As designers we have the ability to influence social behaviour. Put differently, we have the power to create positive change in this world.
This was something I had not realized until a few years back. Design to me was always just about creating nice looking interfaces and memorable logos. It was not until I started working on Knok.Me that I realized it meant so much more.With that in mind, I had always wanted to use my skills to create something impactful outside of startups. Following the recent disaster that struck the Philippines, I wanted to donate money to a charity providing relief efforts. However two things prevented me from doing so:
- I was hesitant to give the money because I was unsure of the direct impact it would have on the charity and its relief efforts.
- I was on my iPhone and the donation pages were not mobile friendly. I would have had a very hard time filling out all the fields to pay.
These two issues alone were enough to stop me from donating. I figured its probably the same case for others. After talking with a few people, I learned that they shared the same worries. This was my chance to design a donation page that would result in better conversions. So I did. My focus was on Transparency and Mobile users.
Transparency
Many people are hesitant to donate because they are unsure how the money will be used. I designed a donation page that explicitly states out where the money will go to. Ideally the numbers update in real time as the donation amount changes. While there are certainly logistical and financial challenges to this concept, I think there is a lot of potential.
Mobile Friendly
More and more people are viewing websites via their phone. Therefore it makes sense to have a mobile-friendly donation page. If someone has a poor experience the first time around due to not being able to navigate on their phone, there is no guarantee they will return to the page a second time on their laptops.
In addition its important to keep in mind that since someone is viewing the website on their phone, there should be a mobile-friendly donation option such as via text messaging.
While I personally don’t have the time to turn this concept into a reality (guess I’m not really making an impact just yet!), please get in touch with me if you can. I’ll be more than happy to provide you with the designs.
