Mobile Application Donation App for FitzRoy
FitzRoy is a charity that helps people with learning disabilities.
They are looking to create a mobile application where clients can make easy donation payments, increasing the conversion rates of donations made.
My goal is to gather user research and then analyse the results to find the best way to structure a mobile application.
Market Research
Most Adults with learning disabilities live their lives isolated and ostracised from their communities. In 1962 Elizabeth and John’s vision for their son Michael, who has Down’s Syndrome, to live in the first family-style home.
For more than fifty years Fitzroy has remained firmly rooted in the strong values and ethos that Elizabeth and John held.
FitzRoy transforms lives every day, supporting people with learning disabilities to do the simple things that make a real difference in their everyday life. Our vision, mission and values guide us each step of the way and are as important now as when the charity first began.
Our mission is to transform lives by supporting people with learning disabilities to lead the lives they choose.
''Our vision is a society where people are treated as equals, regardless of their disability. Our mission is to transform lives by supporting people with learning disabilities to lead the lives they choose.''
Competitor Analysis
Qualitative User Interviews
How do you know about Fitzroy?
My daughter who has Bi-polar and autism lives in supported living accommodation in Banbury
When do you normally first use the Internet in a typical day?
Usually when I get up .I would browse my social media and check my emails .
How often do you visit the Fitzroy site, if not why?
The Fitzroy website is quite new but it is improving and gives me information about what’s going on in all the different homes .As a family member I also receive a monthly newsletter.
Do you currently make donations? If not why?
I don’t make donations to Fitzroy itself .I support my daughter. I Worry that if I donate it will go into the big Fitzroy pot and not be distributed to her home so they will benefit .
What do you like about the Fitzroy website?
It’s quite easy to use, looks great with photos of all the residents. I really enjoy hearing about all the stuff they get up to.
What is the biggest pain point?
I think it is a good website. I think I should look at it more frequently and I also think I should tell more people about Fitzroy and the good work they do.
How do you know about Fitzroy?
I work at Fitzroy
When do you normally first use the Internet in an average day ?
I check it most days before work. Sometimes I might need it to research things for work too.
How often do you visit the Fitzroy site, if not why?
I have visited the site its quite informative .our service is going digital soon.I think our IT department are quite good .
Do you currently make donations? If not why?
We have fundraising days at our service to raise a bit of money.we invite the families over too .
What do you like about the Fitzroy website?
You get to find things out about what’s going on in different services .They advertise vacancies and they tell you about fundraising ideas.
What is the biggest pain point?
It seems good to me
How do you know about Fitzroy?
My son lives in one of the houses in Malvern.
When do you normally first use the Internet in a typical day?
Quite early on in the morning.
How often do you visit the Fitzroy site, if not why?
I would say a few times a week. I like to keep updated with stuff that is going on.
Do you currently make donations? If not why?
I do make regular donations.
What do you like about the Fitzroy website?
I like how it’s quite easy to use and looks great with photos of all the residents. I really enjoy hearing about all the stuff they get up to.
What is the biggest pain point?
Not seeing what previous donations I’ve made.
How do you know about Fitzroy?
I am currently a care worker and I have been here for 5 years.
When do you normally first use the Internet in a typical day?
Not straight away, when I have free time during my shift.
How often do you visit the Fitzroy site, if not why?
Not very often. It doesn’t really have much on there that I need to be aware of, as we will get told everything we need to know from the manager.
Do you currently make donations? If not why?
I don’t tend to make donations, because it seems like a long winded process online.
What do you like about the Fitzroy website?
I like that the site represents the community and its history. I also like the way it includes the residents and is easy to use.
What is the biggest pain point?
Filling out the form to make a donation isn’t great as it takes too long and you have to do it every time you want to donate.
Key Findings
- The community feel could be created by making things more personal when a user donates.
- Keeping the brand colours the same.
- Adding photographs or images.
- When people donate they can select what area the money will be donated to.
- Having a transaction history area where they can see how much they’ve donated and when.
- Users liked when the app remembered their details with an account, so they don’t have to keep adding their details.
Information Architecture
User flows are not what you expect until you start to actually think of the process. I ran into a few errors where I had to adapt and make design changes to make the allocation.
Ideation
Low Fidelity Wireframes
My first initial sketch ideas used information gathered from user research.
Things that I needed to consider whilst doing my initial designs;
Making things personal, I decided to add the user’s name where possible.
The driving force will be keeping the branding colours the same.
Mid Fidelity Wireframes
From my initial low-fidelity sketches I drew up these mid-fidelity wireframes on Figma. These represent the different stages that a user would see at different stages throughout using the app. It is important to get the foundations set at the start of the design stages so you can then test and then adjust according to the users’ preferences.
I used an 8-point grid system to align all my components together making sure there was consistency throughout my designs.
High Fidelity Wireframes
This is the design stage where things like images and colours come into play. It then really starts to feel like your ideas come to life. It is important to consider certain areas whilst in this design stage. Some of these are as followed;
Does this adhere to the accessibility checklist?
Does this still represent the brand?
Is this designed in a way that works with UX laws etc, Jakob’s Law?
User Testing Interviews
What do you think of this product?
I think that it’s a brilliant idea.
Can you see yourself ever using this product?
Yes, it’s very easy to navigate.
Was there anything surprising or unexpected about this product?
I didn’t realise it would give you the option to donate through the post and on the telephone. I think that is very considerate in case someone doesn’t feel comfortable donating through the app just yet.
What could be done to improve this product?
I would say maybe make a step-by-step tutorial at the beginning so people (who aren’t as tech-savvy as me) can get to grips with it straight away,
Was there anything missing from this product that you expected?
No, I think it’s brilliant. It makes me happy that the photographs have been used.
What do you think of this product?
I think it’s a modern-day donation idea.
Can you see yourself ever using this product?
Yes.
Was there anything surprising or unexpected about this product?
I liked the idea you could select certain homes to donate to. I think this puts a personal touch on the app.
What could be done to improve this product?
I would say making more choices available for sending. So not just £10, or £20.
Was there anything missing from this product that you expected?
The only issue I had was certain areas I wanted to go back to and I couldn’t as there wasn’t a button. Maybe this is something that needs to be included.
I really think having an account and seeing what you’ve sent is a really smart idea. Makes me feel good to know that I’ve made that much of a difference.
Key Findings
Some of the design changes that had to be made was creating a back button indicator. This was something I hadn’t even thought about until I did user testing!
Another change was the account online identifier. The ‘SH’ in the top left corner is something that the user needs to see whilst they are online to ensure they are still logged on
Accessibility Testing
It is important that all web-based products pass the WCAG guidelines to ensure that everyone can benefit from using the products.
Spectrum instantly tests to see what your web page will be like with different vision deficiencies. This is very important to see what your designs will look like to all your audiences.
Spectrum instantly tests to see what your web page will be like with different vision deficiencies. This is very important to see what your designs will look like to all your audiences.
This is the suggested colour pallet from the contrast checker that would not go against WCAG. Instead of changing all the designs straight away I would prepare the stakeholder’s options and give them the choice as their brand is already based on this colour pallet.
Final Designs
This is the design system used throughout the design process. The initial driver of this was the logo, as I was aware that this is something that couldn’t change as people recognised Fitzroy from this. I selected a sans serif typeface as I wanted it to be easily readable and to work with the serif typeface logo.
I also wanted to implement ’emojis’ style icons to bring some fun to the app.
Jakob's Law
User prefers your site to work the same way as all the other sites they know
I originally was going to have just another button for members ‘sign in’ but then I remember from other apps that the sign is usually presented as shown in my final designs.
Hick’s Law
The more options people are given, the longer it takes for them to make a decision
Creating an app just made for donations eliminates the experience of feeling overwhelmed by choices.
Creating 3 options to make a payment, also makes it easier for users to make a decision.
Final Thoughts
I have many final thoughts coming to the end of this project. There are some areas I would love to delve deeper into. For example, creating an error message when someone has written the incorrect email address. Adding more money options and a ‘custom’ money section.
Another area of expansion would be to delve deeper into the accessibility areas. Doing some research into usability testing for different disabilities eg. autism. I found that not many UX researchers have done this, and this is something I would like to explore for this project.
Project work- Kimberly Hill
Photographs- https://www.fitzroy.org/