Overview

Research

User flows

outcomes

next steps

thank you

Give 5 initiative

Denver’s First Lady, Courtney Johnston, wants more people to volunteer. She created Give 5, an initiative encouraging Denver residents to volunteer 5 hours each month for rewards. This mobile app creates and fosters that experience.

Challenge

Design a mobile app that makes volunteering both convenient and rewarding, while bringing all opportunities and incentives together in one easy-to-use place.

Audience

The app is designed for people in Denver who are community-minded individuals seeking to grow, share their skills, and earn local incentives through volunteering.

Solution

This solution is a mobile app that learns about each user to recommend personalized volunteer experiences, enables convenient event selection, and supports social engagement through notifications and friend activity.

User Interviews

I conducted eight one-on-one interviews with people who have volunteered in the Denver and Boulder region. Male and female participants were included, ages 18-54. Each session lasted 10–15 minutes and explored the types of volunteer experiences they have encountered, their initial motivations for volunteering, and what was memorable about those experiences. These insights informed the initial design considerations for the volunteer app.

Affinity Mapping

We used these findings to create an affinity map, pulling out key insights from the interviews that informed the initial design considerations for the volunteer app.

view affinity map

key findings from user interviews

memorable moments

Many volunteers’ most memorable experiences were closely tied to their initial intentions and often involved moments of laughter or strong social connection. These impactful moments were frequently described as incentives, especially when felt as tangible rewards for their participation.

pre-instruction

Volunteers reported wanting to be informed and prepared before activities, with clear details about tasks and locations, as well as reliable communication and scheduling reminders. This pre-instruction supported their confidence and readiness to volunteer.

skill building

Participants were motivated by the opportunity to learn new skills or to contribute by offering their existing skills to others, which often increased their excitement and commitment to volunteering.

group interviews

Group interviews with over 50 recently active volunteers revealed common complaints about the current Give 5 website and sign-up process, as well as suggestions for making event coordination smoother.

Participants cited insufficient event tracking and inconsistent communication between volunteers and organizations as barriers to smooth event coordination.

features

Feature: Hand-Shaped Hour Tracker: A visually engaging hour-tracking feature inspired by the platform's logo, allowing volunteers to easily log and monitor their hours contributed.

Direct Messaging to Organizations: A messaging button enabling volunteers to communicate directly with organizations for quick questions, updates, or feedback.

Enhanced Event Card Details: Event cards display key details requested by participants during interviews, such as the number of participants, for clearer event planning and participation.

pain point 1

pain point 2

Past volunteers requested a more streamlined approach to event promotion, expressing that the current system is too fragmented to keep up with.

features

Friend Activity Notifications: Ideate a feature that notifies users when their friends are participating in volunteer activities and enables them to join or participate in the same events together.

Finally, participants expressed a desire for opportunities to be interconnected across resources-such as skill-building, emergency services, and certifications-mirroring themes also highlighted in user interviews. One even complained that he " was a warm human body in a room and could have been replaced."

Finally, participants expressed a desire for opportunities to be interconnected across resources-such as skill-building, emergency services, and certifications-mirroring themes also highlighted in user interviews. One even complained that he "was a warm human body in a room and could have been replaced."

features

Personalized Onboarding Experience: A tailored onboarding flow that collects user preferences and interests, helping to personalize content and recommendations for a more relevant and engaging user experience.

Activity Iconography & Categories: Intuitive iconography and clear categories for different types of activities, enabling users to quickly identify and select events that match their interests and desires.

pain point 3

User Journey Map

Throughout the user journey, three key points were highlighted for added emphasis based on user interviews:

Users should be able to view relevant event details both before and after selecting an event.

Provide the ability to message the organization directly from the event registration page.

Enable users to easily add the event to their calendar immediately after messaging the organization.

I designed a secondary onboarding flow that collects volunteers’ personal interests to inform and personalize their user experience before sign up.

wireframes

testing

high fidelity mockup

In an in-person study with five users, we tested our mid-fidelity designs and observed a strong preference for a more streamlined event selection, contact, and registration process. Users were instructed to sign up for a volunteer event without guidance, and give feedback on their experience.

onboarding

Users found the onboarding process too long when each question appeared on its own screen, so we redesigned it to consolidate options into a few rows and maintained the option to skip

home screen

Based on user feedback that the home screen felt cluttered and limited in options, we removed the alert banner (now on the Explore Opportunities page), simplified the layout to feature just one Upcoming Event card, and removed the background from the Rewards section to reduce visual weight.

event registration

Users expected to message organizers without registering, so we duplicated the message button from the Upcoming Event card onto the registration card for easier access. We also added a requested feature showing participants currently at an event.

Add friends during onboarding

Volunteer home screen with alerts, rewards, and suggested events on page

Event registration card with details.

Event selection list

Add friends during onboarding

Home Screen

Event registration

try prototype

impact

We successfully showcased the mobile volunteer application to active Give5 volunteers, who validated several key features and provided valuable feedback. Their approval affirmed the direction of our design and demonstrated the app’s potential to meet real-world volunteer needs.

Special thanks to Josh and Tran Willis, Mike Johnston, and Courtney, whose support was instrumental throughout development. Although the project is currently paused, Courtney expressed strong satisfaction with the progress made in such a short timeframe, reinforcing the potential for future funding and continued iteration toward a successful launch.

registration

The next step for registration focuses on streamlining the experience for volunteers who prefer not to sign up for sensitive events, implementing a universal DocuSign for recurring participants while preserving flexibility for those who wish to choose opportunities on their own terms.

social

Social integration improvements includes enabling quick access to social platforms and live feeds, allowing users to link their social profiles within settings. A centralized community forum has been considered as well.

organization flow

Lastly, a parallel but separate user flow for participating organizations must be created; a unified system where both incentive providers and volunteer groups can manage rewards and participants efficiently.

User flows

wireframes

registration

social

organization flow

Add friends during onboarding

Volunteer home screen with alerts, rewards, and suggested events on page

Event registration card with details.

Event selection list

noun project contributions

Rutmer Zijlstra

Omah Icon

shashank singh

Syaiful Khotam

Larea

Mas Dhimas

Aji Furqon

Three Six Five

Adrien Coquet

Yeong Rong Kim

Kamin Ginkaew

Design Circle

Creative Mahira

Rikas Dzihab

Blair Adams

Minh Do

Muhammad Nur Auliady Pamungkas

Satria Arnata

noun project contributions

Rutmer Zijlstra

Omah Icon

shashank singh

Syaiful Khotam

Larea

Mas Dhimas

Aji Furqon

Three Six Five

Adrien Coquet

Yeong Rong Kim

Kamin Ginkaew

Design Circle

Creative Mahira

Rikas Dzihab

Blair Adams

Minh Do

Muhammad Nur Auliady Pamungkas

Satria Arnata

Connect

stream1ineui@gmail.com

dribbble

Shawn Duncan

Accessibility Improvements

To enhance the visual accessibility of the user interface, I utilized the Adee accessibility contrast checker to assess and adjust color contrast levels. This tool allowed me to identify insufficient contrast ratios in both the category options and the event details card on the home page. Based on the plugin's feedback, I refined the color palette to ensure all text met WCAG AA compliance standards.