Project Context
My Role: UX Writer
My Team: Jocelyn Irle, UX Designer
Minami Aoki, UX/UI Designer
Tools Used: Figma, Optimal Workshop, Grammarly
Timeframe: 4 weeks
Objective
Client: Our Big Kitchen, an Australian non-profit organization providing meals to charities through the support of volunteers.
Goal: A comprehensive website redesign to increase volunteer & donor conversion rates.
DEFINING THE SCOPE
My key responsibilities
THE REDESIGN
A snapshot of then and now
“Cooking is all about people. Food is maybe the only universal thing that really has the power to bring everyone together. No matter what culture, everywhere around the world, people get together to eat.” | Guy Fieri
MY PROCESS
Utilizing the Double Diamond method to uncover & solve the problem
To ensure a successful product, it is instrumental to first understand the problem fully. Following the above process ensured I could quickly analyze and define the problem I was solving. I followed up my prototype solution with testing to ensure the message I wanted to communicate was clear to my users.
INITIAL DISCOVERY
Understanding Our Big Kitchen
Meeting the Team
Getting up to speed on the project research & design
I met with my designers to clearly understand what was needed. Since I was coming aboard for a brief period, I wanted to maximize my impact by supporting their research efforts.
Material Review Highlights
Content auditing of the website & similar businesses
I familiarized myself with the company’s current branding, voice, and story. The message of community, togetherness, and giving was clear, but the information architecture could be improved.
Stakeholder Interviews
Meeting with the company owners
I got a personal sense of the people behind the kitchen over Zoom. They were warm and welcoming, and we had friendly conversations about their values: bonding community through cooking.
BRAND TONE AND VOICE
Identifying our mission, telling our story, and touching our audience
Founded by a pair in Bondi, AUS, Our Big Kitchen (OBK) was born from a need to help a community member in a crisis. A woman at the Yeshiva where the pair worked fell gravely ill and had no one to take care of her. The couple decided to do some communal cooking. To accomplish this, they borrowed a kosher kitchen and got a group of volunteers to cook, shop for food, and handle the delivery. This was only the beginning of the born community, and you can read the full story here.
Core Voice Principles
Cook healthy meals to nourish our community
“We are committed to making wholesome, balanced, nutritious hot meals. We seek feedback from our recipients to ensure we make meals they enjoy.”
Come together to create and give
“Our Big Kitchen is a community kitchen that inspires individuals to come together to help others.”
Simplify our language to be warm and welcoming, always
“The heart of OBK is volunteers like you. No matter what stage of life or age, you’re always welcome here.“
Characteristics & Personality
Human Characteristics
- Welcoming
- Optimistic
- Active
- Playful
- Nurturing
Personality
- Expert, but not intimidating
- Inclusive, but not needy
- Impactful, but not braggish
SCENARIOS
Mindfulness in each user interaction
Scenario
A potential volunteer opens the website and sees two immediate options: volunteer or donate. They select the “volunteer” option and wish to see what kind of volunteer opportunities exist.
User Emotions
Eager
Unsure
Product (Our) Goal
Help user quickly assess what volunteer options exist and how they can join.
Tone
Informative
Succinct
Scenario
A corporate employee is looking for a place to host an office volunteer get-together. She opens the website and clicks to view corporate team-building opportunities hoping to assess value and cost quickly.
User Emotions
Interested
Skeptical
Product (Our) Goal
Display necessary information (pricing, logistics) and encourage engagement.
Tone
Inviting
Compelling
A SNAPSHOT
Communicating effectively through careful information hierarchy
Below is a snapshot of the team building page. Here, users are able to quickly assess what a reservation with the kitchen will include.
MICROCOPY
Implementing brand voice & increasing usability
My stakeholder interviews focused on drilling into the business goals and what needed to be accomplished by the front page. Previously, the front page led users to the story of Our Big Kitchen. However, the business goals I identified suggested a different hierarchy.
1. Events
Team-building events are OBK’s bread and butter. While not the focus of their mission, the importance of increasing event bookings could not be understated. Therefore, this needed to be the primary button on the home page.
2. Volunteers
The heart of OBK is its volunteer community. This is intended to be a secondary button, but due to its importance is featured in the navigation menu as well. “Volunteer with Us” was intended to be warm & welcoming.
3. Donations
Donations of a monetary nature are encouraged by OBK, but it is not their primary source of revenue. Food donations are tricky to accept. To ensure users who can donate have access, we included this in the navigation menu.
INFORMATION ARCHITECTURE
Refining the site map based on user testing
The final task remaining in my scope was to validate (and improve, if necessary) the information architecture. To accomplish this, I utilized Optimal Workshop’s treejack tool to test how easily our users could find what they were looking for. This feedback allowed me to refine the menu titles and adjust our sitemap to reflect our users’ mental models.
Before Testing
After Testing
THE HANDOFF
Working with team members & stakeholders to make our deadline
1
Polish the Prototype
Working with my UX/UI designer, we implemented all necessary changes in the Figma file for our final stakeholder review. I focused on updating the content in my scope while she ensured the visual design matched the approved style guide.
2
Stakeholder Review
After defining the brand voice & tone, I reviewed my copy with the company owners to ensure my writing matched what they envisioned for Our Big Kitchen. After some discussion, our final prototype was approved for development.
3
Deliver to Marketing
The new website was to be built and hosted within EditorX. OBK hired a marketing firm staffed with developers to implement our designs to the live site, and we delivered our Figma file and handoff documentation.
FINAL PRODUCT
Connecting people with opportunities to give
CONCLUSION & LESSONS LEARNED
My Top Three Take-Aways
Teamwork
I was debriefed on the project by our UX designer and defined the scope of my role by working closely with both designers and our stakeholders. Establishing a sense of comradery early-on both helped me take ownership of the project and create accessible lines of communication.
Communication
I caught a cold in the first week of the project and had to pause to rest. This pushed back my delivery and the overall timeline. I communicated with my team as soon as possible to make them aware of any delays. Proactive communication is essential when working collaboratively.
UX Writing
I accepted this role to deepen my understanding of user experience as a field. The knowledge gained from this project enhances my design ability. When writing microcopy, I understand how and why using precise language and familiar words is so important.
Thanks for reading!