An uplifting platform dedicated to empowering women by providing virtual resources and mentorship to help them achieve their career aspirations.
Lead UX Designer, UX Researcher
8 Months
4 UX Students
Figma, Google Workspace
Overview
Working with a Real world Client 🤝
This 8-month project was a full-scale UX redesign of the mobile website for Dress for Success Washington, D.C. (DFSWDC)—a women-led nonprofit empowering women.
▪ PROBLEM
Limited Networks and Career Support
In D.C., many women lack access to strong professional networks and tailored resources — a gap made wider by inconsistencies between virtual and in-person support.
How might we create opportunities that connect women to the support they need to grow, wherever they are?
▪ GOAL
▪ PROCESS
Design
Sketches
User flow
Create lo-fi wireframes
Prototype designs
User testing
Evaluation
▪ IMPACT
Expanding Access, Strengthening Support, and
Enhancing Connections
Research
▪ RESEARCH METHODS
▪ MAIN FINDINGS
Users struggle with navigation, relying on volunteers and underusing resources
These are the key findings from the user research conducted. While I reviewed findings from the heuristic evaluation and competitive analysis, my primary contributions were conducting user interviews and leading usability testing with participants.
Heuristic Evaluation
Violations of 7 / 10 usability heuristics
Competitive Analysis
Only follows 2 standards, scoring lowest out of all
User Interviews
8 Participants (6 Users, 2 Volunteers)
2 Stakeholders (Clients/Volunteers)
Clients of DFSWDC rely on volunteers to fill in the gaps on the website. Volunteers wish the clients could independently navigate these things.
Many long-time users are unaware of the VCC's existence. If they are aware of it, they still do not use the resources available within it.
In-person/synchronous resources and interactions leave users feeling positive emotions.
Usability Testing (Initial)
8 Participants (6 Users, 2 Volunteers)
2 Stakeholders (Clients/Volunteers)
Overall, each task was able to be accomplished by the majority of participants but not with ease.
Every task required a higher level of effort, time, and error to accomplish for at least one of the participants.
▪ ANALYSIS
So, what’s creating the disconnect?
Inconsistent design and unclear calls to action limited access to personalized resources, with users preferring in-person support.
Ideation
▪ PERSONAS & JOURNEYS
Representing the needs of all 3 user groups
Building on our research, I created 2 primary personas (a new DFSWDC user and a long-term user) and 1 secondary persona for a volunteer coach, reflecting the 3 key stakeholder groups: clients, long-term users, and volunteers.
I also developed user journey maps for each persona to ensure our redesign addresses their distinct needs and behaviors, helping us empathize with their unique VCC experiences.
▪ DESIGN REQUIREMENTS
Our final solution should include…
Based on the research-informed personas and user journeys, we defined the following UX design requirements to guide the website redesign, ensuring it effectively meets users' needs.
Improved Navigation
Users need an organized navigation experience to intuitively access information they are looking for.
User-Centric Language
Users need an organized navigation experience to intuitively access information they are looking for.
Search Functionality
Users need a method to filter resources on the website based on specific tasks they have in mind.
Enhanced Workshop Tab
Users need a way to view and schedule upcoming events in an organized way.
User Feedback Mechanism
The DFSWDC staff needs a way to view analytics and feedback about resource usage from users.
Volunteer Interaction
Users need a way to feel connected to DFSWDC volunteers through the website.
Design & Iteration
▪ DESIGN PROCESS
Iterative design process with user testing
▪ SKETCHES
During the design phase, I sketched two concepts for each UX requirement, resulting in 24 team-wide sketches. These sketches were pivotal in guiding our final design direction.
Sketch #1
We aimed to simplify the navigation options to allow faster browsing of the website.
Sketch #2
We wanted to replace inaccessible language on the website.
▪ USER FLOWS
Mapping out key interactions
Next, we collaboratively mapped out user and task flows for all the interactions we aimed to improve or introduce on the website.
▪ LO-FI
Research driven and user-focused
Inspired by research on career platforms like LinkedIn, Handshake, and Indeed, I created low-fidelity wireframes to align with our mapped user and task flows. I focused on refining the personal dashboard, scheduling interactions, and event registration, which helped establish a solid foundation for later high-fidelity design and branding elements.
Final Design
Introducing The New DFSWDC 💡
Before
Evaluation
▪ EVALUATION PROCESS
Upon starting our evaluation process, we focused on 4 main user flows and 5 research questions:
User Flows
Register for an account to view a personalized dashboard with resource usage metrics and recommended resources
Find and utilize career resources on the Virtual Career Center page
Apply to be matched with a coach and schedule career coaching appointments
Register for career development events and connect with other attendees
Research Questions
Can users…
logically navigate the website when trying to complete tasks and find resources?
understand all of the language that appears on the website?
successfully view and schedule upcoming events
successfully apply for career coaching and stay in contact with their coach?
feel a sense of community and support from others?
▪ TESTING
Our evaluation study utilized single-system usability testing to assess new features' functionality and preference testing to gauge user preferences regarding design changes. By structuring tasks to evaluate key user flows, the study ensured a comprehensive assessment of the website's usability and effectiveness.
Usability Testing
Ensuring our designs worked and made sense to the user
Preference Testing
Comparing our redesign to the original for user preferences
Insights & Results:
Insights gleaned from the evaluation study provided nuanced understanding and actionable insights for refining the final design.
Key findings included improvements in navigation, challenges related to language clarity, opportunities for enhancing event management features, and varying perceptions of community support while still allowing for 100% usability test completion and intuitive user flows.
Reflection
LESSONS ☁️
This project was my first deep dive into working closely with a client, and it transformed the way I approach collaboration. Translating design ideas to non-designers required active listening and regular updates to ensure we met both business goals and user needs.
CHALLENGES ⛈️
Balancing workloads in a long-term group project was tough, especially with everyone’s outside commitments. However, weekly check-ins and open communication kept us motivated and accountable, allowing us to push through and deliver strong design solutions.
IMPROVEMENTS ☀️
This project deepened my understanding of collaboration—not just dividing tasks, but building on each other’s ideas. I’ll carry this mindset forward, embracing teamwork as a way to create more impactful and innovative designs.
