Connecting community through Mutual Aid.

SOLIDARITY

Product

Mobile Application

Skills

Ideation

Desk Research

Customer Discovery

User Interviews

Product Design & Iterations

Interactive Prototype

Usability Testing

I led the design evolution, from ideation to prototyping for Solidarity — a mobile application connecting users to local mutual aid organizations.

Strengthening community through volunteering.

View Prototype

Timeline

15 weeks - Jan - May 2025

What is Mutual Aid?

Mutual aid is about cooperating to serve community members and establishing networks of care and generosity to meet the immediate needs of our neighbors.

Mutual Aid addresses the root causes of challenges we face and helps initiate transformative change.

Mission & Vision

Despite its benefits, engagement in mutual aid remains inconsistent due to barriers such as a lack of awareness, time constraints, social taboos, and mistrust between volunteers and organizations.

My mission with this platform is to increase public awareness of mutual aid organizations so that local communities can get the help they need.

Problem

Amid socioeconomic and political crises and the unrelenting impact of climate change, the need for mutual aid has increased significantly. These challenges further highlight the deeply rooted systemic inequalities in our society, and mutual aid has long since been a way to support the local communities and marginalized groups who are disproportionately impacted by these injustices.

However, finding mutual aid networks can be difficult as they often operate in a decentralized, grassroots nature, making it challenging to connect with those looking to get involved.

Research

I conducted six user interviews to identify a deeper understanding of users' thoughts, feelings, motivations, and behaviors surrounding their involvement or lack thereof in mutual aid and other social initiatives. During these interviews, I discovered the following common pain point plaguing users:

Trusted Source:

Most users currently find volunteer opportunities through word of mouth from friends, peers, and/or colleagues.

Flexibility:

All users cited the main barrier preventing them from volunteering is scheduling around their busy schedules, but finding flexible opportunities proved difficult.

Impact:

Users want to volunteer with organizations in areas they are interested in or that require skills that they already possess, so they feel qualified and are able to make a tangible impact.

Solution

To solve these user issues, I aimed to create an application to simplify the process of getting involved, ensuring that local aid organizations receive the support they need while volunteers find fulfilling opportunities aligned with their passions and expertise. Key features and aspects for the platform would include:

A single directory of volunteer opportunities to reduce research fatigue.

A personalized matching algorithm to suggest connections based on location, interest, and mutual need.

In-app scheduling and interactive calendar views to for clear and quick sign up.

Process

Market Research

Existing platforms for volunteer engagement often fall short in facilitating mutual aid participation, as they rely on either broad, impersonal listings or hyperlocal grassroots networks that are difficult for new volunteers to identify and navigate. This creates a gap between willing volunteers and the organizations that need them.

Key Gaps & Opportunities

Personalization

Existing platforms are fragmented and lack personalization - they are reliant on user search and filtering and do not provide accurate matching capabilities.

Navigation

Current volunteering databases are outdated and difficult to navigate.

Community Feel

Current solutions lack the community feel - limited tools for scheduling, onboarding and communications hinders volunteer retention.

Target Audiece

Volunteers

Individuals looking for ways to give back, whether they are students, working professionals, retirees, or community members wanting to contribute

Mutual Aid Organizations:

Nonprofits, grassroots initiatives, and local charities in need of volunteers and resources.

Demographics & Behaviors:

Age Range: 18-65

Young adults, working professionals, and retirees who are looking for meaningful engagement.

Tech Proficiency: Moderate to high

Users are familiar with digital platforms like dating/job search apps.

Motivation: Users have a desire to contribute to community-driven efforts but are often unsure where to start or which organizations align with their skills and availability.

Pain Points: Users lack awareness of local mutual aid efforts, have difficulty finding organizations that match their interests, and can find the volunteer process to be overwhelming and inaccessible.

Provide a pathway to fulfill service-learning requirements.

Key Stakeholders

Mutual Aid Organizations & Nonprofits:

Local Governments

& Community Centers

Tech & Social Impact Investors:

Universities & Student Groups:

Groups seeking streamlined volunteer recruitment.

Opportunities for partnerships to integrate community engagement initiatives.

Foundations and venture capitalists looking to invest in social good projects

Goals & Outcomes

User Goals

Provide an engaging way for users to find meaningful volunteer opportunities.

Increase visibility for local mutual aid organizations.

Reduce the friction in the volunteering process, making it more accessible and personalized.

Stakeholder Goals

Improve volunteer retention rates for organizations.

Align the matching process between volunteers and aid groups to increase efficiency and impact.

Create a scalable, community-driven model that could be expanded to different regions.

Success Metrics

User Engagement: Number of sign-ups, profile completions, and successful volunteer matches.

Retention: Frequency of volunteer engagement over time.

Organization Satisfaction: Improved volunteer recruitment and retention rates.

Community Impact: Measurable increase in mutual aid initiatives supported through the platform.

User Interviews

Methods

I sent out screener surveys to find 6 participants within my target audience to conduct user interviews.

The goal of these interviews was to identify a deeper understanding of users' thoughts, feelings, motivations, and behaviors surrounding their involvement or lack thereof in mutual aid and other social initiatives.

Objectives

Understand how aspiring volunteers initiate the process of finding organizations.

Determine what makes a successful volunteer experience

What information is required to onboard a new volunteer?

Understand the impacts of volunteer retention.

Determine barriers to the volunteer experience.

Key Findings & Insights

A majority of users currently find volunteer opportunities through word of mouth from friends, peers, and/or colleagues.

All 6 users cited the main barrier preventing them from volunteering as scheduling.

Most users want a clear understanding of commitment levels and expectations prior to engaging in a volunteer opportunity.

Most users prefer flexible volunteer opportunities and would be less inclined to sign up for an opportunity with rigid upfront commitments.

For 3 out of 5 users, volunteering with organizations in areas they are interested in or that require skills they already possess was a priority, so they feel qualified and are able to make a tangible impact.

User Personas

1/2

Journey Maps

1/4

User Flows

Low to Mid Fidelity Wireframes

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Usability Testing - Round 1

Methods

A series of mid-fidelity usability tests were conducted to identify design flaws, improve accessibility, and uncover flow gaps based on user behavior and preferences to help outline design iteration priorities.

Key Findings & Insights

Thorough Onboarding

Many users found the onboarding assessment was lacking crucial information, such as volunteer requirements, including age considerations, mandatory trainings, and excursion level.

Objectives

Evaluate onboarding assessment and determine core/critical questions.

Observe user navigation and identify areas to implement additional wayfinding.

Asses time spent vs user impact for micro interactions moving into hi-fidelity design.

Determine information hierarchy preference based on users' behavior.

Identify key themes to prioritize during the iterative design phase.

Low/Mid-Fi test users were able to successfully complete the tasks, but were underwhelmed by the linear and sterile transitions - early design iterations lacked personality, leaving the user unengaged.

Micro-Interactions

Early tests indicated the “Tinder Swipe” for browsing listings was not intuitive without multiple visual indications. Suggests that alternative navigation may be more effective.

Swipe Navigation

Design System

Usability Testing - Round 2

Methods

A final series of usability tests was conducted on hi-fidelity design iterations to validate or oppose design decisions, refine interactions, and receive feedback on branding and Imagery. Testing methodology and key objectives include:

Objectives

Assess the effectiveness of the information hierarchy and evaluate if adjustments are required.

Gain feedback on product consistency.

Obtain feedback regarding the expanded onboarding process.

Determine if scroll/swipe navigation indicators successfully communicate feature intention.

Key Findings & Iterative Designs

Many users were unable to successfully identify how to view their volunteer recommendations. Often, user selected the “Featured” listing rather than the “Discover” category.

To address this, I renamed the heading to “For You” to make the intent clearer. I also made the listing much larger and moved the frame to the top of the screen to draw the user's attention.

The “Tinder Swipe” feature that I initially intended to utilize did not test well in early design development. Upon reflection, the gamification aspect is counterproductive to the mission of increasing engagement.

I opted for a standard scroll, which gives users more control and allows them not to revisit listings they've scrolled past rather than “swiping left” and being unable to retrieve them again,

Many users found the initial confirmation page underwhelming. Participants stated that the information was beneficial, but the layout and tone did not evoke any excitement surrounding the volunteer event.

To address this, I made the schedule confirmation secondary to a message of gratitude from the organization, accompanied by animated confetti to provide congratulations for taking the step to give back to their community.

Gallery

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Prototype Walk-Through

View Interactive Prototype

Hi - Fidelity Designs

Reflection & Lessons Learned

Form Follows Function

Moving away from a design feature that you were sure you wanted to include can be the right choice if it makes for better functionality.

Know when you're overdesigning. Can a simpler interaction achieve the goal more efficiently?

Benefit of Unmoderated Testing

This is the first time I’ve utilized an asynchronous testing software. It has its pros and cons, but can be very beneficial for quick feedback and A/B testing design iteration ideas.