RIPPLE
An app for sustainable engagement in social action.
At a glance
Ripple is a design solution that makes social action more accessible and sustainable while addressing the common obstacle of burnout. By completing manageable tasks and connecting with others in our communities, we can make small, measurable efforts that grow into larger movements for enacting social change.
Deliverables
UI/UX, Product Design, Brand Identity, Motion, Video
TEAM
Individual
TOOLS
Sketch, Adobe Illustrator,
Adobe After Effects
01 | PROBLEM
Making change is exhausting & overwhelming.
Many of us are passionate about social and political issues around the globe but we don’t have an accessible approach to engaging with them. We’re left feeling powerless and defeated when faced with the systemic problems that impact millions of people every day.
THE CHALLENGE
How might we create a manageable & motivating way to make a measurable social impact?
02 | PRELIMINARY RESEARCH
Young people want to engage with social and political issues but inaccessibility holds us back.
I began with general research about my targeted demographic: Generation Z and young Millennials. According to the Irregular Report, a survey conducted “in 7 countries, including the United States, United Kingdom/Germany, India, China, Brazil, and South Africa, among nationally representative samples of 300 girl and GSM [gender and sexual minority] Gen Zs in each country,” 73% of Gen Z said that being politically or socially engaged is very important to their identities. The report also states that:
“For Gen Zs, the most effective ways of creating change are active not passive, but they feel the necessary opportunities, tools, and resources are inaccessible to them.”
To further reiterate this problem, the survey asked about what obstacles Gen Zs faced to participating in social/political causes:
55% said “not knowing who to contact or support groups to get involved”
32% stated “concern for safety”
27% felt they were not well-informed on the issues
26% admitted that they felt as if “their actions won’t make a difference or impact”
These statistics show that young people want to get involved but don’t always know how or don’t believe their voices or actions bring value.
Additionally, Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez shared on her Instagram about the exhaustion she’s felt fighting for progressive agendas. “Burnout is SO common among young activists because people jump in and feel like they need to be running on all cylinders, all the time, or else they’re not ‘in the fight.’ It ends up doing more harm than good. We don’t need you giving 500% for 6 months. We need everybody doing what they can, every day, as a way of life.” The overwhelm and doom-and-gloom of it all weighs people down and holds people back from taking action.
03 | USER RESEARCH
100% of respondents agree that they experience activist burnout but still want to do more.
Although my initial research gave me plenty of evidence that young people care about making an impact but struggle to do so, I surveyed 10 peers about their experience with social action and activist burnout.
Some of the most important questions I asked them include:
Do you think any action you have taken has had an impact or been effective? To what level of impact?
How satisfied are you with your impact?
What barriers make it harder for you to take action?
How have you personally fought burnout?
What might motivate you to take more consistent action?
PAIN POINTS & MAJOR INSIGHTS
Lack of Resources
Respondents reported that lack of time, money, knowledge, and energy were barriers to taking social action. Having access to more resources and easier ways to participate would make activism more accessible.
A Need for Community
Connecting with people directly impacted by an issue, participating in a group, and seeing others motivated to take action would encourage more consistent efforts. People want to be a part of something bigger.
Desire for Measurable Change
Humans love instant gratification. Without some form of validation, it’s hard to be satisfied with the actions we take. Several responses to the survey mentioned that visible or measurable results would help keep them motivated to take action more regularly.
04 | PRODUCT PROCESS
Conceptualizing the product
One of the first parts of my product-building process is to plan out the app architecture based on the needs of the product. The architecture evolves through the ideation process and helps me determine what might need to be added or omitted in the final map. To create a more focused flow, I planned out a detailed journey for my app’s MVP in addition to the overall architecture.
APP ARCHITECTURE
USER JOURNEY MAP — MVP
Sketches & wireframes
When ideating the app with wireframes, I began with sketches to envision the main navigation. I considered side, upper, and bottom navigation to make resources and features as easily accessible as possible.
SKETCHES — NAVIGATION
As I moved further with digital wireframes, I decided that a bottom navigation bar would be the most precise and organized way for users to navigate the app. The below wireframes showcase the Daily Check-In flow for first-time users and screens from the five tabs featured in the navigation bar, some with a couple of variations from the ideation phase.
WIREFRAMES
05 | SOLUTION & FINAL DESIGN
Ripple: Start small, make waves.
Ripple is a space for reflecting and engaging with social action topics. Users start each day with a mental check-in that customizes and curates their home page based on how they feel that day. The app responds to their needs and prioritizes paced involvement.
Actions
Users can set up to five tasks per week. They can set any goals they’d like from signing petitions to attending protests depending on what level of social action they feel comfortable taking on, but the limit ensures that they aren’t overdoing it.
Impact
Ripple enables users to measure their impact and see how their participation helped propel movements forward. Seeing measurable, communal impact helps build communities and inspires further change, encouraging everyone involved to continue their efforts.
Community
Collective efforts and community engagement are extremely important to sustaining movements. The community tab helps users connect with others in the Ripple community who are participating in collaborative spaces. Through Ripple, users can join organizations and sign up for events. Events are marked by their level of effort and display prospective attendees as well as how many more participants are needed. Events can also be shared to other platforms to encourage friends to join the efforts.
06 | BRAND STORY
The Style Guide
The Ripple app and brand were made to be serene and calming. With the stressful and overwhelming nature of social and political issues, Ripple aims to help users slow down and better manage their emotions while they deal with these issues and take action.
COLOR
TYPOGRAPHY
LOGO
Ripple’s brand ideation began with logo exploration primarily based on the motifs of water, ripples, and waves. I explored hand-drawn monograms, iconographic marks, and wordmarks as I was aiming to create an organic and approachable logomark over something corporate and sterile.
Building the brand
07 | REFLECTION
Key Takeaways
I learned how to collect user research and use my findings to improve the scope of my project. I also used this research to scale down my MVP and focus on the parts of the product that would have the most impact on users. Having the opportunity to build the MVP of a product with its branding from start to finish helped me realize that I enjoy the design process of all elements of this project, including interface and experience design, brand identity, visual design, and motion graphics.
Looking back at this project, I would approach some things differently. Though I paid close attention to the sizing of elements and spacing throughout the app, I was not as aware that my color choices could potentially be inaccessible. I will focus more on implementing WCAG standards in the future. I also would try designing a product by starting with the MVP and building around it before getting caught up in the overall functions of the app architecture. I like to be thorough when planning out a product and can get a little lost in the smaller details.