Creating an informative website for our client, Rotary Club of NYC, to promote their pro-bono services that provides assistance to businesses located in NYC Chinatown.

Brief Overview

As an intern at Majestyk Apps, I worked closely with the Senior UX/UI Designer and the Creative Director to execute the client project from the discovery phase to the final designs. I was assigned to a very meaningful and unique project—"Reopen Chinatown in New York" that embodied our client's goal to help Chinatown businesses reopen safety, after they had been severely affected by the COVID-19 pandemic this year.

Identifying the Problem

Ever since the COVID-19 pandemic hit this year, Chinatown in New York City has been severely affected by racism in addition to the lack of tourists due to quarantine restrictions. Due to these occurrences, businesses have been shut down and unemployment rates rose exponentially.

PROCESS

Discovery Strategy Overview

1. Stakeholder Interviews
2. User Survey + User Interviews
3. Comparative Analysis
4. Personas
5. User Journey
6. Site Mapping

Stakeholder Interviews

We conducted interviews with the stakeholders to better understand the project vision and to identify the types of features and functionality are needed for the MVP.
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The main question I was able to answer with this round of interview was:
"What is the project vision?"

User Interviews + Survey

In order to learn more about New Yorkers' backgrounds, habits and feelings towards Chinatown, I drafted a survey to understand peoples' situations pre and post COVID-19. The survey was shared with 500+ personal contacts and we collected 40 responses. During the survey, 4 volunteers were selected for one-on-one interviews so we could hear more about their personal thoughts and concerns.

Target Goal

After the initial discovery phase, our team was able to solidify the target goal:

Design an inviting informative website showcasing our client's services—emphasize their initiative to conduct consistent COVID-19 tests for business employees.

As we developed our project goal, our client reached out to us and noted that they wanted to promote their services ASAP, which needed to be done quicker than our anticipated timeline. So we decided to create two versions:

1) Initial Site (basic promotion of our client's services)
2) Full Site (detailed site that builds off of the initial site)

Comparative Analysis

I researched other organizations and websites that support NYC Chinatown to better understand the market. I also looked at websites of other communities to take note of best practices—features and functionalities were compared to identify strengths, weaknesses and opportunities.

Below are the three main competitor websites:

Overview of entire analysis chart

Personas + User Journey

I created user personas based on our research to build empathy and better understand the people we are designing for. These were useful to guide decisions related to what features and content should be included in the MVP product.

MVP Feature Set

A list of features was built based off of the initial requirements, needs identified from user research and review of comparative websites. To identify the MVP, we evaluated each feature’s value vs. level of effort to build and maintain in order to prioritize them into Must, Should, Could and Won’t-haves.

Wireframes

Final wireframes, finalized by the Senior UX/UI Designer.

Moodboards

I created 3 moodboards in order to provide a clear visualization of what the site branding might include. Our client provided us with positive feedback for the colors from the "Authentic" board and the fonts from the "Night Lights" board.

Design Options

These are some of the few homepage design options I created. I experimented with color gradients as well as element placements within each section. After 5+ rounds of feedback, we decided to continue to develop Design C.

Style Guide

Completed Mockup

Please click the button below to view the completed designs for this project! The development for the live site is still in progress—check back later for more updates on an interactive prototype. :)

View Mockup

Conclusion

Takeaways

The internship program I participated in at Majestyk this fall semester provided me with more than I ever imagined possible. Of course, I learned new skills and got the chance to work with amazing team members, but the most valuable aspect from this internship program was the fact that I was able to define my career goals and ultimately see myself as a designer who can make a positive impact for the community around me. I feel so much gratitude as this internship program comes to an end; I did not expect to grow the way I did as a designer and an individual over the course of 4 short, but treasurable months.

I am so grateful for the opportunity to be so closely involved with every step of the project, the team members, and the client. I learned that getting familiar with the stakeholders and the users as well as thoroughly researching the market before implementing visual designs is crucial to executing a successful, user-centric final product. In addition to UX research tools, I improved my communication skills, specifically utilized in high-stake meetings.

I now have a goal and a passion for social impact; I have a defined purpose for my art practices and journey with my college education. I can not wait to continue my study with design and further implement my passion for future projects.

Next Steps
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Live Site Development
Since this internship program was limited to the fall semester timeline, I am not able to partake in the development phase of this project. However, I am currently working on an interactive prototype to provide a better visualization of what the site looks like in action. Stay tuned!

Continue my work to design for social good
‍I am now deeply invested in the issue of unemployment after having the opportunity to work on this project at Majestyk, which has led to the discovery of my interest and dedication to combat homelessness with design. With this new passion, I am now working as a UX/UI Designer for Keep.id, a non-profit organization with a mission to decrease the homeless population by allowing individuals to secure jobs with identification cards they create with our services.

Majestyk Apps

Designing the web experience to bring life back to NYC Chinatown.