Do Me a Favour Buddy (DMAFB)

Do Me a Favour Buddy (DMAFB)

Do Me a Favour Buddy (DMAFB)

DMAFB is a movement aimed at spreading kindness. I designed and built an app for them, allowing users to perform acts of kindness for themselves and others.

DMAFB is a movement aimed at spreading kindness. I designed and built an app for them, allowing users to perform acts of kindness for themselves and others.

Yum homescreen shown on laptop with food out
Yum homescreen shown on laptop with food out
Yum homescreen shown on laptop with food out

Team

Team

Tyree Barnes

Allie Keith

EJ Makela

Fathumo Mohamed

Megan Westlund

Tyree Barnes

Allie Keith

EJ Makela

Fathumo Mohamed

Megan Westlund

Role

Role

Lead Visual Designer

Lead Visual Designer

Role

User Researcher

Visual Designer

Tools + Methods

Tools + Methods

Figma

FigJam

Usability Testing

Figma

FigJam

Usability Testing

Background

Background

Background

DMAFB is the vision for a platform that aims to democratize the experience of kindness, with the goal of improving mental health and overall well-being for its users (and those around them). It was inspired by the generosity of a random stranger who helped DMAFB's founder, Don Diffang, during a time of need and encouraged Don to find ways to spread kindness, too.

Problem

Problem

Problem

The DMAFB platform seeks to use AI-driven insights to promote kindness and reduce loneliness through personalized recommendations for small, meaningful acts of kindness (AOKs) that users can do. The client needs help prototyping an app to ensure it's engaging, impactful, and aligned with its scientific foundation.

Solution

Solution

Solution

I developed a high-fidelity prototype that incorporates a gamified approach to completing acts of kindness (AOKs) while seamlessly integrating AI-driven personalization, aligning with the platform's scientific foundation and mission to foster kindness and reduce loneliness.

My low fidelity wireframe of the onboarding process

My low fidelity wireframe of the logging process

Process

Process

Process

Initial Research

The DMAFB team came to us with thorough research they collected (the founder is a clinical researcher and they have a behavioral scientist on their team). They already formed 7 user personas, came up with a list of acts of kindness the app can generate based on how a user answers behavioral and demographic questions, created an onboarding flow, and wrote responses based on users answers to certain questions.



Wireframing & Prototyping

Each member of my team created a low-fidelity wireframe of a user task flow on the app based on the DMAFB team's research:


  1. As a user, I want to set up my profile

  2. As a user, I want to perform an act of kindness for myself and share the results

  3. As a user, I want to track my past and current progress

  4. As a user, I want to join a team within my organization


When designing our wireframes, we focused on gamification, which was something Don emphasized to us, and making it a fun experience for users.


After our initial low-fidelity wireframes, I took over building out the wireframes to mid-fidelity to be used in our usability tests.

Initial Research

The DMAFB team came to us with thorough research they collected (the founder is a clinical researcher and they have a behavioral scientist on their team). They already formed 7 user personas, came up with a list of acts of kindness the app can generate based on how a user answers behavioral and demographic questions, created an onboarding flow, and wrote responses based on users answers to certain questions.



Wireframing & Prototyping

Each member of my team created a low-fidelity wireframe of a user task flow on the app based on the DMAFB team's research:


  1. As a user, I want to set up my profile

  2. As a user, I want to perform an act of kindness for myself and share the results

  3. As a user, I want to track my past and current progress

  4. As a user, I want to join a team within my organization


When designing our wireframes, we focused on gamification, which was something Don emphasized to us, and making it a fun experience for users.


After our initial low-fidelity wireframes, I took over building out the wireframes to mid-fidelity to be used in our usability tests.

Initial Research

The DMAFB team came to us with thorough research they collected (the founder is a clinical researcher and they have a behavioral scientist on their team). They already formed 7 user personas, came up with a list of acts of kindness the app can generate based on how a user answers behavioral and demographic questions, created an onboarding flow, and wrote responses based on users answers to certain questions.



Wireframing & Prototyping

Each member of my team created a low-fidelity wireframe of a user task flow on the app based on the DMAFB team's research:


  1. As a user, I want to set up my profile

  2. As a user, I want to perform an act of kindness for myself and share the results

  3. As a user, I want to track my past and current progress

  4. As a user, I want to join a team within my organization


When designing our wireframes, we focused on gamification, which was something Don emphasized to us, and making it a fun experience for users.


After our initial low-fidelity wireframes, I took over building out the wireframes to mid-fidelity to be used in our usability tests.

My mid-fidelity wireframe used in usability tests

My final high-fidelity wireframe updated after the usability tests

Usability Testing

My team conducted 5 usability tests and found 5 main pain points:


  1. Onboarding questions — people lacked an understanding of why they were asked so many personal questions


  1. Onboarding design — confused about what buttons led where and needed guidance on where to go next


  1. Act of kindness (execution, sharing, logging) - confused about what the app expected them to do, needed more information and guidance


  1. Log in / sign up screen — not enough information on what the app is


  1. Unclear navigation to past progress — users didn't know how to find their past progress



Updated Prototype

Based on the results of the usability tests, I made the following changes to enhance usability:


  1. Onboarding questions — included a page with more information about why we ask personal questions and the purpose of the app


  2. Onboarding design — renamed buttons to be clearer, added more information about next steps, and renamed the tab bar at the bottom of the app from "Home" to "Journey"


  1. Acts of kindness (AOKs) — added a page that explained how AOKs work, included button that led users directly to AOKs


  1. Log in / sign up screen — included a tagline about the business, added a page that explains the purpose of the app


  1. Unclear navigation to past progress — changed the "Home" page to "Journey" which is now the default page of the app, changed the language on the progress page from "All Quests" to "History" to make it clearer where your past progress would be


As I built out the high-fidelity prototype, we decided on using bold colors that reinforce the positivity the app is spreading and is distinct enough to set DMAFB apart from their competition.


Additionally, I developed my own components for the high-fidelity prototype including a dropdown using variables, a tab bar, buttons, a swipe to delete function, and radio buttons. By doing this, I was able to customize our components and elevate the overall quality of design.

Reflection

Reflection

Reflection

Next Steps

Test High-Fidelity Wireframes

Conducting usability tests with our high-fidelity wireframes would further validate our prototype or help us find other pain points to improve.

Conducting usability tests with our high-fidelity wireframes would further validate our prototype or help us find other pain points to improve.

Build Out Manager Dashboard

DMAFB's future goals include this app being available to businesses for their employees. In doing so, managers would need to see a dashboard of their employees' progress. With available time, I designed a mid-fidelity prototype of a possible manager dashboard, but I'd like to flesh it out even further and work with the DMAFB team to understand what data they'd like presented for managers.

DMAFB's future goals include this app being available to businesses for their employees. In doing so, managers would need to see a dashboard of their employees' progress. With available time, I designed a mid-fidelity prototype of a possible manager dashboard, but I'd like to flesh it out even further and work with the DMAFB team to understand what data they'd like presented for managers.

Challenges

Building Out Components

For this project, I knew I was going to need to build out my own components, which is something I didn't have a lot of experience doing. Previously, I pulled from existing design systems. However, this time I needed to learn how to build a dropdown using variables, which was so rewarding in the end. I also learned how to use local styles when formatting text and colors. Ultimately, all of these advanced Figma techniques elevated the fidelity of my prototype and boosted the functionality of it in usability tests.

For this project, I knew I was going to need to build out my own components, which is something I didn't have a lot of experience doing. Previously, I pulled from existing design systems. However, this time I needed to learn how to build a dropdown using variables, which was so rewarding in the end. I also learned how to use local styles when formatting text and colors. Ultimately, all of these advanced Figma techniques elevated the fidelity of my prototype and boosted the functionality of it in usability tests.

Next Up

Tinkl: allowing admin to easily complete tasks using an admin dashboard

Brighton Science: a new mockup and prototype of a dashboard for Brighton Science

Come say hello!

Come say hello!

Come say hello!