In this project, I spearheaded the redesign of the Redford Brightmoor Initiative's (RBI) website, driven by a user-centered approach. Through comprehensive user feedback and research, I identified key issues, crafted user personas, and developed mockups that resulted in a more streamlined and efficient user experience.

Redford Brightmoor Initiative (RBI) is a nonprofit coalition based in Metro Detroit, dedicated to fostering community and providing meaningful support to both youth and adults. RBI’s services range from a free store offering household essentials to a Mobile Dental Team providing vital dental care. Despite their impactful work, RBI's online presence, especially website, was underperforming, leading to missed opportunities for donations and engagement.

The primary goal of this project was to revamp RBI's digital presence to better reflect its services and facilitate user engagement, particularly focusing on improving donation processes and information accessibility. Before the redesign, the website's disorganized structure caused users to exit prematurely, often missing out on valuable information about RBI’s services.

Image above: One of Redford Brightmoor Initiative’s prior website sections.

The redesign was a multi-step process that included:

To address the project objectives, I focused on the following research questions:

I employed qualitative research methods, including user interviews and stakeholder consultations. Despite RBI being a local organization, its supporters are widespread, which necessitated a design that resonated with a geographically diverse audience. The research revealed that a more visually appealing, accessible, and informative website could significantly enhance user engagement and donation conversions.

Image above: information about the interviewees

I created a Miro board to map out identified themes, from which I generated "how might we" questions and "pain points" that will inform the design focus:

Based on the research findings, I have summarized the redesign focus to be the following areas:

Recreating a website information structure will address part of the problem:

Feedback from the RBI community and stakeholders was integral to the iterative design process. I also considered the technical constraints of maintaining the site on a WordPress backend, ensuring that the final design could be easily managed by RBI’s team after project completion.

By focusing on user needs and client goals, the redesign has positioned RBI to better serve its community and achieve its mission.

From the user and client feedback, I revised the High-fidelity mockups as the handoff prototype design below. You may also view the live website, created after handoff at this link.

Reflecting on this project, as it's one of the first project I've done with a nonprofit client, I’ve come to realize the critical importance of adaptability, communication, and long-term thinking in full-time roles and UX projects. There is a need to maintain and iterate on designs after project completion, and I also need to consider the ongoing nature of UX work, where solutions must be sustainable and easily transferable to others.

Additionally, the importance of clear and consistent communication with stakeholders became evident, as it ensures alignment and smooth collaboration throughout the project. This experience also underscored the value of balancing innovation with practicality, particularly in resource-constrained environments, a lesson that is vital in any full-time UX role.