Potential Website for Cultural Organization
Role
Designer
Client
Personal Project
Timeline
4 weeks
Tools
Figma
Overview
A website redesign for the cultural organization, Wakirike Washington, Inc. The goal is to create an inviting site to increase membership and showcase the Wakirike culture in the United States.
The challenge, change Wakirike Washington outdated website to a welcoming and engaging website that properly represents the organization.
Discovery
Initial Website
My first step was identifying the current issues with the website. There were only 3 pages, home, about, and contact. The main pain points for this site were:
Harsh colors and not following WCAG guidelines for visibility and accessibility
Limited pages and lack of information
Lacking in professionalism with in logo and branding
Text-heavy with limited imagery
Does not represent the culture of the Wakirike Community
Competitive Analysis
First, I use competitive analysis to get a better understanding of how other cultural groups utilize their website. The main 4 organizations I reviewed were Ijaw Women of America, Izon-Ebi Association, Umu Igbo Unite DMV, and Omo Yoruba of Social. Each organization has a history of membership growth and actively updates their websties.
By using a SWOT analysis, I was able to identify what parts to include for Wakirike Washington’s website, what direction and reaction users would have, and what items were repetitive or not useful.
Main Takeaways from competitive analysis:
Proper information architecture to enhance experience
Simplicity to be mindful of all user
Focusing on memberships and a strong call to action to join
User Interview
I conducted 10 interviews, 5 were under 30, while the rest were 30 and above. Each one either was a part of a cultural organization or had a different cultural background that is not American.
From the interviews, the main reasons to join were:
To learn their spouse’s culture or a new culture
To find community with people of a similar background
Keep the culture continuing from generation to generation
To serve and help communities here in the United States and their home country
The main issues within these types of Organization that were identified was:
The age gap and different experiences
Lack of structure or flexibility
Not inclusive or open to new ideas, communication issues
Audience
My next step was to identify the main target audience:
New immigrants from or married into the Wakirike community
First-generation Wakirike-Americans
The secondary target audience is :
Those that left the organization
People with no cultural connections Wakirike but want to learn a new culture
Ideation & Design
Site Map
Sketches
Home page elements
About pages
Project/News & Events Page and Contact Page
User Testing & Reiteration
User Testing
Using the sketches, I had 3 people go through the paper model of the website. Here are the main findings:
The about section is too clustered
More information for current members or include FAQs page
Have it spread out for those with impaired vision
Reiteration
Updated site map
High Fidelity Wireframes
Next Steps
My next steps are to repeat the test with a larger group of people. Based on their feedback, I will adjust the prototype while following WCAG guidelines. Also, I want to look into mobile and tablet devices to cater for tech savvy audiences. Afterwards, I plan to present my project and findings to the organization in hopes to work with them later in the future.