Background
The idea of this project was created by me and later was taken under Versall Inc., a company in Toronto specializing in designing digital products and software development to develop the project with the team.
Team structure
I worked as a Product Designer within a team of software developers and marketing members. I was constantly in touch with the UI designer as we both worked on the interface at some point and occasionally with the developer team to ensure the implementation went well.
My Roles & Responsibilities
My task was to develop the idea, along with market and user research, to design an efficient product for the market and a user-friendly experience.
Research: Business
Business Goal
MyRole aims to provide users with a user-friendly platform to create and support petitions, polls, and charitable causes, thereby enabling them to make a tangible impact on social issues.
By offering a single platform for charitable donations, MyRole seeks to streamline the donation process and increase accessibility to various charitable organizations and causes.
The app aims to engage users through personalized recommendations, social media integration, and interactive features, fostering a sense of community and participation.
Monetization and Sustainability: While the initial focus is on not-for-profit operations, MyRole plans to transition to a for-profit model in the future. The app aims to generate revenue through subscription fees, partnerships with charities, and potentially advertising while ensuring sustainable growth and reinvestment into the platform.
Research: Audience/User
Surveys and interviews
Surveys were conducted to gather quantitative data on user demographics, behaviours, and preferences. I’ve asked questions about users' motivations for participating in social causes, their preferred methods of charitable giving, and their experience with existing platforms and overall charitable giving, their frustrations with current platforms, and their suggestions for improvement.
User needs
Ease of Use
Users need a platform that is intuitive and easy to navigate, allowing them to create and support petitions, polls, and charitable causes without encountering unnecessary complexity.
Community Engagement
Users want to feel connected to a community of like-minded individuals who share their passion for social change. They seek opportunities to engage with others, share ideas, and collaborate on meaningful initiatives.
Personalization
Users appreciate personalized recommendations and content that align with their interests and values. They want the platform to understand their preferences and provide relevant suggestions for petitions and charitable causes.
Accessibility
Users expect the platform to be accessible across different devices and screen sizes, allowing them to participate in activities and access content wherever they are.
Transparency and Trust
Users value transparency in how their donations are used and expect the platform to be trustworthy in terms of data privacy and security. They want to know that their contributions are making a real impact.
Problems and challenges
Complexity
Users find existing platforms for charitable giving and social activism to be overly complex and difficult to navigate, resulting in frustration and disengagement.
Fragmentation
Users are overwhelmed by the sheer number of charitable organizations and fundraising campaigns spread across multiple platforms, making it challenging to discover and support causes they care about.
Lack of Transparency
Users are often skeptical about where their donations are actually going and whether they are making a meaningful impact. They feel that existing platforms lack transparency and accountability.
Privacy Concerns
Users are concerned about the privacy and security of their personal information when using online platforms for charitable giving and social activism. They want assurance that their data will be handled responsibly and ethically.
Limited Engagement
Users feel disconnected from the causes they support and lack opportunities for meaningful engagement beyond making donations. They want to feel more actively involved in driving social change.
Research: Competitor Analysis
Change.org
is a website which allows users to create and sign petitions to advance various social causes by raising awareness and influencing decision-makers. The site is a US-based for-profit company and claims to have nearly 500 million users as of December 2022.
Features:
Petition Creation to address various issues.
Campaign Sharing via different channels to increase visibility.
Comments and Discussion for sharing related thoughts.
Updates on the progress of their campaigns, share news and developments related to the issue.
Targeted Outreach by connecting petition creators with decision-makers, authorities, or organizations relevant to their cause, facilitating direct communication and advocacy efforts.
Impact Tracking by sharing tangible results achieved by the campaign.
Global Reach: Change.org operates internationally, allowing users from around the world to create and support petitions on a wide range of issues.
Community Building: The platform fosters a sense of community among users who share similar concerns and interests, creating opportunities for collaboration and collective action.
GoFundMe
is an American for-profit crowdfunding platform that allows people to raise money for events ranging from life events such as celebrations and graduations to challenging circumstances like accidents and illnesses.
Features:
Personal Fundraising for personal needs.
Nonprofit Fundraising to raise money for charitable causes.
Crowdfunding Events and campaigns for special occasions.
Campaign Sharing on social media platforms.
Fundraising Goals and tracking the progress.
Various Donation Options and payment methods.
Updates on progress and express gratitude to donors.
Security and Trust by verifying the legitimacy of campaigns and ensuring the safety of donations.
Mobile Accessibility with GoFundMe mobile app.
ABOUT
Sarah is a driven individual who thrives on making a difference. She actively seeks out opportunities to contribute to causes she believes in and is always looking for ways to amplify her impact.
PERSONALITY
PERSONALITY
• Outgoing
• Empathetic
• Organized
• Collaborative
• Accountable
Goals
• Leverage her skills and resources to address social injustices
• Support marginalized communities
• Connect with like-minded individuals and organizations to effect meaningful change
Frustations
• Navigate multiple platforms for charitable giving and advocacy
• Lack of transparency and accountability in some organizations
• Looking for a more streamlined way to discover and support causes
ABOUT
Amir is a dedicated and visionary leader who has devoted his career to philanthropy and social activism. He founded Bright Foundation with the goal of addressing pressing social issues and improving the lives of marginalized individuals and communities.
PERSONALITY
• Compassionate
• Empathetic
• Ethical
• Inspirational
Goals
• Expand the reach and impact of Bright Foundation by raising awareness and increasing funding for their programs and initiatives
• Building strategic partnerships and leveraging digital platforms to engage supporters and mobilize resources
Frustrations
• Limited resources and visibility of his charity
• Struggles to navigate the complexities of digital marketing and outreach
• Need for more accessible tools and platforms to help him promote his charity and connect with potential supporters
Problem Statement
Existing platforms for social activism and charitable giving lack of user-friendly interfaces, transparency, and community engagement, leading to frustration and disengagement among users.
There is a need for a streamlined, transparent, and community-driven platform that empowers individuals to easily create, support, and track progress on petitions, polls, and charitable causes, fostering a sense of connection and collective impact in driving positive social change.
Currently, no platform fully focuses on social good, a platform where all social causes are situated so users can easily make a change. My goal was to create an accessible, easy way for users to create positive social change in communities and society simply through their phones.
Solution
MyRole is a platform that encourages positive social change. On MyRole, users can create and participate in petitions and polls and share them with their friends. Petitions in MyRole can produce more accurate statistics as the hosts can require users with ID verification to participate. Petition data will be visualized through graphs to track the goal of the host and viewers in the end.Users can also donate to their choice of fundraisers and causes straight from the app. MyRole provides the unique opportunity by bringing all the charities under one easily accessible platform; and it has a subscription function where users will be able to subscribe to charities with auto monthly donations; allowing them to consistently donate without having to make much effort. With a custom algorithm, the app suggests relevant causes to the user, urging them to participate. Fundraisers are required to share the progress of the cause they're raising money for with the users so they can see where their donations are going.
Currently, there is no platform that brings together all potential charitable options in a social media format; and finding charities for a specific cause is a challenge for the users due to the variety of the existing platforms. Also, it's a challenge for a new non-profit to set up their own online platform to raise money. MyRole would give them the opportunity to have an accessible fundraising platform for free and would essentially become a source for users who are willing to donate an amount of their money to a charity.
The current online petition platforms which require multiple steps to sign for a cause—on MyRole, signatures are a click away. MyRole will turn the current common problem of doomscrolling on social media into a positive habit; with every scroll and click, users will see opportunities to help and make a change.
Userflow: Login
Userflow: Posting
Wireframing
Interface Design
Interaction Design and Prototyping
As a major part of this project, I created a pro-level prototype for the developer team to be able to develop all the interactions, alternative user choices, layouts and visuals, and motion designs.
Check out the live prototype on Figma:
(Highly recommend to view on desktop and move along the journey of creating an account, explore posts on the home page, create two types of posts, and explore other pages in the app)
Current State of the project
As the primary design phases are over, the development team is working on the infrastructures and front-end developments of MyRole using frameworks and languages like Flutter and Python. The functional demo version will be finished approximately by the end of 2024 and prepared to be presented to the investors.
