This project was an in-class assignment wherein students were charged to make a Figma prototype app for a nonprofit association. I decided to create a prototype app for Fairfield Wesleyan Church.

Coincidentally, Fairfield Wesleyan Church is also where I did my internship for my ETBD minor, so I already had knowledge of what functions were available on their website, what their branding guidelines (or lack thereof) were, and frequent meetings with the church’s pastor. Through this, I was able to make decisions on what functions should be on their website versus on an app, how they should be different, how they should be similar, and how to make an app that properly addresses current needs at FWC.

I did a lot of reflection on functions, empathy mapping, and user experience, which would then drive my decisions. I made 6 empathy maps total, 3 for each persona.

I also wanted to focus on apple design conventions for this assignment, since for a previous assignment, I looked at android design conventions. You can see the apple influence in the navigation.

Because Fairfield Wesleyan Church has a Spanish and an English congregation, I wanted to create an app that was useful for both congregations and created community between the two.

When I first made my personas, I added so many details and information it was hard to use the persona as the tool it should have functioned as. I fixed this by going back to my personas and simplifying them; I also added images so that I could get the vibe of the persona from just a glance.

This design was successful in that the pastor of FWC really liked it. He was a huge part of each step in the prototype, offering valuable feedback that allowed me to reiterate and refine effectively. Unfortunately, this app was never implemented to get concrete metrics, such as how many users use it, but it was a great design experience for me and really helped me learn how to work with a client and empathize with my target audience.