British Red Cross X Aid Atlas
Innovating fundraising with emerging technology.
CLIENT
British Red Cross
ROLE
UX/UI Design
User Research + Analysis | Wire framing & Prototyping | Interaction Design | Visual Design | Usability Testing | Responsive Design
TEAM
Julia Brière, Alex Camp, Michael Palfreeman, Morgan Ager and Tamara Zipporah
TOOLS
Figma, Figjam, Dovetail, Otter AI
BACKGROUND
Getting to know the charity
The British Red Cross is an international charity committed to helping people in crisis. With a global network of volunteers, the British Red Cross responds to natural disasters, conflicts, and individual emergencies worldwide.
As the world faces increasing challenges, including frequent natural disasters and global conflicts, the need for support has never been greater. Despite raising £220 million last year, the British Red Cross needs more funds to address these rising challenges effectively.
THE CHALLANGE
Innovating fundraising models
Our team met with the product innovation team and we identified three key insights to shape the MVP. Our goal was aimed at providing maximum value and encouraging early user adoption.
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Research and implement emerging technologies.
Design a digital fundraising platform to attract new audiences and create additional revenue streams.
Understand donor preferences and needs to design solutions that encourage regular donations to the British Red Cross.
How might we develop an innovative donation model that leverages emerging technology to attract and engage new audiences?
THE SOLUTION
Tech-driven fundraising strategies
We developed a digital fundraising platform that integrates emerging technologies like blockchain and NFTs to enhance transparency, engagement, and donor satisfaction. The interactive map feature allows users to see the global and local impact of their contributions, while crypto donations offer a secure and efficient way to give.
This approach aims to build lasting relationships with new audiences and ensure the long-term financial sustainability of the British Red Cross.
THE APPROACH
What else is out there?
MARKET RESEARCH
We conducted desk research to discover successful campaigns utilizing emerging technology such as cryptocurrencies, blockchain, NFTs, AI, Augmented Reality and Virtual Reality.
COMPETITOR ANALYSIS
The competitive analysis revealed the strengths of other charities.
RESEARCH
Listening to users for real insights
Now that we have a background on what the market is like, we switched our focus to the donators so we could understand their needs and preferences. We used quantitative and qualitative methodologies, we conducted 42 one on one interviews and sent out a survey from which we received 450+ data points.
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appreciate regular updates.
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value transparency from charities.
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are skeptical towards charities in general.
Synthesized data with Dovetail
KEY LEARNINGS
Extracting value from data analysis
After analyzing the data, we identified key insights to guide our design decisions based on user needs. Our research revealed that people are looking for:
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Transparency + Trust
Transparency is crucial for their willingness to donate. Skepticism about how larger charities allocate funds makes it essential to clearly show where contributions go. This transparency is key to building trust in the organization.
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Personal Experience
The people we interviewed primarily donated to charities they had a personal connection to, either through their own experiences or through friends and family who were passionate about the cause.
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Local Community
People generally donate to local causes and charities that help support work close to home.
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Autonomy + Agency
People want autonomy and control over their donations, including where their money goes and how often they give. The constant requests and pressure have led to a sense of fundraising fatigue.
PERSONAS
Know your audience
The British Red Cross provided us with two initial personas. They encouraged us to conduct additional research to validate or expand upon their findings. Our research confirmed the relevance of one of their personas, Lucas. It also led us to develop a new persona, Cody, to address unmet needs we identified.
EMPATHY MAPS
Understanding user needs and perspectives
To design an experience relevant to current users, we put ourselves in their shoes. Empathy maps allowed us to deeply understand the feelings, thoughts, needs, and pain points, ensuring our solutions resonated with real-world experiences and expectations.
EXPERIENCE MAPS
Mapping out the user journey
We developed two user journeys for Lucas and Cody to better understand their thoughts and emotions. This process helped us identify opportunities and design solutions tailored to their specific needs and behaviors.
KEY LEARNINGS
Summarizing the opportunities
LUCAS
Wants live updates and a place to share his contributions.
Seeks transparency and trust in his donations.
CODY
Desires a welcoming environment and personalized experience.
Values feeling like her donations make an impact.
BOTH
Trustworthiness: this applies to them both whether it’s having trustworthy information or having trust in who they are donating to.
PROBLEM STATEMENT - THE SKEPTICAL ALTRUIST
Lucas needs a way to see the impact of his informatior because he wants to understand where his donations are going because he questions the transparency of charities.
PROBLEM STATEMENT - THE CONTIENTIOUS CONTRIBUTOR
Cody needs a way to choose specific projects to support because she wants to see where her donations go so that she can contribute to causes that she feels connected.
USER STORIES
Narratives that drive the ideation phase
User stories served as a bridge between the users' needs and the design solutions. It also helped the development process as the team focused on creating meaningful and effective experiences.
For someone who cares who they're donating to:
As a sentimental donor who feels connected to certain causes, I want to choose specific projects to support so that my donations align with my personal values and interests.
For someone who values where their money goes:
As a skeptical altruist, I want a transparent way to donate, so that I can feel confident my donations are going directly to the appeal.
IDEATION
Developing the concept
With a clear understanding of our personas' needs and motivations, we identified key opportunities to address their pain points and preferences. We then embarked on the development phase, starting with rapid ideation exercises. This process allowed us to explore a wide array of emerging technologies, which we then refined into five initial ideas.
Interactive Globe: Shows BRC appeals globally.
Cryptocurrency Donation Platform: Utilizes blockchain for granular impact tracking.
NFT Artwork Auction: Features artwork created by local artists from appeal areas.
BRC Saver Wallet: Allows users to save funds over time and donate when a resonant cause arises.
VR Headset Utilization: Enables professionals to offer expertise and advice to BRC volunteers on the ground.
THE DIRECTION
Desirability, viability + feasibility
We scheduled a follow-up meeting with the British Red Cross innovation team to gather feedback and assess the suitability of our initial ideas. This feedback helped us in guiding the project's direction.
Prior to the meeting, we formulated questions around our initial concepts, focusing on three key criteria: desirability, feasibility, and viability. We evaluated our ideas against these criteria to ensure we were designing within the 'innovation sweet spot'.
THE FOCUS
A new approach + guiding principles
We decided to move forward with three concepts. and also developed three core design principles to lead us through the concept development phase.
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Cryptocurrency + Blockchain
Emerging technology
Clear, unbreakable digital trails for donations provides transparency for users.
World Map
Interactive navigation
Gives users autonomy by allowing them to choose specific locations for their donations, reflecting their personal preferences.
NFTs
User engagement
Engages donors with a gamified reward system and enhances a sense of impact.
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Cryptocurrency + Blockchain
One of our most insightful pieces of UX research came when we synthesized the data from the user interviews. People had a desire for more transparency and tracking when donating. We read between the lines and came to the conclusion that blockchain technology could be the answer for their needs.
Blockchain is an unbreakable digital trail that allows donors to see exactly where their money is going, providing a clear record of transactions.The statistics out there suggest there is a different mentality and attitude amongst crypto users who are inherently more frivolous with their crypto assets compared to cash.
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Interactive Map
As we were ideating, our sketches developed into an interactive map. This concept stood out as it visually showcased the global scale of the British Red Cross. Our design intentions are to emphasize the impact the red cross has around the world to the users. This led us to explore the interactive components and the value of the map.
As users can view the global impact, they also can zoom into a local level and see a detailed view of specific and community oriented initiatives. This dual focus ensures users can see the wide-range and community specific work, making the impact relatable and personal.
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NFTs
This approach focused on creating a sense of impact and belonging among donors. Since the platform utilizes crypto, NFTs are an additional element to engage the new target audience. It brings a sense of gamification and a reward system. Additionally, it helps users understand the tangible benefits their support brings to communities, reinforcing the importance and effectiveness of their contributions.
NAVIGATING THE USER JOURNEY
Mapping experiences to enhance user flows
User Flow 1: Find an appeal
We created user flows to map out the steps users follow to accomplish their tasks. Next, we moved on to work on the user flows and sitemaps as we get into the details of the solutions. We created 8 user flows, based on a range of user stories, to map out how the users would interact with features, step by step.
User Flow 2: Track a donation and share
BRAND DEVELOPMENT
Developing the Aid Atlas idenity
The British Red Cross provided our team with their brand guidelines. We decided to closely follow their guidelines for visual consistency. However, we built a library based off additional components we would need.
DESIGN SOLUTION
Introducing Aid Atlas
A new platform where users can expereince the impact of their contributions with an interactive map, powered by crypto, blockchain, and NFTs.
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Aid Atlas Landing Page
This page aims to capture the user’s interest by providing a summary of what the platform offers and a clear call to action to get started.
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Homescreen
As a first time user, they are greeted with a welcome message and a brief introduction to the site.
A series of tutorial guides appear, guiding them through the platform's features and functionalities. This ensures the users feel comfortable and confident using the platform.
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List View
The list view provides an alternate way to access and search information.
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Detailed Pop-Up
This gives more information about the specific appeal. Users can either donate directly or select ‘View full details’ for a full summary.
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Tracking Donations
Detailed info graph on where contributions were allocated.
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NFT Profile
A section dedicated to NFT badges and information detailing how to unlock new ones.
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Payment
Once prompted, users can select their cryptocurrency preference and the amount.
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Your Donations Wrapped
Donators are able to select and share their ‘donations wrapped’ info graphic wrapped on social media this details the users contributions.
USER FLOW
What does Lucas want?
Lucas is a returning user who wants to track his recent donation and see the impact of his contribution.
USER FLOW
What does Cody want?
Cody is a new user who is curious to explore the platform and donate to a local appeal she cares about.
SUMMARY
Design solutions recap
We created this visual to represent how all the design features present within Aid Atlas fit into our 3 identified design principles.
Donations via crypto enable clear trust & transparency
NFT’s are there to show a clear sense of impact and re enforce user retention
The interactive map is key to bringing the platform together
METRICS
How to measure sucess
We’ve categorized a variety of metrics into 4 areas: awareness of the platform, users activating and making an account, donating habits and user retention.
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Awareness
Social Shares number of time posts/appeals/updates are shared on social media
Percentage of visitors to site versus donators
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Activation
Number of accounts created
Appeals that are being searched for
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Donation
Number of monthly pledges that are signed up
Number of donations per user
Average donation amount
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Retention
Track the number of repeat donations /donators
Number of NFTs that are being rewarded
FUTURE FORCASTING
Looking into the future
We believe that Aid Atlas has so much to offer with lots of room for development. Looking to the future, our team mapped out a 3 stage strategy.
REFLECTION
Looking back
Reflecting on my involvement in this project, our team faced challenges with the standard interview process, which hindered our ability to effectively organize and analyze data for more consistent and comparable insights. Accessing a diverse range of crypto users would have greatly enhanced our user testing phase, providing deeper insights into their preferences and behaviors. Despite these challenges, navigating through the complexities of designing for the British Red Cross was both enlightening and rewarding.
Collaborating with stakeholders and leveraging emerging technologies underscored the importance of adaptability and innovation in UX design. The iterative feedback loop ensured our solutions were not only user-centered but also aligned with the organization's mission. Moving forward, I'm eager to apply the lessons learned from this experience to future projects, emphasizing the integration of diverse user perspectives and the strategic use of emerging technologies to create impactful solutions.
