Engageathon
Overview
Role: UX/UI Designer
Tools: Miro, Figma
Project Duration: 20 weeks - Current
Engageathon is a social platform that encourages users of all kinds to participate in social causes, with a focus on the environment, sustainability, and governance. Since August 2023, I have been part of the Enageathon as a UX/UI designer.
During my internship, I worked on new designs for the Engageathon app. This involved discussions with stakeholders to understand requirements, creating fresh wireframes and prototypes, conducting usability tests, and iterating on the designs.
Research Phase
Veniece Newton, Founder of Engageathon
Before delving into wire-framing or prototyping, I aimed for a comprehensive understanding of Engageathon. This involved reviewing past app designs and engaging with stakeholders.
During my internship, I had the privilege of closely collaborating with Engageathon's CEO, Venice Newton, who is also the founder. My initial meetings as an intern included discussions with her and fellow interns to grasp the app's requirements. Armed with insights from reviewing past designs, I asked Veniece and the project team various questions, exploring potential design choices and different directions for the app.
Frame-working Phase
The core of my internship involved extensive work in wireframing and prototyping. Once I gathered all the necessary information about Engageathon, I proceeded to design new wireframes for the app. Over approximately 4 weeks, I meticulously went through each screen of the app, re-wireframing while ensuring the incorporation of new requirements. Throughout this process, I held periodic meetings with Veniece to showcase my progress and seek feedback, addressing any questions that arose during wireframing.
Upon completing the wireframes and receiving confirmation from Veniece and the interns, I transitioned to crafting the prototype. This phase became pivotal as the team and I finalized the precise colors and text styles for the main elements of the design. We translated all aspects from the wireframes into the prototype, retaining almost everything with only a few minor changes that necessitated the addition of some extra screens.
Usability Testing
Once we had a functional prototype, we chose to conduct usability testing to assess its effectiveness. Usability testing involves a series of tests on the prototype, where participants are assigned specific tasks and asked to provide feedback on various features such as the sign-up process, interactive elements on the homepage, and claiming rewards. We also sought feedback on the overall look and feel of the app. We did this by having an online zoom meeting where the participant shared their screen as they went though the app and then add their feedback into a google forms document.
Following the completion of our usability testing, our next step was to refine the prototype based on the feedback received from the participants. We meticulously reviewed the feedback and implemented necessary changes to the prototype. Additionally, we thoroughly examined the app to identify any minor issues, making further tweaks as needed. These steps played a crucial role in the finalization of our prototype.
Some notable changes made during this phase included:
Adjusting the layout of the causes selection page for brevity, as users had to scroll extensively to view all causes.
Refining the sizing and colors of elements for better hierarchy.
Enabling direct access to sign up for events both from the homepage and after reading the event description.
Development
While my role as a UX/UI Designer doesn't involve a significant part in app development, I seized the opportunity to collaborate with the development team during this phase of Engageathon. I actively participated in meetings, addressing questions about the design and offering assistance wherever possible.
Conclusion
This role has been a fantastic experience for me. In my contributions to Engageathon project, I take pride in knowing that my involvement in the design process will culminate in a tangible app and product available on the app store. The fully developed beta version is set to release in mid-March 2024. I'm immensely grateful that my inaugural job experience has been hands-on, benefiting from the dynamic environment of a smaller startup.