while navigating the UNICEF website?
“The website feels uninviting, it's a little too dark. When I visit a site dedicated to children's right, I expect it to be full of positivity, hope and a bright future ahead”
How does the overall website layout, including the color theme influence your interaction with the site?
“I think I would feel less inclined to donate on impulse due to the black color theme. A more colorful and child-friendly design would make me feel more connected”
PROTO PERSONA
A 32-year-old working woman who's passionate about global causes. She wants to donate to the UNICEF website doesn't feel motivated to do so
AFFINITY DIAGRAM
The key themes of the affinity diagram included pain points, and donation considerations. From the insights, it was clear that the users wanted a website that is not only functional but also resonates with them on an emotional level. The categorization of feedback greatly helped in refining the design approach
CARD SORTING
To restructure the UNICEF website effectively, I conducted a card sorting exercise. This helped me to understand how users would want to see the content and information divided into clear categories. The result of the card sorting informed a new site map
USER PERSONA
Kristen Watson is a 33-year-old restaurant manager who leads a simple life. She wants to help children in need and comes across UNICEF USA online. However, she feels that the site doesn't effectively communicate the impact of donations and gets confused
USER SCENARIO
Kristen doesn't feel connected to the website and feels that the layout is too dark. However, she decides to sign up as she's drawn by UNICEF's mission and want to support it.
VALUE PROPOSITION
The redesigned UNICEF USA website with vibrant visuals and a brighter layout will inspire greater user engagement. Even if people do not intent to donate, they would be encouraged to explore the site which will increase awareness and drive meaningful action in the future
TASK FLOW
CONCEPT SKETCHES
LOW-FIDELITY WIREFRAMES
The low-fidelity wireframes were created to demonstrate a simplified navigation and a more logical categorization of the content. A total of four pages were designed with the goal to streamline access to the essential pages of the website. These included the homepage, how UNICEF words, donation and ways to give. These wireframes helped to reduce the cognitive load and enhance the user experience in the final design
MID-FIDELITY PRTOTOTYPE
USER TESTING
For the user testing, a guerilla plan was developed for the participants to outline the tasks, instructions and results. From the Homepage, the users were asked to visit the three sub-pages and share their thoughts along the way
ITERATIONS
Based on user feedback, the following iterations were made
HIGH-FIDELITY PROTOTYPE
The prototype progressed from mid-fidelity to high-fidelity version incorporating user feedback and design decisions. The following design is a polished vision of the final product while still allowing room for iteration
CONCLUSION
Our primary objective was to redesign the UNICEF USA website in a way that it resonates with people on an emotional level. Through careful research, user testing and iterative design processes we successfully achieved these goals by developing an easy to navigate and engaging interface that encourages the users to donate. The refined theme and design elements ensure a visually engaging experience that aligns with UNICEF’s mission and encourages people to help the children
KEY LEARNINGS
We learned the importance of,
User-centered design in creating an effective website
Critical insights gathered from the usability testing that guided our design process
The need for a visually engaging interface and its impact on user’s decision
