OHRID
VOLUNTEER
A Platform for Small Community Volunteering
What is Ohrid Volunteer?
Ohrid Volunteer is a mobile app created for the close-knit community of Ohrid. It’s a simple, practical way for local organizers, whether they’re individuals or organizations, to post volunteering opportunities and for volunteers to find ways to lend a hand. The app was designed with small communities in mind with intention to bring people together and to support and grow their volunteering community.
Role
UX/UI Design
Type of Project
Conceptual Case Study
Duration
Sep 2024 - Nov 2024
Platform
Mobile App
Background & Motivation
As someone from Ohrid, I’ve always felt connected to this small community. In the summer of 2024, when wildfires hit Galichica Mountain, the volunteer efforts were all over the place. People were eager to help, but there were no clear guidelines. Volunteers didn’t know what to bring or how to contribute. The only way to get information was through a single phone number or asking on Facebook, which made it difficult to organize everything efficiently.
This experience highlighted a major need for a more organized, efficient platform for local volunteerism. It was an opportunity to combine my personal connection to the community with the third project in my Google UX Specialization, which focused on creating a product for social good. That’s when I decided to create Ohrid Volunteer - an app designed to bring structure and clarity to volunteering in our community.
Problem & Goals
The main problem I aimed to solve with this platform was how to make it a reliable hub for both organizers and volunteers. Organizers could be anyone from the community - whether it’s someone planning an event, looking for help with a project, or even local organizations needing support.
The goal was to strike a balance:
Help volunteers find opportunities that matter to them and feel good about making a difference in their community.
Make it easy for organizers to set up events and connect with volunteers.
The Solution
Challenges as a Designer
Designing Ohrid Volunteer came with its fair share of challenges.
I didn’t have as many research participants as I’d hoped, so while I worked with the insights I had, I knew I might not be capturing every perspective. Balancing the needs of organizers and volunteers was also tricky. The app had to be simple and approachable without feeling overwhelming.
Cultural challenges stood out too. While locals are proud of their town, hesitation to connect due to fears of judgment is common. I wanted the app to break that barrier, helping people collaborate and form meaningful connections.
I gave myself 6 weeks to complete this project so I had to focus on what mattered most. These challenges taught me a lot about staying adaptable and really understanding the people I’m designing for.
User Research
To begin the user research phase I reached out to seven individuals who could represent potential users of a volunteering app in a small community. Each of them was kind enough to take some time to answer a set of questions I sent them digitally.
Once I had their responses, I created an empathy map for each person to sort through their answers and spot patterns.
This process helped me see what they had in common and where their needs or frustrations stood out, giving me a clear starting point to move forward with the design.
Empathy Maps
User Groups
After analyzing the insights gathered from my interviews, I grouped participants into three distinct user groups based on their shared characteristics and challenges. This was done so I can to identify patterns and address the needs of larger segments of users rather than individuals.
Community Organizers and Leaders
This group consists of participants who take active leadership roles in their communities, organizing events and managing volunteer efforts.
Tech-Savvy Volunteers
This group consists of participants who take active leadership roles in their communities, organizing events and managing volunteer efforts.
Humanitarian Helpers with Low Tech Confidence
This group includes individuals passionate about helping those in need but who may lack confidence with technology.
Defining the Goal Statements
For Organizers
This product will help community organizers easily manage and coordinate volunteer events, making it simpler to attract volunteers and keep things running smoothly.
Success can be measured by the number of organized events and volunteer participation rates.
For Volunteers
This product will make it easy for volunteers, regardless of their tech skills, to find and join volunteering opportunities that match their interests and abilities.
Success can be measured by tracking user retention and the number of completed volunteer activities.
How-Might-We’s
As I explored these challenges and goal statements, a few key issues stood out. Volunteers often struggled to find events that matched their interests, while organizers found it tricky to set up events and get people involved. On top of that, staying in touch and working together wasn’t always as easy as it could be.
How might we make it easier for volunteers to discover and join events that match their interests and availability and feel rewarding?
How might we make it simpler for organizers to create their events and communicate efficiently with participants?
Ideation
To determine which features would be most valuable, I conducted research through a survey with potential users to evaluate their needs. Eleven participants, selected for their similarities to our user groups, provided insights that informed which features to include.
Features & Prioritization Matrix
The suggested features were then put onto a prioritization matrix along with the rationale and user feedback for each.
Onboarding
Rationale: simple and engaging walkthrough of the platform's features for first-time users.
User Feedback: 9 of 11 of users found this feature useful.
Video Introductions for Events
Rationale: adds a personal touch by allowing organizers to share short videos about their events.
User Feedback: 3 of 11 of users found this feature useful.
Gamified Challenges
Rationale: introduces challenges, like completing a certain number of hours within a timeframe
User Feedback: 2 of 11 of users found this feature useful.
Virtual Volunteering Opportunities
Rationale: offers online-only tasks, such as translation
User Feedback: 5 of 11 of users found this feature useful.
Geared towards volunteers
Geared towards organizers
High Effort
Low Effort
Low Value
High Value
Event Sharing and Invitations
Rationale: to share events via social media or direct links and send invitations to specific volunteers.
User Feedback: 10 of 11 of users found this feature useful.
Messaging and Notifications
Rationale: a communication channel for organizers to send updates or instructions to volunteers.
User Feedback: 10 of 11 of users found this feature useful.
Rewards System
Rationale: tracks and rewards users for their contributions, such as badges or points.
User Feedback: 7 of 11 of users found this feature useful.
Saved and Joined Events
Rationale: a dedicated space for users to view events they have joined or bookmarked
User Feedback: 8 of 11 of users found this feature useful.
Personalized Recommendations
Rationale: suggests relevant tailored opportunities based on user interests, skills, and history.
User Feedback: 10 of 11 of users found this feature useful.
Search Functionality
Rationale: provides filters to help users find events by type, location, or time.
User Feedback: 11 of 11 of users found this feature useful.
Connections
Rationale: allows volunteers to connect with each other and organizers for better collaboration
User Feedback: 8 of 11 of users found this feature useful.
Fast Event Creation Process
Rationale: quickly create events with essential details like location, requirements, and time.
User Feedback: 11 of 11 of users found this feature useful.
Volunteer Ratings by Organizers
Rationale: allows organizers to rate volunteers based on participation.
User Feedback: 5 of 11 of users found this feature useful.
Group Volunteering Coordination
Rationale: enables users to join or create teams for volunteering events.
User Feedback: 4 of 11 of users found this feature useful.
Design
After finishing the Ideation phase, I moved on to the design phase. The goal was to keep things simple, focusing on the most important features I found during Ideation and presenting them in a way that’s clear and easy for users, without creating visual or mental overload.
App Sitemap
As I worked on the user flows, I also started building the app’s sitemap. This helped me figure out what all of the pages would consist of and gave me a clearer picture of what the entire app would look like.
Paper Wireframes
I started the visual design process by sketching hand-drawn wireframes to define the basic structure of the homepage. These wireframes focus on the basic layout and features to include in the bottom and top nav. I also experimented with different designs for cards, tab filters, and buttons. I informed some of my decisions based on competitors and how they’ve implemented or styled similar features as needed for my app.
Digital Wireframes
The next step was to bring my sketches to life by creating digital versions in Figma. I designed lo-fi wireframes for the key screens in the main user flow for both volunteers and organizers. After this I recruited a small group of 5 potential users and conducted two in-person rounds of usability tests over the course of two weeks, refining the design through each round of feedback.
Event Creation Iterations
During usability testing, I noticed that users found the original event creation form overwhelming because everything was on one long page.
Initial Concept
Final Iteration
Profile Iterations
Users mentioned that their profiles felt a bit shallow, with only skills and interests visible. They wanted more depth and recognition for their efforts.
Digital Wireframe
First Iteration
Second Iteration
Visual Branding
Color Scheme
I chose teal as the primary accent color to reflect the community spirit and the beauty of Ohrid. Teal combines blue, representing the city, and green, which connects to environmental efforts often tied to volunteering.
It feels fresh and uplifting, fitting the app’s goal of bringing positive change to the community. I aimed for it to convey sophistication and renewal.
The majority of the screen real estate is consisted of neutral colors, the primary color is used for icons and as a accent color for CTAs.
OHRID TEAL
primary-50
18.35 AAA
AAA
1.14
#e6f2f2
rgb(230, 242, 242)
primary-100
11.69 AAA
AAA
1.80
#96cbca
rgb(150, 203, 202)
primary-300
8.98 AAA
AAA
2.34
#6bb6b4
rgb(107, 182, 180)
primary-500
4.44 AA
4.73 AAA
AA
#00817e
rgb(0, 129, 126)
primary-700
2.60
8.07 AAA
AAA
#005a58
rgb(0, 90, 88)
primary-900
2.23
9.44 AAA
AAA
#004f4d
rgb(0, 79, 77)
Neutrals
text-primary
#1E1E1E
text-secondary
#545454
text-tertiary
#B3B3B3
background-primary
#FCFCFC
background-secondary
#F5F5F5
background-disabled
#D9D9D9
card-primary
#FFFFFF
card-secondary
#F2F2F7
Logo
I used the shades of the primary brand colors in the creation of a custom mark. It blends the waves from the Ohrid Lake with helping hands(a symbol for volunteerism) and of course the letter “O” for Ohrid.
For the logo typeface, I chose Jost Extrabold, a bold and modern typeface that stands out while keeping the design grounded and sleek.
Typeface: Inter
For the body and headings, I chose Inter for its great readability and modern, minimalistic design.
Its clean style feels both friendly and professional so it suits the purpose of a volunteering app. It keeps everything looking neat without trying too hard, which is exactly what I was aiming for.
Plus, it pairs perfectly with the bold logo typeface, creating a nice balance throughout the design.
Heading H4
24px / 32px
Heading H6
18px / 24px
Body Large
16px / 24px
Body Medium
14px / 20px
Body Small
12px / 16px
OVERLINE (CAPS)
14px / 20px
Button
16px / 24px
Components & Icons
Button
Button
Button
Button
Button
Button
Joined
Saved
Past
Joined
Saved
Past
Joined
Saved
Past
All
All
Home
Search
Events
Profile
Home
Search
Events
Profile
Home
Search
Events
Profile
Home
Search
Events
Profile
Bottom Nav
Cards
Tabs
Search Bar
Buttons
Pills
Icons
Final UI
Learnings
Experience the Prototype
Working on this app has been an opportunity to grow as a designer and deepen my understanding of designing for the greater good. Involving my community in the process showed me how design can bring real value to people’s lives.
I also focused more on the UI side of things. I aimed to create creating a clean, modern UI that felt legible, minimal but still approachable and accessible to the vast majority of the userbase.
Another big takeaway was learning how to structure my time more effectively. I stuck to a clear schedule and organization of my tasks was key. I stuck to a clear workflow which in turn helped me stay focused and move forward without getting overwhelmed.
What’s Next?
I’d love to explore how Ohrid Volunteer could work as a web platform. A web version would give event organizers more space to manage events and keep track of volunteers. It could even include tools like scheduling or event summaries to make their job smoother. Also I think less-tech savvy volunteers that don’t use apps much would appreciate the web version.
I also want to test the app with more people in the community. Getting real feedback would help fine-tune the design and make sure it’s as useful as possible for everyone who wants to get involved.
And I really hope further down the line maybe a developer will get involved in this project to make it a reality.
Thank you for reading!