Courtney Simmons - Dove Youth Development

Project Overview 👀

Redesign the Dove Youth Development website, a nonprofit organization in Puerta Plata, Dominican Republic that strives to engage and inspire Dominican and Haitian youth to discover new opportunities through education. Since the redesign, Dove Youth Development has received 30% more donations and its TripAdvisor ranking is steadily increasing.

Client: Dove Youth Development

Role: UX/UI Designer

Duration: Oct. 22-Jan. 23

Meeting with Client 🗣

I met with Executive Director, Liz Rooney, to discuss the needs and wants for the redesign, target users, and testimonials. The meeting set the expectations for my role as the UX/UI designer, and I was able to understand their issues with the current website and how that has impacted the organization (Not receiving donations, and a low score on TripAdvisor).

Usability Testing for Orignal Website 👩🏾‍💻

5 Participants ages 21-50 years

Scenario: You are planning your next vacation to the Dominican Republic and are considering volunteering at Dove Youth Development.

Tasks: Explore the homepage, the volunteer page, and the donation page.

Results: Participants liked the timeline of the organization- which shows longevity and credibility. However, the original website had design issues such as; a condensed interface, inconsistent font, information overload, and unresponsive links.

Old Timeline

Old Homepage

Old Volunteer Page

Old Donation Page

My Findings 🔍

In observing the users during the testing and in the video recordings seen afterward, I got some very actionable feedback:

With Dove being an international organization, users are hesitant to donate money due to the fear of being scammed or the money not going to the intended place. The expansion of the timeline will highlight longevity and credibility, and the testimonials of past donors will assure the user that the money is going to the intended place.

👩🏻 User Persona & Journey Map 🧳

I created a User Persona based on the stakeholders’ ideal users: Ages 21-60 years who enjoy traveling, and volunteering and have the means to donate.

The User Journey Map was created to visually shows the stakeholders and the rest of the team, where the errors are on the website and how they can impact the users' experience of Dove Youth Development.

User Persona

Collaborations 👥

I collaborated with the Web Developer and the Informational Architecture to condense the information on the wireframe and sitemap so that only the necessary information is presented, easy to read, and that the redesigned webpage is as usable and accessible as possible.

Working on new sitemap

Working on new wireframe

Redesigned Sitemap

Redesigned Wireframe

Usability Testing for Redesigned Website 👩🏾‍💻

5 participants ages 21-50

Scenario: You are planning your next vacation to the Dominican Republic and are considering volunteering at Dove Youth Development.

Tasks: Explore the homepage, the volunteer page, and the donation page.

Results: The website is easy to navigate, the website effectively shows creditability, is visually pleasing, and is informative without being overwhelming. All participants said that they would donate to the organization and would recommend the website to a friend/family member.

New Timeline

New Donations Page

New Volunteer Page

New Homepage

My Findings 🔍

I was able to achieve the goal of establishing the credibility of the organization through the organization’s timeline and testimonials. The new website is visually pleasing, and the information is easy to read. In the future, I would like for the website to be more accessible by having an English-to-Spanish translator. I would also reduce the number of hyperlinks on the donate page since they all go directly to the same webpage.

My Additional Contributions 📹

While in the Dominican Republic, I helped the video team collect B-roll footage of the kids, the building, and the staff at Dove Youth Development. Lastly, I used my experience in video production to create a Donation PSA that is featured on the website.

Final Results 🎉

After presenting the final webpage to the client and the general public, the client was overjoyed by the work that was done. Since the redesign, Dove Youth Development has received 30% more donations and its TripAdvisor ranking is steadily increasing.

Dove Youth Development Presentation

Team Photo

Self Reflection 🫶🏾

This was my first experience working with a client as a UX/UI Designer. The project allowed me to grow my confidence as a designer and get the real-world experience of a UX/UI Designer. I was able to establish my voice when it comes to the needs of the user and present a finished project that exceeded the expectations of the client. Through my work, I formed connections with all the staff and kids, created lifelong memories, and served the public for good.