This project involved designing a mobile application for 365Give, aimed at encouraging young adults to incorporate giving into their daily lives. The app was designed to foster a habit of giving, build a supportive community, and offer personalized recommendations for volunteering and charitable activities. Additionally, it incorporates mood-tracking features, allowing users to monitor the emotional impact of their actions, and enables them to earn and donate reward points to sponsor organizations, amplifying their positive contributions on a global scale.
I designed this app concept from scratch, using research findings to inform design decisions. Through usability testing, I iterated on the design to refine the user experience. The final prototype was delivered to stakeholders, showcasing the main flows and key features of the app.
My role
UX Designer
Timeline
June - August 2024
Platform
Mobile Application
The client
365Give
_Background
Founded by Jacqueline Way, this small pledge has since evolved into a remarkable global movement that inspires individuals of all ages to engage in daily acts of kindness, compassion, and generosity.
The fact that you made the presentation interactive and actually walked me through exactly what the app was capable of was very impressive. [...] I love that you were looking at really creating an ecosystem. [...] Thank you for making something so wonderfully possible. And put it into a vision for me.
Jacqueline Way
Founder
_Impact
The potential impact of this project is significant, both on a local and global scale, and it has captured the interest of the founder, who is eager to take the design forward into the development phase.
_Stakeholder Interview
After reviewing the project brief, I collaborated with two UX Designers to develop interview questions aimed at understanding the stakeholder’s vision, priorities, and challenges for 365Give. We conducted a thorough interview to clarify her goals for the app and the organization’s mission.
A photo from our team Zoom meeting with the stakeholder
_Top 5 Insights
_The Challenge
The broad project brief added complexity, as it included numerous features that the client wanted, which needed to be prioritized and refined. Additionally, the limited timeframe put pressure on the design process, requiring quick decisions and iterative testing to ensure that the final product met the stakeholder’s vision. Balancing these elements while maintaining a clear focus on the app’s core objectives was a demanding yet rewarding experience. I looked back at my personal experience with volunteering or inspiration.
_My Inspiration
During my time in community college, I served as a board member of the Vietnamese Catholic Student Association (VCSA), where I was deeply involved in organizing events like the "Feed the Less Fortunate" initiative. This monthly event, where college students prepared meals for 300 homeless people, was awarded Service and Leadership Event of the Year by my college.
The most rewarding aspects of these experiences for me were the opportunities to make a positive impact and to find and connect with local communities. These experiences significantly influenced my approach to designing an app that fosters community engagement and amplifies the impact of giving.
Photos of me volunteering for the Feed The Less Fortunate event
The award
_Brief Interpretation
I revisited the project brief with a fresh perspective, informed by the additional insights gained from the stakeholder interview and my personal experiences with volunteering. Drawing from both the brief and my understanding of community building, I formulated "How might we" questions that aimed to address the core challenges and opportunities identified. With these questions in mind, I set out the goals for this app to be the foundation of the design strategy.
Build communities both locally and globally inside the app
Help users easily find giving opportunities
Create a meaningful reward system for givers
_Research Findings
I carefully reviewed and analyzed past research reports that included data collected through a survey of 43 participants and in-depth interviews with 5 participants, providing deeper insights into their perceptions of 365Give and charitable activities.
By analyzing these responses, I identified key behaviors, challenges, and preferences that helped me tailor the app’s features to better meet the needs of these diverse user groups. These findings provided a solid foundation for the design decisions that followed, ensuring the app would effectively engage its target audience and support their charitable efforts.
_The App Ecosystem
This is a high-level overview of the app ecosystem. The app creates a dynamic environment where users can browse and follow communities, participate in volunteer events, and connect with like-minded individuals. This interconnected ecosystem not only builds a strong sense of community but also drives sustained engagement and global contributions.
_Heuristic Evaluation & Competitive Analysis
I conducted a thorough heuristic evaluation and competitive analysis by examining similar non-profit websites and apps. This analysis allowed me to identify key gaps in the current market, such as the lack of personal tracking, reward systems, and community-building features. By understanding what's missing, I was able to pinpoint areas where 365Give could truly provide value to users and differentiate itself from existing platforms.
Additionally, I drew inspiration from various other apps, analyzing their successful features to incorporate into the 365Give app. This process ensured that the design leveraged proven strategies to enhance user engagement and functionality.
Community
Gamification
Search
Event
Takeaways
After going through all the apps, I learned best practices for each flows and how I can highlight features that differentiate 365Give from other organizations.
_Ideation
Focusing on the core user interactions and features. Through iterative cycles of feedback from my mentor and teammates and revision sessions, I continued to build on these sketches, developing and enhancing the concepts until they formed a cohesive and intuitive user experience.
_App Navigation
One of the key challenges I faced was figuring out how to organize the vast amount of information within the app in a way that made it easy for users to find what they needed. My goal was to create a navigation system that would allow users to quickly access the app’s core features without feeling overwhelmed.
Left Nav Menu:
User’s communities & events
Customize feed from different communities
Overview of upcoming events
Schedule events on calendar
Right Nav Menu: User profile
Overview of their giving activities tracking
Badges and achievements in impact dashboard
Mood log
Friends list
Bottom Nav Bar
Easy access to key functions of the app
Quickly create new giving events, communities, or posts
_Homefeed
A personalized and dynamic homefeed
My goal was to allow users to discover new ways to give back. The feed is designed to inspire daily acts of kindness through small, actionable ideas, while also connecting users with communities that share their passions.
Problem addressed:
Users don't know about giving opportunities and events
Users have to spend too much time searching for event information
Feature 1: Daily giving ideas
Get inspired with small and quick act of giving ideas
Feature 2: Suggested events
Find & join volunteer events from different organizations
Feature 3: Communities & posts
Follow communities of interests
Browse through posts and interact with community members
Communities to follow
Best Friends Animal Society
213K members
Followed
A better world through kindness to animals is our vision, our guiding principal is the Golden Rule, and our mission...
PetSmart Charities
27K members
Follow
We are committed to finding lifelong, loving homes for all pets by supporting programs and thought leadership that...
_Key User Flow #1
User Onboarding + Create an Account
By guiding users with clear, step-by-step instructions, I aimed to minimize friction and ensure they understood the app’s key features and benefits from the start, helping them see its value in enhancing their giving journey.
Problem addressed:
Users don't get personalize event recommendations on their giving preferences
Feature 1: Personalization
Personalize feed & giving events/ideas recommendations
Feature 2: Notification system
Tailor based on user preferences and activities
Remind of upcoming events or milestones
Customize with schedule and interests
Feature 3: Location tracking
Let user find nearby giving events
Help users connects with local givers and organizations
Feature 4: Onboarding tutorials
Introduce all the main apps features so users can navigate easily
_Key User Flow #2
Search for Events and Communities
Recognizing that users might have diverse needs and constraints, I prioritized creating flexible search options that would allow them to quickly and efficiently discover relevant events.
Problem addressed:
Users can easily find opportunities that align with their specific interests, availability, and location.
Feature 1: Search bar
Search with keywords, location, and categories
Feature 2: Map
View nearby giving events and communities
Feature 3: Advanced Filter
Narrow down search results
_Key User Flow #3
Join, Participate, and Complete a Giving Event
My goal was to create a seamless experience that not only makes it easy for users to find and join events but also supports them throughout their journey.
Problem addressed:
Guides users through the entire process of joining, participating in, and completing a volunteer event.
Feature 1: View event detail page
Review key information about giving events
Invite friends to join
Feature 2: Reminder notification
Remind users that the event will happen soon and instruct them to go to the location
Feature 3: Check-in process
Quick and easy process for users to check-on with the event organizations
Feature 4: Remind to complete event
After the event ending time, the app will notify users to click complete event
Feature 5: Earn reward points
Users earn points for every completed events
_User Flows #4
Mood Tracking & Share a New Post in Community
In this flow, I focused on helping users see the positive impact of giving and volunteering on their mental health, while also strengthening their connection to the community.
Problem addressed:
Users are not aware of how their giving activities impact the communities and their well-being.
Feature 1: Create a new post to community
Users share their experiences with giving events they participated in
Choose communities relevant to the posts
Feature 2: Mood track & analysis
Users can track their mood before and after each act of giving
AI will analyze the trends and patterns of users’ emotions to give stats on the impact of giving
Feature 3: Personalized & interactive community feed
The algorithm will suggest posts and communities based on users’ preferences and activities
Users can get follow, share, comment, and save the post right in the feed
_User Flows #5
Donate Reward Points to Sponsor Organizations
The focus is on creating a tangible connection between users' actions and the positive impact they can make globally.
Problem addressed:
There is no incentives for users to give constantly
Users are less aware of international non-profit organizations
Feature 1: Review points activity
Track how and when they earn or spend points on different activities
Feature 2: Earn daily giving rewards
Incremental reward points when users track act of giving daily
Feature 3: Browse & view sponsor organizations details
Browse through a list of sponsor organizations
Detail page presenting key information about the organizations and their initiatives
Feature 4: Impact tracking
Users can view their impact through data, charts, graphs, etc after they donate to sponsor organizations
Feature 5: Personalized thank you message
Users will receive personalized thank you message from supporting organizations and benefitors
_Design System
that would ensure consistency across the entire app. This involved developing a set of design guidelines, including typography, color schemes, and iconography.
_Developer Handoff
I focused on providing detailed information for the key components and critical flows to ensure the developers had a solid foundation to work from.
_Final Presentation & Design Prototype
I walked the stakeholder through the challenges we faced, the insights gathered from research, and how these informed my design decisions and user flows. By showcasing key features, prototypes, and the design system, I effectively demonstrated how the app meets user needs and aligns with their vision.
A photo of my presentation to the stakeholder
View Prototype
_Feedback
Your presentation was beautifully done. It was interactive. It was compelling. It was interesting. You kept my attention right through till the end. So congratulations on a job beautifully done. The fact that you made the presentation interactive and actually walked me through exactly what the app was capable of was very impressive.
I love that you started with your own story. Because that made the connection for me of why this matters to you, and I think that when we connect people the most listen. [...] Congratulations for getting people connected to where this was going to go.
I love that you were looking at really creating an ecosystem. [...] Thank you for making something so wonderfully possible. And put it into a vision for me.
Jacqueline Way
Founder, 365Give
“I've been very happy with where the direction that you took everything and how you pursued your screens and the experience overall. You have a little bit more natural intuition of what the right direction and it means that you are on the right trajectory”
Nick Busman
_Takeaways
I learn to navigate vague and complex challenges. Facing a broad project brief and numerous feature requests, I learned how to break down vague challenges into actionable steps. This experience showed me how to stay focused on core objectives, even when the path forward wasn’t entirely clear.
If I had more time, I would have conducted more usability testing with volunteers and non-profit organizations. Iterating on the design with a larger pool of users would have allowed me to refine the user experience further and address any unforeseen issues.
