Seacrest Wolf Preserve
Current Website
Project Overview: Our main objective for this project was to develop a successful and highly interactive website. Our main goal was to maximize charitable interactions on desktop and mobile platforms by maintaining constant branding elements while simplifying the current layout.
Current Website: https://www.seacrestwolfpreserve.org/
Tools Used: Figma, Figjam, Trello, Canva, Adobe Color, Slack, Google Sheets, Google Drive, and Google Slides
Timeline: 4 Weeks
My Roles and Responsibilities: I embraced a unique strategy for this project by consciously stepping aside and letting someone else take the initiative to lead the project. However, I remained actively involved in conducting thorough research, including competitor analysis, and ensuring consistency in fonts, spacing, and prototyping. I saw how the efforts to pay close attention to the smaller details throughout the project led to a successful and cohesive result.
Team Members: Sara Jonas, Ayanna Poole, Nicole Ricci
User Research
Preface
Since its establishment in 1999, Seacrest Wolf Preserve has been passionately dedicated to conserving wolves and wildlife, operating as a 501(c)3 non-profit organization.
The preserve is home to a diverse population of 22 wolves and various small native species such as coyotes, foxes, raccoons, skunks, and more.
The mission of Seacrest Wolf Preserve is to preserve America's wild heritage by engaging in educational programs that not only provide valuable knowledge about wolves but also generate awareness regarding their crucial role within ecosystems while dispelling misconceptions.
Through their educational initiatives, Seacrest Wolf Preserve aims to empower people, fostering an appreciation for the importance of wolves and inspiring a commitment to wildlife conservation.
Heauristic Evaluation
We approached the Seacrest Wolf Preserve website with our persona in mind, taking into account their preferences and desired user experience. We conducted a heuristic evaluation using a defined checklist created in Google Sheets to gain a comprehensive understanding. This evaluation allowed us to continuously evaluate key design elements and usability concerns across all pages, providing useful insights to guide our redesign efforts.
As shown in the screen recording, our findings highlighted several noteworthy issues. To begin, we noticed a lack of design consistency throughout the website, which can result in a disjointed user experience. Furthermore, the insufficient use of white space impacted visual clarity and readability. Furthermore, an excessive number of linked objects was discovered, potentially overwhelming users and reducing the website's focus.
Proto Persona
Lindsey Lusco
Frustrations
Doesn’t have enough time to volunteer
Worried she can’t do anything to help
Frustrated with untrustworthy charities
Demographics
Location: Salt Lake City, Utah
Age: 35
Occupation: Small Business Owner
Hobbies: Hiking and running marathons
Motivations
Spending time with friends and family
Work-life balance to spend time with the kids
Helping others who are in need
Wants and Needs
Wants to spend more time in nature and with family
Wants to find a non-profit that cares about animals
Needs weekend activities to maintain work-life balance
User Scenario
Lindsey is a nurse with a big heart and an animal lover. After years as a nurse practitioner, she has saved a lot of money and wants to give back. Naturally, as a dog person with three wolf dogs, she wanted to support wild dogs and wolves. Her husband supports these endeavors, and they often bring their two kids to interact with the wolves on their annual road trip.
Competitor Analysis
After recognizing the difficulties, we started looking into wolf preserves and groups dedicated to wildlife conservation. Our goals were to evaluate how well we performed compared to these organizations and get ideas for future design projects. The California Wolf Center, the Wolf Conservation Center, the International Wolf Center, and our indirect competitor, the World Wildlife Foundation, were notable competitors we carefully examined. This analysis gave us insightful information that guided our future designs and ensured we stayed competitive in the field.
Industry Research and Infinity Diagram
Industry Research
To better understand our users and find opportunities to increase accessibility and reduce crowding, we conducted a detailed study of market data. The following are significant research findings that helped us finish our affinity diagram:
Pet ownership has increased significantly in recent years, with millennials accounting for the majority of pet owners in the United States. This emerging trend highlights the potential impact of focusing on this demographic in animal-related fundraising efforts, as pet owners are more likely to donate to causes that promote animal welfare.
Recent research on charitable giving habits has revealed some intriguing demographic patterns. Younger people, women, non-religious people, and people with more politically liberal views are more likely to support animal-related charities, highlighting the importance of understanding these trends for effective fundraising and outreach.
A notable finding in the field of charitable giving suggests that people who follow a vegan diet are more charitable. This observation opens up opportunities for vegan communities to engage in support of animal-related charities and other noble causes.
Affinity Diagram
After gathering our initial research, we documented the findings on sticky notes, including the heuristic evaluation insights, in order to move forward with our affinity diagram and sorting process. We carefully categorized the data and labeled each group accordingly. In addition, we set aside time to prioritize and condense the sticky notes in order to focus on the most important information.
Definition and Synthesis
Moodboard
We each created our own mood boards so that we could communicate our own personal aesthetic choices for the color scheme. After a period of time had passed, we came together to discuss our ideas and opinions, and the colors that I had discovered ended up being the ones that were utilized for the project. I was able to draw a lot of motivation from the photos, which I then put to use to recycle and improve some of the colors that were utilized in the previous website design. In addition to this, I was able to give the entire layout a higher degree of vibrancy and depth.
Site Map
We began by gathering all of the various subcategories and writing them down on individual cards. The cards were then sorted individually by each team member, and we regrouped later to share our ideas and rearrange the cards collectively. We identified opportunities to consolidate shorter pages, resulting in a more efficient and streamlined structure, thanks to our collaborative approach. With our revised card arrangement, we created a sitemap that allowed for a smooth and easy navigation experience. We took additional steps to refine and organize our navigation after gaining valuable insights from this process, with the goal of ultimately improving the overall user experience.
Style Guide
Here are some of the elements we've all agreed on for our style guide. One of the more difficult aspects for me was balancing the use of two distinct font styles. I eventually found a way to strike a balance, which resulted in the two fonts shown above. In addition, we decided on button colors, which define how they appear in hover states. We also established the specific style of icons we intend to use throughout the site, aiming for a unified and seamless appearance.
Furthermore, we discussed the significance of consistent spacing across the entire website. It's been a team effort, and I'm glad we're aligning our design choices to ensure a consistent and visually appealing user experience.
Ideation
Prototyping
Low-Fidelity Prototyping
Following that, we proceeded with the task of completing our low-fidelity prototype. The primary aim was to condense and optimize information, prioritizing user-friendliness and facilitating navigation. Each member of the group independently created their own versions of low-fidelity prototypes. Subsequently, we reconvened as a team to collectively evaluate and choose the most compatible format for the website's design.
Through our careful deliberations, we were able to identify the most effective low-fidelity prototype that effectively corresponded with the overall goal of our project. In my personal experience, I encountered a major challenge in advancing the prototype, specifically concerning the sidebar navigation. However, following thorough deliberation, we made the decision to proceed with this particular design approach. The rationale behind this decision was based on the observation that our sidebar navigation system successfully enabled users to quickly understand the structure of the content and the relationships between different sections.
High-Fidelity Prototyping
We then began developing our high-fidelity prototypes. One of the most difficult tasks we had to complete during this phase was creating the sidebar menu. It took a lot of time and effort to get this part to the desired level of quality. But, by working hard, we were eventually able to find a good solution.I suggested adding quick links to social media platforms to the navigation because I knew it would make things easier for users. The goal of this strategic decision was to eliminate the need for users to scroll to the bottom of the page. Additionally, based on how the organization had done things in the past, I also suggested adding a prominent "donate" button to the navigation menu. The goal of this approach was to maintain the organization's previous focus on donation interactions.
To improve the user experience, we added snippets of interesting facts about wolves to the homepage. This allowed people to learn more about the subject and feel more connected to it. We also made certain that the quick links on the homepage remained consistent, making it easier for users to book tours without having to navigate to another page.
In order to maintain a whole-person approach to user engagement, we emphasized the importance of prominently displaying the dress code on the homepage. This decision was made due to the importance of showing visitors around the property. We wanted to make the website more user-friendly and appealing to our target audience as a whole by making these strategic changes.
You'll find our About Page on the left side. We included this section in the new design, recognizing its critical role in the overall structure of the website. We used the available team information to create interactive cards and a hovering feature, allowing those interested to learn more about any team member.
We extended these enhancements to our wolf-related content in the same way. Each wolf now has its own dedicated space, allowing users to dig deeper and learn more about the unique characteristics of each individual wolf. This additional layer of interaction and information enhances the overall user experience.
User Testing and Outcomes
We were able to collect a considerable quantity of information that was important to the matter at hand by conducting interviews with users. Users' reactions to the fixed sidebar, which was designed to be shown at all times regardless of scrolling, have been somewhat different. In addition, shedding light on problems such as images with low resolution and text that has been repeated. On a more positive note, a large number of site visitors have expressed their satisfaction with the color scheme as well as the way of presenting data that is used on the website. This is a sign that site visitors find the website useful. In contrast, the addition of a button that allows users to get in touch with the company would represent a major advance in terms of enhancement. It is essential to note that not all of the proposed improvements were applied, which resulted in relatively few changes to the appearance of the product.
Conclusion and Recent Updates
Conclusion
As you become more familiar with my viewpoint, you'll realize that valuing user feedback and converting it into meaningful improvements is the foundation of my strategy. Following a thorough analysis of the project and motivated by my essential passion for quality, I proceeded with another significant website redesign. This initiative serves two purposes: it not only improves customer pleasure but also smoothly integrates the essential feedback findings.
This planned redesign includes lessons learned from previous group dynamics in which user-centric concerns may have taken a second seat. Keeping this in mind, I've taken it upon myself to keep the user at the top of our work. It's worth noting that this later-conceived revamp is a blend of our combined views and underlines my constant commitment to creating a platform that not only meets but exceeds user expectations.