PRODUCT DESIGN
WEB
VOLUNTEER PTOJECT
Giving a remote community a voice online.
A website and brand identity that transformed a remote Ugandan children's community from invisible to fundable, doubling weekly donors within weeks of launch.
CONTEXT
It started with a story over dinner. My sister had just returned from a trip across Africa, and somewhere along the way she made an unplanned stop at a small community in Katunguru. A village deep inside Uganda's Elisabeth National Park. She met the children. She met Abel, the founder.
Abel started the Katunguru Community in 2020. He bought land and built a school and nursery for children who had lost their parents to the dangers of living beside wildlife. The community offers these children education, food, and healthcare.
LEVEL
Mid
TIME
July 2025 - Ongoing
METHODS
Branding, UX Research, Interviews, Wireframe, No-code development
The community was doing extraordinary work. But without an online presence, it was virtually unknown to the outside world and the donations that could sustain it never arrived.
THE IMPACT SINCE LAUNCH
WEEKLY DONORS
2×
We increased donations from 5 to 10 weekly.
SPONSORED CHILDREN
3
We managed to get 3 children sponsored.
SOCIAL MEDIA FOLLOWERS
+5.6%
We increased our followers on IG.
THE PROBLEM
My sister's experience was typical of most visitors. She wanted to help, but couldn't, not properly. That same friction blocked thousands of potential supporters.
FINAL DESIGN PREVIEW
A digital home for the community that tells their story, earns trust, and removes every barrier between a willing donor and a meaningful gift.
Let’s break it down. What was the process?
PROCESS
TIMELINE
START JULY 2025
2 weeks
Visual direction and content strategy. Mood boards, brand exploration, tone of voice.
2 months
Branding system and wireframes.
1 month
Development in Figma Sites. Launch on October 28, 2025.
Ongoing
User interviews, research, and planned iteration. Transitioning to Framer for better CMS.
VISUAL DIRECTION & BRANDING
WIREFRAMES
Ship it, then improve it
Constraints that shaped every decision: a tight deadline and the fact that common payment methods aren't trusted locally and are not legally available in Uganda.
Main feature
Due to time and legal constraints, we kept the website’s main donation feature simple: copy and paste bank details.
SHIPPED
USABLE FEATURE
Copy-and-paste bank details: low friction for the team, acceptable friction for users. Not elegant, but live and functional on day one.
TRADE OFF
COMPLEXITY
Complex interactions, multi-page architecture: cut to meet the launch window and reduce development complexity.
FIRST VERSION NO-CODE DEVELOPMENT
Even though the website we shipped worked, it also brought new problems with it.
TRUST
Unless the connection with the community happens through visiting it in person, people won’t fully trust the foundation.
NO FEEDBACK
When they make the donation, there is no feedback like “Thank you email” or updates on current projects.
MANUAL PROCESS
Users need to copy manually the details in their bank, which increase friction
INTERVIEW INSIGHTS
What actually makes people trust a cause?
After launch, I interviewed three people who were already supporting the community. Two active donors and one volunteer who now sponsors a child.
"Trust comes from showing results. When people see where their money goes and what it helps build, they believe and keep supporting."
Inma, community supporter
RESEARCH INSIGHTS
Cross-referencing with research on what makes people trust non-profits, four key drivers emerged.
At launch, the website includes 2 of the 4 key drivers: a clear mission and a focus on the most vulnerable.
AVAILABLE
CLEAR MISSION
Show what the website does, why it matters, and how it helps people.
UNAVAILABLE
TRASPARENCY
Share financial information in a simple, easy-to-understand way.
AVAILABLE
FOCUS ON VULNERABLES
Put the most vulnerable people first and make it visible.
UNAVAILABLE
CREDIBLE PARTNERS
Work with well-known organisations to build trust.
SOLUTIONS WE ARE WORKING ON
Closing the trust gap
INTEGRETED
TRANSITION TO FRAMER
We’ve transitioned from Figma to Framer to unlock a more powerful and flexible design workflow. This move enables advanced CMS capabilities, more complex navigation structures, and richer, smoother animations. Overall, it gives us greater creative freedom to design and deliver more dynamic, high-quality user experiences.
INTEGRETED
PROJECTS UPDATE PAGE
A dedicated space for progress updates on completed, active, and planned projects. The goal of this page is to show potential supporters what the community is doing to improve children’s lives.
INTEGRETED
REAL STORIES
Real stories from supporters sharing their experience and why they chose to help. This builds trust and shows social proof for future supporters.
AVAILABLE END OF THE YEAR
ANNUAL REPORT
An annual report that shows how donations are used. The goal is to improve transparency and build trust.
CURRENTLY UNAVAILABLE
THIRD PARTY INTEGRATION
GivenGain is a third-party fundraising platform that replaces copy-paste bank details. It allows users to donate directly on the website and even create their own fundraising campaigns, reducing friction and improving the overall experience.
This is currently on hold, as it requires verification and an active partnership with a credible organization, which we don’t have yet.
REFLECTIONS & LESSONS
Designing something that could improve people’s lives is deeply rewarding. This project has more complexity on the backend than the frontend, which has been a key learning. The community’s technology is still quite basic, and that’s important to keep in mind when it comes time to hand over responsibility to the team.
On a personal level, I’m proud of what I’ve achieved so far. It shows me that through design I can create a positive impact. This project is teaching me how important communication is, and the challenges I’m facing are helping me improve.
