About This Project
The Product
I am developing a dedicated App and a fully responsive Website for women who are victims of domestic abuse, through which they can search, find and reserve a room in a Shelter when in an emergency and/or book an appointment with a Legal Team for any advice.
Target Audience
Women who live in Greece and who are victims of domestic abuse.
This product also addresses to all women with different marital status, abilities, educational level and/or occupations and industries, as its main goal is not only to help them practically, but also inform and support them psychologically.
My Role
• UX Designer • UX Researcher • Leading the My Way Out Website Design
My Responsibilities
• Conducting Interviews • Do User Research
• Create Personas • Build Problem Statements
• Create User Journey Map • Wireframing • Designing Mockups
• Lo/High Fidelity Prototyping • Conducting Usability Studies
• Iterating on Designs • Information Architecture
• Responsive Web Design
The Goal
The intention of this product is to inform and help women who are victims of domestic abuse. It offers a way to reserve a room for the night or/and take legal advice. It also aims to make all women feel secure and supported.
Challenges
Women often become victims of any type of abuse. Most of the times this happens in their close environment and they are forced to leave home. There are many Shelters that offer help, but there’s no way to reserve a spot there easily and quickly, so as not to search all over the city.
Design Process
Empathize Define
User Research
User Interviews
Personas
Empathy Maps
User Journey Maps
Ideate
User Flow
User Stories
Storyboarding
Site Map
Info Architecture
Design
Wireframes
Visual Design
Lo-Fi Prototypes
Hi-Fi Prototypes
Test
User Research
Usability Studies
Feedback
Insights
Design Iterations
Empathize & Define
User Research
I conducted interviews and created empathy maps to understand the users I’m designing for and their needs. The participants for this research were people of different age, educational level and economic status. People with disabilities or other daily obstacles were also taken into consideration.
All participants have been victims of domestic abuse or any type of harassment at some point in their life. All of them reported that they don’t feel safe enough that they will be able to get help if need be. The feedback received through research made it very clear that users would be open to an easy-to-use tool in order to find and book a room at a Shelter in case of emergency.
Interview Questions
Can you describe your current schedule and how you balance your responsibilities with your personal life?
Have you ever felt threatened by your partner or a member of your family? What challenges have you faced when you felt that way? Is there any way in which you feel these challenges could have been resolved?
What would you probably do if you felt threatened or intimidated by your partner or a member of your family?
Where would you possibly go in case of emergency? Is there a specific person you would turn to if need be?
Which device do you think it would be easier to use or you would likely have access to in case of emergency?
What are your main concerns if you happen to be in a predicament like this?
Personas
User Stories
User Journey
Competitive Audit
I searched for similar applications and websites that serve the same cause to help me gain a better understanding of the direct and indirect competitors.
An important finding during my research was that no other similar product had a room or an appointment scheduling feature like the one I was about to design. In order to prioritize my goals and the future development I observed the strenghts, the weaknesses but also the gaps and the opportunities that rised from the competition.
Ideation
Crazy 8s
Initial Concepts
Big buttons in home screen
FAB for online chat
Search: List with Drop Down Menu
Big search with chips
Call me Back button
Carousel for search
Recommended actions
Big Button for legal Department in the footer
SOS button: Send your contact info and location to a friend
Save shelters to favorites
Big screens in public streets displaying / demonstrating the App
Search via GPS and current location
Maps with all available shelters
Carousel with available shelters right now
Search bar in homepage
I evaluated all of my initial concepts considering users’ core needs, and moved forward with those marked with a star.
Design
Paper & Digital Wireframes
After ideating and drafting some paper wireframes, I created the initial designs for the “My Way Out” App. These designs are focused on finding and booking easily and quickly a room at a Shelter or an appointment with the Legal Team.
To prepare for usability testing, I created a low-fidelity prototype that connected the user flow of searching, finding and make a reservation for a room at a Shelter, or booking an appointment with the Legal Team.
[in Figma]
Low Fidelity Prototype
Usability Study
Parameters
Study type:
Unmoderated + Moderated usability study
Location:
Greece, remote
Participants:
5 participants
Length:
15-20 minutes
Findings
Some of the main navigation buttons weren’t working well.
“Near Me” and “Enter Zip Code” didn’t look like they were 2 different options.
“Near Me” and “Enter Zip Code” didn’t look like they were 2 different options.
Refining the Design
Mockups
Based on the insights from the usability studies, I applied design changes like making the “Find a Shelter” section more prominent. Additional design changes included indicating more clearly the Legal Department.
Style Guide
For the Logo Design I used clean, legible Typography with only a little circle as a representation of the woman symbol.
In all Visual Elements I created a feminine color palette, and carefully chose all colors according to the WCAG A and WCAG AA specifications and Contrast Ratio.
My main purpose was to make women in a predicament not to feel like misfits, but encouraged to talk and seek help.
Test
High Fidelity Prototype
The high-fidelity prototype followed the same user flow as the low-fidelity prototype, including changes, made after the usability study.
[in Figma]
Hi Fidelity Prototype
Responsive Web Design
Sitemap
Accessibility Considerations
Clear labels for interactive elements that can be read by screen readers.
Initial focus of the home screen on personalized recommendations help define the primary task or action for the user.
All color styles are carefully chosen and used according to the WCAG specifications and contrast ratio.
Impact
What I learned
Possible Next Steps
Conduct research on how successful the app is in reaching the goal to find and book a Shelter for the night and/or schedule an appointment with the Legal Team.
Add more educational resources for women to learn about abuse and ways to get help.
Provide incentives for women to talk about their experience and not to be afraid of seeking help.
