WAVE
Aims to boost youth leadership in regional and national community programs by fostering networking and communication by a mentorship
Duration
Fall 2021 ~ Spring 2022
Role
Product Designer
For
national YMcA
Collaborators
Spoorthi Cherivirala, Avani Guduri, Chelsea Tang
OVERVIEW
WAVE: boosting youth participation in the community through mentorship
A mobile platform that facilitates connections between youth and their peers, allowing them to launch or join projects they are interested in with partnerships with organizations, mentors, and professionals while seeing their tangible impact in their community.
MY ROLE
UX designer/ researcher
First time designing UI interfaces, I learned while making progresses in collecting user insights through UX research methods such as contextual inquiry. Interacting prototypes on Figma also developed my fundamental designing skills
HIGH LEVEL PROBLEM / CHALLENGE
Youth changemakers* struggle to find community programs of their interest
Why is this an important problem to address?
Lack of connections with peers and program officials at Y
Lack of knowledge and experience
Community spirit and belonging
Developing an altruistic and humanitarian mindset at an early age
Youth wants more experience in preparation for next levels of education
THE INTERVENTION / SOLUTION
Profile Matching App to connect with peers and launch projects
Youth can start building projects with areas of interest
Youth can connect with other changemakers
Share stories about impacts with the WAVE community
DEFINING SCOPE
Narrowing the Problem Scope
How can we.....
Make students feel like it’s their program, give them initiative and a sense of ownership?
Keep youth informed of the impact of their work?
Connect peers with similar interests?
Connect the interests of youth to tangible community programs/organizations?
Increase access to transportation/resources for youth to continue practicing in programs?
SUMMARY
Research Synthesis Overview
How might we help students connect with peers with mutual interests...
In a more accessible way with adequate recourses and guidance?
To form positive reinforcements in projects?
While minimizing adult interventions?
INTERVENTION / IDEATING
Brainstorming Possible Solutions
INTERVENTION / IDEATING
Why Application?
Phone is the most familiar device to youth
LinkedIn and HandShake exist for older professionals, not for youth
YMCA relies on word of mouth and social media solely
Age 10
71%
91%
42%
Age 12
Age 14
of children have a phone
Common sense media
PROTOTYPING
Architecture
Before Jumping into low fidelity sketching, we were sketching rough layouts on a whiteboard with labels and annotations for functions and pages.
PROTOTYPING
User Flow
We have laid out first few paths of user flows between large pages that appear on the navigation bar. This helped us to visualize what was on the whiteboard a lot more clearly for future low fidelity wireframing
INSPIRATION
Competitive Analysis
Before prototyping, our team studied competitors' UIs (Handshake, Facebook, Twitter, Tinder, LinkedIn, Instagram), emphasizing UX design's role in connecting people and fostering group activities. Selected youth-centric features for our app.
BRANDING
Tone & Manner
The lines symbolize the passage of time and the inevitability of change, reflecting progress and transformation. Visually resembling waves, they represent the idea of "making waves"—a metaphor for creating impact, particularly by youth. Additionally, as lines connect two points, they also convey the notion of connection and unity between individuals, emphasizing relationships and shared journeys.
WAVE
Poppins
SF UI Display
YMCA Changemakers
YMCA Changemakers
YMCA Changemakers
YMCA Changemakers
YMCA Changemakers
YMCA Changemakers
YMCA Changemakers
YMCA Changemakers
YMCA Changemakers
SF Pro
YMCA Changemakers
YMCA Changemakers
YMCA Changemakers
YMCA Changemakers
YMCA Changemakers
YMCA Changemakers
YMCA Changemakers
YMCA Changemakers
YMCA Changemakers
Font Sizes
24 - poppins
16 - sf ui display
13 - sf ui display
Font Sizes
24 - poppins
16 - sf ui display
13 - sf ui display
Font Sizes
24 - poppins
16 - sf ui display
13 - sf ui display
WIREFRAMING
Low Fidelity Wireframes
ONBOARDING PAGE
Introduce yourself and your interests
CHAT PAGE
Chat with other changemakers to grow connections
NETWORKING PAGE
Discover new changemakers and ask to connect
ORGANIZATION PAGE
Learn about organizations connect or follow
PROFILE PAGE
Learn about changemakers’ backgrounds, interests, and activities
PROJECT FEED
Organize your projects and see recommended ones
PROJECT PAGE
Learn about project details and request to join
LAUNCHING PROJECTS
Launch your own projects and attract changemakers
TAKING A STEP BACK
Reflections + Takeaways
Adopt a Listener Additude
Insights cannot be gained without listening to the users. Be empathetic and listen attentively
Designing invovles research
From background research to interviewing, research is necessary to validate designs
