A leap of faith

A nonprofit based in San Francisco, the LightHouse provides rehabilitation skills, services, and support to people who are blind or visually impaired. 
Initially, the LightHouse wanted our help keeping alumni engaged because students tend to disappear after their program ends. So, we set out to research what was missing from the student experience.
LightHouse office

About the project

This project was part of General Assembly's 10-week UX design immersive. While we worked closely as a team on every step, I took more of a leadership role in peer facilitation, content strategy, and wireframing.

Team: 3 student designers
Duration: 2.5 weeks (2016)

“You’ve looked at this in a way no one in our industry ever has.”

— Will Butler, Director of Communications for the LightHouse

The solution
Provide reassurance, clarity, and empowerment in the very first interactions

Our research revealed that when clients didn't receive guidance and support at the beginning, they didn't think to give back afterward.

So, we envisioned a new front door that would warmly welcome every new client, clarify where the journey would lead, and reinforce their courage in reaching out for help. To provide a solution that could be implemented right away, we designed an online onboarding flow that:

  1. Addresses clients holistically
  2. Outlines the first steps in the process
  3. Provides immediate recommendations
  4. Frees up staff to develop deeper connections with new clients

research and discovery
A new perspective

We hadn't covered accessibility as a class before we began our project, and none of us had family or friends who were blind. So, to build some basic empathy, I used VoiceOver on my laptop with my eyes closed, watched YouTube videos and listened to podcasts on blind etiquette and stories.

As a team, we worked out of the LightHouse headquarters, which was designed in partnership with blind architect Chris Downey. The thoughtfulness around acoustics, contrast, and usability showed us how to design with accessibility as a goal, not as an afterthought.

We interviewed six former clients and four staff members to better understand the problem space.

LightHouse user interviews

Client interviews
We conducted six intensive user interviews with former LightHouse students who had different abilities and experiences. Most of these were phone interviews to save commute time.

LightHouse affinity mapping

Staff interviews (4)
We interviewed staff of different levels (e.g. frontline vs. strategic) to understand the difference between the intended and actual services provided and the coordination involved backstage.

LH+office

Touring the LightHouse headquarters
Polished concrete walkways amplify the click of a white cane. High-contrast, two-tone colors help people with low vision distinguish between kitchen cabinets. Every sign and map is also overlaid with Braille. Each conference room is outfitted with mics and intercoms so that everyone can hear each other. (Courtesy of the LightHouse)

VoiceOver screenshot

Using VoiceOver
In my spare time, I used VoiceOver to get a sense of how websites "sound" to people who use screenreaders.

what we learned
The problem is at the beginning, not the end

The first day was the worst day. 
Every client we interviewed said their worst memory of the LightHouse was the first day. People were overwhelmed by self-hatred, denial, and fear at losing their vision – and their agency.

Strong beginnings lead to strong endings.
Most of LightHouse's programs did not provide an onboarding process, roadmap, or mentorship for new students. The most successful programs, however, included opportunities to bond from the outset. Without structured support in onboarding, no one thought to give back afterward. 

“One of the most terrifying things was getting on that bus.”

“I needed to know I could leave. Apparently, this is common.”

“I felt like I never wanted to have to use the things at the LightHouse.”

the synthesis
Building personas and principles

Two personas emerged from our user research: Gary, who has completed several LightHouse programs and wants to give back. And Sam, who has recently lost her vision and needs intervention. We realized that Gary and Sam were actually the same person, only at different stages of the journey.

We chose Sam as our primary persona because not only could she easily slip through the cracks, but also we could transform her into an empowered alumna who would eventually give back to the community.

We needed to help Sam start her first day not out of desperation and fear, but out of hope. In user interviews, we identified three components of hope that became our guiding principles – reassurance, clarity, and empowerment.

Sam+Persona

"I just need to not be the one holding the baton."
Sam needs help navigating the road ahead so that she can regain her independence and realize her life goals are still within reach.

To determine where to insert these principles, we drew a high-level user flow of the onboarding process and identified three areas for growth:

  1. When clients first reach the LightHouse via phone or the website, they're usually turned away to navigate the California Department of Rehabilitation alone.
  2. The intake call and/or assessment exam feels too "transactional" to new clients and takes a lot of staff time.
  3. There's no orientation session to provide new clients with guidance or support.

We addressed the first two pain points by creating an online onboarding flow that would set the tone for everything else.

LightHouse user flow

competitive analysis
What do other communities do

To find inspiration for onboarding, we conducted a competitive analysis on other Bay Area organizations that serve the blind as well as indirect competitors that have found success in community building.

Strategies included giving new members a task to complete, using inviting language at every touchpoint, providing resources for people to explore on their own.

Empowering new members upfront increases their investment in their own journey.

P5+Competitive+Analysis

Prototyping
It's not how it looks, but how it sounds

When we sat down to start sketching, we ran into a problem. How do we test paper prototypes with people who are blind?

We drew our inspiration from the newly renovated LightHouse headquarters, which are designed for optimal acoustics. Without sight, sound becomes the way people connect and find humanity in this space. So, we focused on content strategy, because we found that word choice is incredibly important to people with low vision.

We wrote our content in a Google Doc, and conducted six usability tests using screen readers, magnification software. We even read aloud to one tester who didn’t have either option. Each test took 1.5 hours.

LightHouse text prototype

Text-only prototype
Our first prototype was simply text in a Google Doc so that we could test it with screenreaders. We tested with the clients we had interviewed during our research phase.

LightHouse wireframe

Wireframe prototype
We also tested wireframes with LightHouse staff with low vision and other General Assembly students. (Sometimes a sighted family member or friend will peruse the website for a client.)

What we learned
Clarity and empowerment 

Users who were blind or low vision were struck by the tone of empowerment in the language. We had chosen to write directly to the client using the second person, rather than about them like most of the content on the LightHouse's site.

Our user testers closely read and remembered certain words, and offered alternatives where certain words were unclear or had negative connotations. Overall, their suggestions on word choice and flow involved empowering a user to understand and control their full experience:

The "Recommendations" page was a wonderful surprise, but users weren't expecting it.
We needed to clarify the steps and the payoff beforehand, so that users would be motivated to complete the flow.

Users didn't know how to skip the form.
We needed an "eject" option if users wanted results faster or needed the comfort of talking to a human. 

Some language felt too clinical and impersonal (e.g. Psychosocial).
We needed to strike a better balance of typical intake questions with holistic lifestyle questions.

LightHouse Confirmation

Next steps
If we had more time

We would conduct qualitative and quantitative research to evaluate how our solution works for others in this ecosystem, such as sighted loved ones, the front desk staff, and staff rehabilitation counselors. For example:

  • Number of phone calls: Are new clients actually making it through the flow, or are they calling in for help along the way?
  • Time saved: Do the rehabilitation counselors now have more time to do other tasks besides intake data collection?
  • User testing with loved ones: How well does this work for sighted people helping a loved one find services?
  • Survey emotional state: Does the staff notice any difference in the emotional state or mental preparedness of new clients?

We would also tackle the following four areas in future sprints:

  • Overhaul the information architecture. We would reorganize the rest of the website to better guide clients and reduce cognitive load.
  • Create a feedback loop. Regularly surveying clients during and after programs would help the LightHouse iterate on their programs.
  • Offer an orientation session. A session held before programs begin would provide new clients with the information and tools they'll need, and ease the pressure on the first day.
  • Launch a buddy system. Pairing alumni with new clients with similar interests or backgrounds would create a virtuous cycle.

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© 2019 Lauren Jow