Digital Locker Feature (2019)
The Challenge
During development of the Think of Us platform, our team discovered the need for users to store and have access to their sensitive documents such as their Birth Certificate and Social Security Card. These users needed to be able to store documents (or versions of these documents) in a HIPPA compliant system but still be able to access them whenever needed as well as share them responsibly with their supporters.
Process
The design team worked closely with our development lead to conceptualize this feature in it’s early stages. Before implementation, our organization partnered with Box Storage Systems to insure HIPPA compliance, which forced a redesign using the UI Kit provided by Box. Our design team pivoted and adapted user flows and designs to best fit into the system elements Box had already created to allow for an on-time roll out.
In conclusion
This feature, much like the ‘Requests’ feature, has had many lives over the course of the Think of Us platform. There have been dozens of learning lessons, but I think the biggest would be: User’s privacy and security come first. Additionally, I think it’s safe to say all of the following can be included as meaningful take-aways as well:
If something is assumed to be secure by a user, ethically, it should be
Users are going to use tools the way they want to - not necessarily the way you intended
Using an out of the Box UI kit can be limiting but also liberating in how you can re-purpose and re-imagine the pieces given to you
Organization
Think of Us
Tools Used
Sketch
Zeplin
Role
UI/UX Designer
What I did
Discovery
Strategy
Concepts
User flows
User interviews
Wireframes
Mock-Ups
High Fidelity Designs
Requests Feature (2019)
The Challenge
It was quickly determined that a useful feature for the Think of Us platform would be for youth-users to create and send requests directly to their supporters. This request management system was designed to help young people quickly request a variety of pre-defined, as well as, custom requests. Additionally, on the supporter’s viewport, users needed to be able to quickly and efficiently process the requests being sent to them and reply back. This peer-to-peer collaboration needed to offer more than an email exchange, but be familiar and intuitive enough for them to pick up and use.
Process
Through numerous iterations, I built the request management system’s earliest prototypes using Photoshop and Proto.io while basing the general design and aesthetic off of the tools we knew both users were currently using to accomplish the task of sending formal requests (youth using Facebook Messenger and supporters using email/Outlook). These concepts were developed and adapted further in later versions of the product to streamline the display of information to users and allow for quicker responses from supporters as well as more concise messages from youth.
The Conclusion
This particular feature has lived a lot of lives within the various iterations of the Think of Us platform. Some of the key learning lessons from this feature specifically included:
Users (especially young people) don’t always know what to ask for so, just like the ‘Goals’ feature pre-made examples help to jump-start the thought process
Hints and Tips are nice but don’t need to be obtrusive
New features should be intuitive and build off of the lessons users have learned from the tools they already have in their lives
Meet users where they’re at (even if that means reformatting and outputting into their emails) to help allow for quicker responses
Organization
Think of Us
Tools Used
Sketch
Photoshop
Indesign
Proto.io
Zeplin
Google Docs
Role
UI/UX Designer
What I did
Discovery
Strategy
Concepts
User flows
Wireframes
Copy Writing
Mock-Ups
High Fidelity Designs