Process and challenges

The initial phase was to research and analysis the design ethnography of the organization, while due to privacy concerns, we cannot have access to some specific data. The offerings in Vancouver were limited, and there are no physical meetings that we can attend. So I was getting a hard time to collect enough data to have a better understanding and develop the solutions around some details. My team was trying to use several ways to get more useful data through interviews, observation, digital presence and historical event data. The record of posts on Facebook and Instagram was helpful where I can see how members connect to the Vancouver branch.

When organizing the data from their social media, I found huge gaps between their quarterly events. There is a lack of interaction between events which may make the member feel apart and hard to get connected to the next event of Girls in Tech Vancouver. This has resulted in a lack of perceived value from the organization's members. The problem was also mentioned when interviewing event managers and participants from Girls in Tech, where we got a starting point of the organization's problem.

Through our observation, I noticed that Girls in Tech lacked an individual identity that would differentiate it from the other chapters. Then, my team was trying to dig more in this direction. We interviewed Girls in Tech Vancouver management team, its members, and other women passionate about technology, to form the current user journey and frame three persona based on interviews and field research. After that, we conducted a workshop to elicit ideas from the target demographic of Girls in Tech Vancouver. What we learnt from the workshop is that early intervention and continuous support are crucial to help the organization achieve its goal: retention of females in technical roles.

For the visual design, I was struggling with the color for a couple of weeks. The problem we found was the organization uses pink as their primary color which is a bias for women. Besides the Vancouver chapter was directly linked to the global website, which needs more identity for its own. Blue, green and pink with splatter paint style can familiarize the user to the global website and show the energy of women in tech from the Vancouver chapter since students member are the majority. I also want t to use a simple but vivid style to attract more people and professionals from different backgrounds to this organization.

Solution - key features

Concept validation

User testing can give a lot of strength to overall argument of our solution and we tested with three personas to see value in TechConnect. The mentee sees value in the community aspect of TechConnect, the mentor sees value in the relationship building from Mentors in Tech, and the organization sees value in TechConnect as a whole to help them carry out their mission.

TechConnect builds a local identity for Girls in Tech Vancouver by facilitating meaningful engagement among mentors, mentees, and the organization between events.

Reflection

I have learnt a lot from the project since that was the first time I designed with a real organization, which means we need to consider more about the feasibility of our final solution. I was able to execute a high-fidelity prototype with a precise design focus by using numerous design methods such as ethnography, participatory workshops, user journey mapping, and persona creation. As a UX/UI designer, the user is always the first when I am designing, I learnt how and when to use different methods to understand the user's needs and goal and tie it closely to the solution. Especially, it was the first time I conducted a workshop and it helped a lot to elicit the creative thinking from the user when we stuck in the later phase and couldn't figure out what to improve.
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Leadership was also what I learnt when working with six other team members, how to distribute the work and collaborate efficiently. Voting is a good way when disagreement emerges. Even in charge of visual design, I still need to well communicate with the copywriter and leave comments and ideas to make sure the content fits the visual and the execution is consistent. Additionally, nothing is too late if you want to make a change. I tried and changed the art direction several times and then down with one can be individualized to the Vancouver chapter which can relate to their current brand.