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)
— Will Butler, Director of Communications for the LightHouse
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:
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.
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.
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.
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)
Using VoiceOver
In my spare time, I used VoiceOver to get a sense of how websites "sound" to people who use screenreaders.
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.
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.
"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:
We addressed the first two pain points by creating an online onboarding flow that would set the tone for everything else.
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.
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.
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.
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.)
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.
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:
We would also tackle the following four areas in future sprints: