Illustration Work

Client

Urban Harvest STL is a St. Louis-based non-profit that addresses food insecurity by operating a network of urban farms throughout the city. Their mission is to ensure equitable access to healthy fruits and vegetables while providing educational programming to the community.

In 2001, UHSTL launched their original website, which, after nearly two decades, required updates to better serve their evolving goals. As the Operations Assistant, I spearheaded a comprehensive UX audit of the site, conducting stakeholder interviews and leveraging user experience research methodologies to inform design decisions. My team included 2 board members who work in technical and design roles at Ameren and Slalom.

The Executive Director set clear priorities for the redesign: the site needed to focus on driving individual donations, maintain the existing Squarespace platform, and preserve UHSTL’s established branding.

Project Overview

Our team conducted a comprehensive audit of the non-profit’s website to identify pain points and opportunities for growth. We focused on three main flows: Mission, Volunteers, and Donate, and provided recommendations for improvements. Utilizing a robust UX approach, we interviewed stakeholders and clients to assess user needs and guide our design suggestions.

Problem Statement

Urban Harvest STL (UHSTL) is a growing non-profit that relied heavily on individual donors, corporate sponsorships, and grants to fund its programs. To secure these funds, UHSTL needs to effectively communicate its mission, services, and fundraising needs to a diverse audience—quickly and clearly.

However, the previous website presented several challenges. Donors were met with a "happy-go-lucky" vibe, with one interviewee noting, "nothing about this website makes me think you need money." Funders struggled to find clear impact data needed to support grant proposals, while new visitors found it difficult to quickly grasp the organization’s mission and values. The volunteer sign-up process was confusing, deterring potential volunteers, and users looking for educational content, especially growers, had trouble locating relevant information.

These issues hindered UHSTL's ability to engage its community, secure funding, and attract volunteers—ultimately affecting its capacity to fulfill its mission. The challenge was to create a seamless, intuitive user experience that met the needs of all stakeholders while clearly conveying the organization’s mission and impact.

Solution

Update the current website while maintaining the existing platform and branding:

Enhance Clarity of Mission and Values: Redesign the website's content and layout to clearly communicate UHSTL’s mission, values, and goals. Ensure visitors quickly understand the organization’s purpose and broader impact within seconds of landing on the site.

Improve Fundraising Communication: Develop dedicated sections that effectively convey funding needs, donor impact, and corporate sponsorship opportunities. Use clear data and storytelling to highlight the importance and value of supporting UHSTL.

Simplify the Volunteer Sign-up Process: Redesign the volunteer process to be straightforward and engaging, reducing confusion and increasing participation. Include clear calls to action and streamlined forms to improve the user experience.

Methodology

Through the project, we utilized a Design Thinking approach. Design Thinking divides the workflow into five stages—Empathize, Define, Ideate, Prototype, and Test—and promotes iterative refinement by allowing for revisits to any stage as needed.