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KindLink

ROLES
  • Project Manager
  • UX/UI Designer
TARGET USERS
  • Volunteers
  • Prospective Volunteers
DURATION
  • 3 months
Project Overview

KindLink, a social media platform designed for volunteers

KindLink is designed to create a safe and inspiring community for volunteers, connecting them with opportunities that match their location, skills, and passions.

For this project, I led a team of designers to identify the pain points of both existing and prospective volunteers seeking opportunities within Canada. Using design thinking, we designed an app that serves as a central hub for discovering positions, engaging with the community, supporting like-minded individuals, and sharing experiences, all with the aim of fostering a motivating and connected volunteer community.

View Screenshots
First Problem

Users do not know how to get started

Finding volunteering opportunities online can be overwhelming. The information is scattered across various platforms, making it challenging for prospective and first-time volunteers to know where to start. Many rely on friends for guidance, which isn’t always effective.

First Solution

KindLink – Your Gateway to Volunteering

KindLink simplifies the search process by being a one-stop hub for volunteers. Our intuitive sign-up form captures users’ information and preferences, and our algorithm generates tailored matches post-sign-up, helping them get started quickly.

  • KindLink – Sign Up Form
    • Second Problem

    Tedious Filtering of Volunteering Opportunities

    Users often need to visit multiple websites to filter opportunities based on their preferences and location, which can be time-consuming and frustrating.

    Second Solution

    Smart Matching with KindLink

    KindLink uses user data from profiles and work experience to match volunteers with the most relevant opportunities. By leveraging internal and external databases, we streamline the process and present the best matches to users, whether they are new or experienced volunteers.

  • KindLink – Smart Search

    • Project Screenshots

    Empathy

    Volunteers either want new experiences, grow their network, or work with causes close to their hearts.

    Volunteers seek new experiences, opportunities to grow their network, or to support causes that resonate with them. To better understand these motivations, our team conducted in-depth research, creating empathy maps, affinity diagrams, and user personas to identify key insights and relationships between data points.

    • Motivations for Volunteering: Many volunteers are driven by the desire to grow their network, hone their skills, and gain valuable experience. For others, volunteering offers a sense of purpose by supporting causes that resonate with their personal interests.
    • Job Search and Volunteering: Volunteering can be formal or informal, depending on the nature of the organization and the role. Most people begin their search for opportunities online, but the available information is often scattered and not centralized. It is crucial for organizations to establish a strong online presence to be more accessible and build trust with potential volunteers.
      When applying, volunteers typically verify the legitimacy of the organization or position by examining its certifications, mission, and reports.
    • Encouraging Participation Through Gamification: Volunteers have suggested incorporating gamification features—such as badges and leaderboards—to boost engagement and motivation within the community.
  • KindLink – Empathy Map
  • KindLink – User Personas
  • KindLink – Affinity Map
    • Definition & Ideation

    Ideating Targeted Solutions to Inspire and Increase Volunteership

    Building on our research, I led a UX workshop to pinpoint user pain points using braindumps and votation processes. We employed the ‘How Might We’ method to brainstorm solutions addressing these challenges. This process led to the creation of a feature priority matrix, sitemap, user flow, and moodboard guiding our subsequent design sessions.

  • KindLink – Problem Definition
  • KindLink – Feature Prioritization
  • KindLink – Sitemap
  • KindLink – Moodboard
    • Prototyping

    Converting ideas into interactive prototypes

    I led a paper prototyping session with the team to ideate layouts and information hierarchy, and finalized it through a low-fidelity prototype, ready for user testing.

  • KindLink – Sketches
  • KindLink – Low-Fidelity Wireframe
  • KindLink – Medium-Fidelity Prototype
    • Usability Testing

    Testing prototypes to iterate and enhance the user experience

    We conducted 2 rounds of user testing with 3 participants each to evaluate the usability and navigation. Mostly, they found the app to be inspiring and motivating for the community with few concerns on the app feedback and user flow.

  • KindLink – User Journey Map (First round of test)
  • KindLink – User Journey Map (Second round of test)
    • Reflections

    Leveraging User Testing to Enhance the Experience

    The most crucial lesson I learned was to test the prototype with prospective users to uncover pain points for those unfamiliar with similar apps or tools. This approach allowed us to accommodate both existing and new volunteers and their different experiences when signing up and searching for opportunities online.

    If we had more time, I would have loved to explore and research other extreme users, such as ‘individuals who are unsure about volunteering’ or ‘volunteer group administrators,’ to make the app more robust and user-friendly.

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