UX/UI Designer
Native iOS App
2019
Sketch, Invision
Contributing Members
Evan Christ
Richard Rodriguez
My Contributions
Research & Discovery
2 User Interviews
Information Architecture & Feature Prioritization
High Fidelity Design & User Interface
Jail Guitar Doors is a national non-profit organization that aims to provide instruments to inmates and fight recidivism through the transformative power of music. By providing inmates a creative outlet and an opportunity to learn new skills, they can channel their energy, resulting in more productive expressions and fewer instances of crime or violence. Professional musicians and artists from across the country dedicate their time to teaching these inmates guitar and cajon lessons, as well as song writing and sheet music.
We were tasked with creating a product that increased brand awareness, while driving donations in exchange for the music the inmates created.
I leveraged my background in content strategy, branding, and experience working with developers to determine the most appropriate project approach.
In starting this process, and in order to properly inform the research approach and product type, I needed to get more context about the organization. I wanted to know:
What product is the organization currently using?
What are its shortcomings?
And what opportunities could we identify?
What product is the organization currently using?
Jail Guitar Doors online presence consisted of an eight-page website, as well as Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram accounts.
What are the site's shortcomings?
At first glance, their website appeared robust and easy enough to navigate. Upon further review, the content was insufficient, and the site lacked an intuitive design system and branding. It didn't appear to have been updated in months, and the same goes for their social channels.
What opportunities could be identified?
Being an organization that's all about music, I expected to be able to play or download some of their collection. This would be the main catalyst for determining what product would be best for this project.
In wondering if a mobile app could work, I identified some key considerations:
The individual user – Making a more personal experience for the individual user through push notifications and user preferences.
Ease of donations – With integrations like stored payment info, Apple Pay, or PayPal, using a mobile device might make donating more efficient.
Listening to music – Most people these days have at least one or two music apps on their mobile device. Through these apps, users can easily browse music, select their favorite songs, download songs for later, create their own playlists, or share to their social network. Maybe this is what Jail Guitar Doors needed to promote their music.
I determined that a mobile app would provide users the best experience when listening to music and offer then an easy way to donate.
Before speaking to users, I needed to complete my assessment of the organization's website and understand their mission and how they accept donations. The information featured on the website didn’t provide much clarity and their donation page sent me to an external PayPal form. Was PayPal the normal practice for accepting donations? How much additional information did other organizations typically include?
I identified competitive non-profits and conducted a C&C analysis to help answer my questions.
I hypothesized that users would not donate unless the organization had sufficient transparent program information.
Once the platform was established, it was essential to determine how users interacted with similar products. User interviews were centered around the app's two main areas of focus – the donation platform and the music player. Both sets of questions sought to understand users' experience with each activity, what they expected during each process, and what features they used or wanted to see. My group spoke to 12 users, including two users who fit both groups and one artist who works for the Jail Guitar Doors organization.
After user interviews and three rounds of affinity mapping trends, these helpful insights were revealed:
In identifying who the app was being created for, the following demographics were considered:
The user couldn't be too closely associated with the organization
The user would likely have a past of giving back, community involvement, or an interest in starting
The user would not be discouraged to give based on the subject matter
The user would be an avid music listener
The persona developed was a friend of an inmate’s sister, and learned about Jail Guitar Doors through a conversation with her while at church. She is interested in learning more about the organization and donating.
How might we help a user like Angela learn about the organization's mission, be inspired to donate, and access the music they create?
In order to determine the best experience for the app's user, I considered key features that would not only assist in the user's discovery, but also inform them in ways they weren't expecting. The MoSCoW method was helpful for listing these potential features.
I started sketching page layouts for both the music player and the donation platform and determined the five sections to build out in the bottom tab bar: Home, About, Donate, Music, and Account. I would take layout and design inspiration for the music section from popular apps, while the donation screens would be derived from a variety of e-commerce and donation products.
I knew I wanted to include large image-based buttons so the user would quickly recognize the organization's positive outreach and connect with the inmates at the center of their mission.
In an effort to highlight the Jail Guitar Doors brand more prominently and develop a design system, I looked to their website to see what elements I could pull from without having to recreate the wheel. Although they were using a variety of colors and typefaces, I identified the best of each, and developed a cohesive and simplified style guide that assigns one color to each of the five sections.
Two separate paths were developed that a single user might take in order to find out more about the organization, donate to their cause, and ultimately listen to the music. Additionally, the bottom tab bar makes it easy for users to find their way to any section of the app, regardless of their current path or objective.
The app's donation userflow includes:
A monthly music subscription with proceeds benefiting Jail Guitar Doors
Several payment methods for submitting a donation
Several giving options including suggested amounts, choose your own amount, and frequency of donation
An option to Checkout as Guest
Curated playlists, social sharing, lyrics, group bios, and the ability to like/favorite tracks
An interactive map feature to find music specific to certain facilities and inmates
The ability to play music now or download to your library for offline listening
Although the flows that were created moved the user through the app and easily had them completing their main two objectives, I couldn’t forget that users needed additional information to gain sufficient trust in the organization before making a donation. I designed additional pages to house information about the organization, inmate transformation stories, the artists involved, and how the donations were being used. Those pages included Home, About Us, Our Cause, as well as a set of onboarding screens to introduce new users to the app and its features. Below is the complete user experience I built out in medium fidelity.
The final product is a dynamic, compelling concept app that puts a positive spin on a somewhat controversial issue. This social impact app thoroughly outlines the organization’s mission and success so that users can confidently donate, while providing several easy options for giving. Additionally, the app also provides users the ability to listen to the music created by the inmates, while giving them the ability to share the organization’s cause at several touchpoints.
A perfect complement to the organization's existing efforts, this app includes smart features and thoughtful design.
My next steps consider additional features that align with advancing user engagement and outreach:
Build out Account page
Implement real-time donation tracker
Implement donation method for instruments
Consider English/Spanish translation toggle
Consider comment board for donators to send inspirational messages to inmates
