NeighborSchools
Fall 2020
Introduction
This case study was done as a project for my Interactive Design Course. The method of this project is redesigning a website for a better user experience. After selecting an existing website, I defined the design problems and ideated solutions. NeighborSchools is the selected product of this project.
Logistics
UX/UI Design + Visual Design
Team: Solo
Role: UX Designer, UI Designer and User Researcher
Tools: Adobe XD, Adobe Illustrator, Adobe Photoshop
Background
Founded in 2018 in Boston, NeighborSchools is a technology startup company that connects local families and family Child Care (FCC) service providers in the New England Area. It’s the Airbnb for Family Child Care. It helps every young parent become more relaxed during the pre-school stage of kids, because licensed FCC caregivers can provide the most professional and affordable neighbor service. However, the old design of its website is lacking a good content strategy and structure. All pages are long and users are easy to get lost with them. To improve the overall design of the website, the following design case study will address the proposed problem by understanding target users, brand identity, and the pain point of using the website.
Problem Statement
Young parents look for child care programs during the pandemic. They have limited budgets and concerns about safety. When they browse the NeighborSchools website, they couldn’t get useful information immediately. This situation prevents them from further interaction with the site.
Target Users
Primary: New/Would-be Parents in the New England Area (60%)
Young parents who have pre-school kids aged from 0 to 6. They may don’t have too much personal childcare experience and be busy with their work. They have a stable HHI from $30,000 to 80,000. They’re looking for an affordable childcare program with a radius of about 10 miles near their houses/working spots. Currently, most of them are working from home, and some have to work on-site. They use social media every day and always search for information online. Their biggest concern about the childcare program is safety.
Secondary: FCC Providers in the New England Area (30%)
Independent experienced FCC providers who run their own programs at home. They may have personal pages or a childcare group on Facebook. They aren’t really good at marketing and mainly rely on word-of-mouth to attract new clients. Their businesses are negatively affected by Covid-19 and want to get support.
Tertiary: educators who have an interest in FCC in the New England Area (10%)
They are working for some childcare organizations to take care of a large group of children. Due to the impact from Covid-19, some of them are suspended or laid off, then they want to start their own business to make a living. They want to know the benefits of being an FCC provider and how to get the license.
Goals and Messages
As the first platform that is 100% designed for licensed FCC programs in the New England Area, NeighborSchools offer the most professional and accurate match service to both families and providers. It provides safe and affordable programs. It is a platform that connects parents, children, and professional caregivers in communities.
Business Goal: Match more and more parents and caregivers successfully
Design Goal: Allow parents to connect with appropriate FCC caregivers easily
Design Process
Sitemap
Before working on the wireframe, I needed to have an overall structure of the site. I audited the content of the existing website and created a new sitemap. This allows me to understand the content comprehensively and organize further design orderly.
Sitemap for NeighborSchools
Sketch wireframes
Sketches
Based on Sitemap, I drafted wireframes on paper. This helps me reduce big changes in software wireframing work. It also benefits me with a clear understanding of the overall layout.
Responsive Wireframing
I’ve designed 13 pages for desktop in 1280x800 and 15 pages in iPhone X screen size. I will present home, Find Daycare, provider and about pages below because these are critical to the site.
Home Page
The home page decides the first impression. A good home page has to let users know what it is. I compiled content that primary users most care about into a neat and direct home page. Young parents will be able to know the type, location, and highlights of NeighborSchools’ service. They will also know who provides FCC service and this is proved by famous media.
Home Page
The Matching System
Magic Match is a key feature of NeighborSchools. Parents can find a suggested caregiver based on the information they enter. After simplifying the matching system, users can get the search result just in one click. The map system will benefit parents who are more distance-driven. I redesigned the searching system to help parents find an ideal caregiver.
Find Daycare
FCC Provider information
On the specific caregiver page, I was originally putting primary information on the top, like photos, basic information and location. As a result, parents can get all they care about immediately. When they scroll down, the CTA is always floating on the right side of the screen. Parents will be able to connect with the caregiver at any time they want.
Information about caregivers
About Page
The about page is important to gain the trust of parents. Storytelling is quite important here. Instead of mixing every piece of valuable information together, I structure the content into three parts, stories, team, and career. Users will know the exact content they want to and will read. This clear structure will help them understand the brand easily and comprehensively.
About Page
Design System
By combining NeighborSchools’ existing brand elements, logo, color palette and tone, I created the design style guide below. To keep the site looking consistent, further UI design is following this guide.
Final and Responsive Mockups
Home Page
Magic Match
Find by Map
Information about Caregivers
Blog
About Pages
Join Us
How to Start
Conclusion and Reflection
Through doing this case study, I was able to practice my user-centered design skills. From this redesign project, I was able to learn how to combine brand identity, business goals and users’ needs into the final design. I’ve also learned the design process is iterating. From the initial concept to the eventual case study, it took me at least 100 hours to refine and wrap everything.
A good product is solving users’ problems, instead of throwing everything to users, it requires a thoughtful strategy and effective design.