Project Overview

The Ferrer Foundation is a Chicago-based non-profit organization whose mission is to inspire peace and hope for children living in underserved communities. For more than a decade, Ferrer has been providing programs and resources for youth affected by violence in Chicago. To expand its mission to more donors and volunteers, the foundation recently completed a logo rebranding and change its name to the One for One foundation. With a refreshing new look and feel, the foundation is ready to embark on promoting itself to a wider audience. They worked with Eight Bit studios to host a workshop with different designers to find creative solutions moving forward. 

Design Challenge

Eight Bit Studios hosted a Design-a-thon at the Design Museum of Chicago to generate creative solutions for the rebranding of the Ferrer Foundation nonprofit organization. I worked within a team of 4 UX designers with 12 hours to complete research and prototypes to present that same day. We used our creative and research skills to explore opportunities for advancing the Ferrer Foundation and its mission across the digital landscape. We wanted to keep in mind business goals and strategy so we focused on a timeline of recommendations that could be implemented over time. 

Research

We began by identifying target audience groups and their wants and needs from the organization. After defining the user groups we looked for the most feasible next steps that would have the most influence on word of mouth interactions. We wanted to focus on digital word of mouth because the organization is rooted in the community and word of mouth encourages intimate connections for a personalized experience. Having a background in marketing, I decided to use my skills to develop a social media marketing plan to identify the most cost effective ways to connect with new audiences. 

It was also important to us to focus on servicing new donors through digital platforms. By making a press kit and streamlining the donations page, it emphasizes the donors and partners while keeping the user flows distinct and actionable. We wanted to keep in mind budgeting and focus on actionable steps the organization could effectively put into action quickly. 

Design

We developed short term, mid term, and long term recommendations with prototype visuals for each. For the short term, we emphasize the idea of focusing on social media interactions and the current web page. Keep using strategic word of mouth opportunities and promote the new branding. Our mid term solutions focus on the website development and testing different new user flows. For the long term, we recommend to continue to grow social media interactions, web page visits, new user relationship management, promotions and events. Continue to measure and test user interactions to monitor and identify opportunities and critique current use. 

Website Redesign

We decided to create a UX design that guided the user to donate and gain more information easily. The site needed to be glanceable, informing, and easy to use. 2 mid fidelity prototypes were created to demonstrate the user flow for a donor and for a volunteer. We also incorporated the new branding materials and social media images to bring together the ecosystem of the brand across platforms.

Press Kit Design

By focusing on short term recommendations that could be implemented soon and have an effective reach to users, we looked into different marketing communications strategies that influence the user experience. When analyzing the user journey of future and current donors, we noticed an opportunity to increase engagement in the early discovery stages of the experience. A press kit is a great way to introduce branding and communicate to other organizations and partnerships. By focusing on rebuilding past relationships while reaching out to new partnerships, the one for one foundation is able to personalize the connections and develop more intimate interactions. A press kit can also be put together quickly and within any business budget.

Social Media Plan

Following along with the press communication opportunities, we looked at ways to strengthen the social media strategy. They currently have a great social media presence with facebook, instagram, twitter accounts. With the rebranding, we felt there were opportunities to promote the changes of the organization to users. I looked into current social media trends that work successfully across non profit and outreach organizations to identify different strategies to test that would work best for one for one. My research concluded that tags, collections, and groups were the most effective interactions for non profit socials. Users want to be informed and connected to the cause which makes social media a great opening for those interactions.

Some of the social media recommendations:

• Creating hashtags to bring together the cause on multiple platforms

• Social media group discussion events

• Social media games with prizes

PROJECT REFLECTION

1.embrace the unknown

The design process and work environment for this project was unlike any I have ever worked on and that is what made it so exciting. It is so easy to get siloed into your work process when working for yourself as a freelancer, so it was great to get out of my routine and work with others. There was no right or wrong answer and that made the creative process so much more interesting. 

2.no idea is a bad idea

With this project, there was a lot of brainstorming.  With only 12 hours to produce a solution and presentation, we needed to think of everything and do it quickly. The “bad” ideas helped us identify “good” ideas. We were able to define what is good or bad based on constraints and goals from our research. Not only did this give me a new perspective on creative thinking, but it helped me identify a strategy for quick and effective decision making. 

3.design perspectives

Although I worked with a team of UX designers, I got the opportunity to see how teams of other designers approached the design challenge. Being a UX designer with a history of inter design, marketing, and sales, I usually emphasize solutions that focus on business goals and user interactions. Seeing how graphic designers, engineers, and artists approached the challenge helped expand my thought process on approaching new challenges and creative thinking. There are infinite ways to look at problems. 

4.helping a good cause makes me happy

At the end of it all, It feels purposeful to provide insight to an organization with a mission of providing help and support to underprivileged neighborhoods. A large part of my human experience is to feel that my work gives back to society in a beneficial way and I feel that there is no other way to do that than volunteering my time and work.