LOOK FOR THE HELPERS
A site that connects New Yorkers to resources and live help
Navigating city services can always be onerous. Look for the Helpers makes navigating resources in New York City easier and more humane. Founded by Carolyn London, the mission of Look For The Helpers is simple: “We believe the very things that make us most vulnerable, our interconnectedness and our dependence on one another, are also our greatest strengths.” The project was researched, designed, and led by our team of entirely POC and LGBTQ women.
ROLE
SECTOR
Human Services / Non-Profit Organization
THE PROBLEM
How might we make navigating community resources and city services easier and more humane for New Yorkers?
THE SOLUTION
The solution was to create a website that provides a resource database and a system that connects information seekers to a network of volunteers that give one-on-one help.
UNDERSTANDING THE USER
Over 55 New Yorkers were surveyed, from a diverse range of incomes. They spanned careers including the medical, educational, and administrative sectors.
When asked what they liked most about our competitors' sites:
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List of useful resources
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Easy to read
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Vital relevant information on the homepage
When ask what they disliked most about our competitors' sites:
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Irrelevant search results
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Info hard to find
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Info hard to understand
64%
believed that the feeling of giving back to the community would be the greatest incentive for offering their knowledge as a helper. Monetary compensation was a close second.
86%
said language was the most important factor when being matched. Age and occupation of helpers were also important.
Using Miro to map survey responses the main concerns were grouped and features of survey responses. This helped prioritize features when creating user stories and designing wireframes.
PERSONAS
Personas focused on regular New Yorkers, each having their unique concerns when searching for city resources. From job seeking and educational resources to retirement benefits, each of our three personas has specific goals and pain points that we used to inform the design process. View Persona pdf
Andrea
I feel a great sense of responsibility
to help others.
Noah
It’s time for me to retire and
enjoy life a little more.
Jennifer
I want to find my dream
job in Nursing!
USER JOURNEY
A User Journey for Andrea was created to pinpoint her needs, and frustrations when accessing city resources. By deep-diving step by step into Andrea’s search for educational opportunities, the design team was able to further identify critical features needed on the site and create next steps of the design process and future versions of the site.
ROLES & RESPONSIBILITIES
As the UI designer for the team, I wanted to explore different designs and functionalities that would best serve our users. I used Figma to create Lo-Fi wireframes that focused on these pertinent features.
Search
Prominent search
bar on all pages
Categories
Top categories on the main page and on the search results page
Schedule a
Help session
Connect to live help via a scheduled phone call
Sign up to
become a helper
Expand the system of volunteer helpers
Based on the results of the survey and creation of personas, my main objective was to create a platform that allied easy navigation and listings of community resources and city services, with the added alternative of connecting with a helper for specific information via a scheduled phone call. We would also provide a sign up form to become helpers, in order to expand the one-on-one capacity, in turn expanding resource reach. Scheduled sessions will heavily rely on personal institutional knowledge of the helpers.
BREAKING DOWN THE PROCESS
After creating the Mid-Fi wireframes, I performed usability testing to measure participants' success of locating resources and connecting with a helper. We also wanted to figure out if users understood what LFTH was all about.
Usability Testing Findings & Design Improvements:
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Participants clearly understood the mission of LFTH, but some felt the LFTH mission needed to be more prominent on the home page.
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One participant thought it might be helpful to feature the testimonials of former seekers and their experience with the site. Since the site isn't live yet, the team decided to highlight helpers above the fold of the desktop page view. Creating trust with potential seekers is crucial for LFTH, as getting a quick bio of the helpers and their expertise is another way of building connections and rapport with our audience.
Another iteration of designs was created based on usability test findings. The main category choices were moved lower on the page in order to introduce the LFTH mission.
Home Page- Before
Home Page- After Testing
When the final designs and Hi-Fi prototype were created , helper testimonials were highlighted above the fold as creating trust with potential seekers is crucial for LFTH. In order to bring more humanity to the site, animation that shifted between photography and illustration for the featured members was added. The goal was to link the illustration used across the site with photos of real people who are part of the LFTH community.
Home Page & About Us with the famous Mr. Rogers quote
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Searching for resources through the search bar or main categories
Scheduling a call for help is easy
Become a helper sign up pages
Suggesting resources for LFTH expansion
VISUAL DESIGN
Colors of everyday life in NYC and Illustrations of potential users were used to stand out against competitors who used photography. We wanted it to be friendly and warm, the use of handwriting to be humane and reflective of the personal connection Carolyn has to the site. A famous Mr. Rogers quote was the main reason behind her development of Look for The Helpers and we wanted to tie that in the site with a handwritten quote.
TITLE OF THE CALLOUT BLOCK
OUTCOME &
LESSONS LEARNED
As Look For The Helpers is a new product, there was no previous website to redesign or iterate. This proved to be a challenge but turned out to be a great opportunity. The client was extremely open to the team’s design suggestions and contributions to the Look For The Helpers overall mission and business model. Designing with minimal constraints allowed the team to scope work definitively from the clients and identified stakeholder needs and interests. The concept behind the organization alone is unique to NYC and there seemed to be a large buy-in from New Yorkers to contribute and help others in their city. It left the client with the impression that her idea would be viable and successful.
TITLE OF THE CALLOUT BLOCK
NEXT STEPS
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Expand on the user-submitted programs and resources feature with the intention to create a weekly email in order to engage their audience and attract potential users.
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Use more real-life photography once LFTH becomes an reputable product in NYC and more relationships are formed with programs.
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Create an incentive structure for helpers that would include volunteer recognition or internship and course credits.
If there was more time...
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Extend the deadline of the user surveys as well as administer user interviews. Getting more responses and acquiring a larger data pool is crucial for website development.
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Another round of usability testing to see if users were satisfied with the colors (there was much debate between orange being too strong of a color, and blue being a better choice) and illustrations used on the site and uncover additional design concerns.