Plan A

Plan A is the first data-driven crowdfunding platform in the fight against climate change in Berlin, Germany. They use data to predict where climate change will hit the hardest and discuss these issues with environmental innovators to provide funding for solutions. My team and I were tasked to improve their donation process and design physical and digital features that can create a community of donors where users will be able to interact with other climate change fighters and feel a sense of belonging that goes beyond simple financial support.

Design Process

Understanding Our Users

We were given the task at Plan A to design and improve their donation process. We decided we wanted to build a community of donors and started brainstorming many different methods. Before starting any thorough research about our users, we first identified questions that allowed us to orient our target and understand who we are designing for:

1. What people problem are we trying to solve?

2. What is the story of the experience that we want people to have?

3. What is happening before people start the donation process?

4. After the interaction with Plan A, how do we want people to feel?

Research

Before focusing on Plan A users specifically, we wanted to understand how people feel about the donation process in general and why some donate and why some don’t. According to Dr. Sara Konrath, a social psychology professor at the University of Michigan, there are several reasons related to psychology that explain why people donate to some organizations and not others:

Surveys and User Interview Results

In order to understand our audience even more, we decided to share a survey with friends and Plan A customers as a way to know the reason why people donate, their previous donation experiences, and any suggestions to improve the donation process as a whole. Along with a survey my teammates and I conducted user interviews at local climate change initiatives in Berlin, Germany.

• Nationality

  • Mostly American

  • *bias from how the survey was distributed

• Job

  • Mostly Students (35%)

  • Jobs between software engineering, marketing and design

• Donation to a non-profit organization, why?

  • Yes (87%)

    • Donated in many different ways, primarily online and credit/debit card on site

  • No (13%)

    • Lack of funds, lack of motivation or passion for the cause

Personas

After interviewing and gathering survey results, it was time to create personas. We wanted to create people who would donate using Plan A’s platform by analyzing their needs and motivations.

Pain Points

• Lacking physical and digital feature for donations

  • Plan A doesn’t have an inviting digital or physical feature that will allow users to donate.

• Lacking a sense of community

  • Users can’t donate and speak to each other or learn about their eco friendly habits.

Brainstorming

We knew we had to implement a feature that could be used both physically and virtually and that could engage people more during the donation process. With that being said, we wanted to involve all Plan A donors to create a sense of community engagement.

Idea #1: Trivia Game

Our first idea was a trivia format idea. For the first variation, we had all the different themes offered and users can choose from them. The selection would present questions relating to that topic. The last step in the game would result to an end page where we thank the donors and list the amount that they donated in the beginning.

We didn’t use this idea because it was similar to the Pub Quiz event that Plan A hosts. Pub Quiz is a fun physical event where attendees answer a bunch of questions and are free to socialize with their friends and family.

Idea #2: Rube Goldberg Machine

For this idea we were thinking of having a physical peg board that was the size of one meter by 1.5 meters. It would be a very simple Rube Goldberg machine that we were going to build from simple materials, household materials. This would then be painted to match Plan A’s colors.

We didn’t use this idea because there was a limiting digital presence. It would have worked beautifully physically but over time on the digital platform it would have been boring due to the same structured design elements.

Idea #3, The Chosen One: Global Interactive Donation Map

Physically, we would have a map where people could tell us where they are from and pin colorful tips on how to save the earth but in the location that they are from. Virtually, we would have the same concept and in addition the option to explore other projects and what other people wrote so they serve as suggestions for your eco friendly tip.

Cocktails for the Planet Event

My team and I created a physical map and used other features during one of Plan A’s events, “Cocktails for the Planet” in order to test and see what method was the most effective and engaging.

Three features for testing:

• Physical Map

  • Used Plan A green for the basis of the map and tan color to outline and fill the world.

  • A0 size, big enough to attract people at events

  • Different colored pieces of paper and pens for the pinning aspect of the map

• QR Codes

  • Developed QR codes for the specific project (Rwanda project for this specific event) as well as the other themes Plan A focuses on that links attendees to more information on Plan A’s website

• Physical Cards

  • Loyalty program where each time someone donated and collected a card, they would receive a stamp that would allow attendees to receive presents after filling out a certain number of circles

  • Stickers, reusable water bottles, Plan A tee, Plan A sustainable box

Results

Overall, the map attracted people’s attention and they liked that they can join a community even though they were from all over the world. The physical cards limited people that didn’t live in Berlin. The QR codes were limiting due to that they were only scannable for iPhone users. We received $164.70, 12 loyalty cards were given, and we had 32 pins on our map!

Plan A’s Pub Quiz Event

During the second Plan A event, we implemented the same map in order to test it again with a different audience and observe people’s feedback. It was beneficial to test our donation campaign at a different Plan A event. It was clear that the map method is not effective at every event, primarily because this event had an entrance fee, as well as cost for drinks (while the Cocktails event was free entrance).

Digital Feature

Below are screenshots from the wireframe phase and a quick video to represent the prototype!

Reflections

1. Design research is essential for making a product that will solve the problems users experience beforehand.

2. Creating a timeline in a fast-paced environment is beneficial for all team members.

3. Thinking and critiquing at each stage of a design process is crucial, the outcomes are what leads to action.

4. Approach users and team members with an open mind, this mindset leads to effective delivery of ideas and insights.