greater
CASESTUDY
Greater is a purpose-driven app designed to help volunteers discover flexible, bite-sized opportunities to give back, making it easy to do good, feel great, and make an impact.
Designed for busy lifestyles, it encourages small acts of kindness that fit seamlessly into daily routines, helping users give back while boosting their well-being.
DURATION
10 weeks (part time)
PLATFORM
iOS
MY ROLE
Lead UX/UI Designer
TOOL
Figma
Introduction
The Inspiration
Why volunteering?
Growing up as a scout, I was always involved in community work and volunteering in different shapes and forms. I remember how fulfilling it felt to contribute to a cause, connect with people, and be part of something greater than myself.
Even after I started working, that desire to give back never went away. But I found it increasingly difficult to commit to a fixed schedule or find ways to stay involved regularly. Life got busier, and despite the best intentions, opportunities to volunteer started slipping through the cracks.
It made me reflect: Why does giving back often feel so difficult? I began to notice how easily everyday responsibilities can get in the way, even when we genuinely want to stay connected to our communities. I became curious about how others were experiencing this, and whether there might be a better way to support people who still want to do good, even in small ways.
The Framework
How did I approach this?
I approached this project using the Double Diamond model to explore the problem space thoroughly and design a user-centered solution through iterative discovery, definition, development, and delivery.
DISCOVER
Problem Space,
Secondary Research,
User Research
DEFINE
How Might We?
Persona
Task Selection
DESIGN
Ideation,
Wireframes,
Usability Testing
DELIVER
Hi-fidelity
Prototyping,
Key Learnings
Discover
Problem Space
What’s the issue?
Volunteering plays a vital role in fostering strong communities and driving social impact in the UK. However, participation has been steadily falling over the past decade.
Secondary Research
The Benefits
I explored the issue further and found that most individuals recognize the positive impact of volunteering, reflected in the following key benefits.
The Barriers
Even with clear benefits, volunteering remains out of reach for many due to time and accessibility challenges, particularly for Millennials and Gen Z, who show the lowest engagement rates.
Primary Research
User Interviews
To gain a deeper understanding of the challenges surrounding volunteering and to validate my initial assumptions, I conducted 5 user interviews.
I chose this method because it allows for rich, qualitative insights that go beyond surface-level responses. Through these conversations, I was able to uncover the personal motivations, emotional drivers, and nuanced barriers that shape people’s attitudes toward volunteering.
Participants
Participants are selected based on the following criteria to ensure relevant and insightful feedback.
Age: 18 years and above (primarily Millennials and Gen Z)
Occupation: Full-time students or full-time workers
Schedule: Committed at least 30 hours per week to work or study
Language: Native or fluent in English (as interviews were conducted in English)
Background: All had previous volunteering experience, with some currently involved in various organizations
Take a look at the interview framework and the questions I used. This stage also helped me refine my focus: exploring the experiences of Millennials and Gen Z who have volunteered in the past or are currently active, to better understand their motivations and challenges.
To efficiently analyze my research, I used Zoom’s notetaker to transcribe interview recordings and surfaced recurring patterns using Evernote for tagging and clustering insights.
Key quotes were then brought into Figma and grouped into three main themes:
A few selected excerpts are shown below.
Here are some of the key user research insights
Redefining
how we give back
People often give back to their communities through small acts of kindness, but don’t always see these as volunteering, since they tend to associate volunteering with formal, structured activities.
Barriers around structure & access
Balancing structure with flexibility helps increase engagement by making volunteers feel their time is appreciated and well used.
Emotional impact
of volunteering
Volunteering can be deeply rewarding but also emotionally demanding. While many find joy and purpose, others may feel unappreciated or discouraged, which can affect long-term engagement.
“Sometimes helping someone is just a small, simple act of kindness.
I don’t really think of it as volunteering.”
“I’d probably volunteer more often if there were a wider
variety of opportunities to choose from.”
Define
How might we
To start exploring possible solutions, I turned the problem into a "How might we" question
How might we turn small acts of kindness into volunteering that fits Gen Z and Millennials’ fast lives and boosts well-being?
User Persona
Say Hello to Jack,
The "Time Strapped" Giver
“I help my neighbour when I can, but I’ve never really thought of that as volunteering. I just wish there were easier ways to give back.”
A central London office worker with a hybrid schedule, finds it challenging to commit to structured volunteering despite his love for giving back as a Scout when he was a kid. Troubled by the back-and-forth of charity sign-ups, he instead helps his elderly neighbour with small repairs, though he doesn’t see it as “real” volunteering. Jack wants to contribute more but needs flexible opportunities that fit his busy routine without feeling overwhelming.
Goals
Seeks meaningful ways to give back without feeling overwhelmed.
Wants volunteering opportunities that fit his busy and unpredictable schedule.
Motivations
Fond memories of volunteering as a Scout, values giving back.
Would be more engaged if volunteering felt natural, like part of everyday life.
Behaviours
Helps his neighbour with small tasks, though he doesn’t consider it “real” volunteering.
Tried signing up for charities but got discouraged by the back and forth.
Pain Points
Long sign-up processes and back-and-forth emails discourage him.
Finds traditional volunteering too structured and difficult to fit into his schedule.
Task Selection
I focused on onboarding, browsing opportunities, and sign-up as the primary task flow, guided by user feedback and insights from the persona. Jack’s frustrations, such as long sign-up processes and the lack of flexible options, highlighted a critical pain point at the very start of the volunteering journey.
By streamlining this entry point, users like Jack can more easily discover opportunities that suit their schedules and feel more confident taking action. Improving this flow has the potential to create the most meaningful impact by lowering the barrier to getting involved and increasing long-term engagement.
Design
Sketches
I began with solution sketches to quickly explore and visualize different ways users could onboard, browse opportunities, and take action with ease. This low-fidelity stage allowed me to test various layout ideas and interaction flows, focusing on flexibility, simplicity, and a more human-centered volunteering experience.
Wireframing
After exploring initial ideas through sketches, I selected the most promising design directions to develop further into wireframes. This phase helped shape the overall structure and user journey, allowing me to define layout, navigation, and key interactions more clearly. By translating rough ideas into more defined wireframes, I was able to ensure the experience aligned with user needs, maintained simplicity, and addressed the core frustrations uncovered during research.
Onboarding
Preference setting
Browsing suggestion
Sign up successfully
Usability Testing
Then I conducted two rounds of usability testing to refine the user flow and ensure the overall experience felt intuitive and seamless. These sessions helped me identify friction points in navigation, unclear labels, and areas where users hesitated or got confused. Based on the feedback, I iterated on key screens and interactions to improve clarity, streamline tasks, and make the process of discovering and signing up for opportunities feel effortless and approachable.
Brand Development
To shape Greater’s visual identity, I selected five key words: joyful, radiant, connected, light-hearted, and organic. These words were chosen to reflect the emotional tone of the experience I wanted to create. It needed to feel warm, uplifting, and easy to engage with.
They align with the needs of users like Jack, who seek meaningful ways to give back without the heaviness or pressure often associated with traditional volunteering.
Guided by these keywords, I created a mood board exploring natural color palettes, playful yet clean typography, rounded shapes, and UI elements that evoke connection and ease. This process helped define a visual language that feels human, approachable & gently motivating, true to Greater’s mission of making small acts of kindness feel accessible & impactful.
Colors
The color palette for greater is designed to feel warm, joyful, and approachable. The primary pink tone serves as the emotional anchor—soft and inviting, reflecting kindness and human connection.
Neutral greys and white provide balance and clarity, allowing content and actions to stand out without distraction.
A set of vibrant accent colors (green, yellow, blue, and magenta) adds energy and playfulness, giving flexibility to highlight key moments, categories, or user interactions while maintaining a cohesive and friendly visual identity.
Name Selection
I chose the name greater to reflect the idea that even small acts of kindness can lead to something more: greater connection, greater purpose, and a greater sense of community. The name feels open, optimistic and inclusive, aligning with the app’s mission to make volunteering feel less intimidating and more accessible. It also speaks to personal growth, highlighting how giving back can enhance not just others’ lives, but our own.
I opted for a lowercase “g” to reflect the brand’s approachable and down-to-earth tone, softening the overall experience and making it feel more friendly and inviting. The lowercase styling subtly reinforces the core belief behind greater, that even small, everyday actions can lead to meaningful impact.
greater
connection
purpose
community
Deliver
Hi-fidelity Prototyping
With the branding defined, I progressed to creating high-fidelity designs by applying the visual identity through colors, typography, and UI elements to the wireframes. This process was essential in transforming the structural layout into a polished, user-ready interface. It helped bring the emotional tone of the experience to life, reinforcing the brand values of warmth, approachability, and connection while ensuring the interface remained clear, accessible, and engaging for users.
Introducing greater to the World
To promote greater, I designed a marketing website that introduces the concept, communicates the brand values, and encourages users to get involved. The site serves as a welcoming entry point, highlighting greater’s purpose, features, and the ease of contributing through small acts of kindness. It was important that the tone and visuals stayed consistent with the product’s identity, keeping it warm, uplifting, and approachable while also driving interest and sign-ups.
Key Learnings
Working on greater gave me a deeper understanding of how design can meet people where they are, especially when it comes to balancing good intentions with real-world limitations. I learned the importance of designing for flexibility, and how small UX decisions can remove barriers and encourage participation. Conducting user interviews and usability testing sharpened my ability to listen empathetically, iterate based on real feedback, and stay grounded in user needs throughout the process. It also reinforced the value of a strong, consistent brand voice in creating trust and emotional connection.
What's next?
I plan to continue testing greater with a wider audience to gather deeper insights and further refine the experience. I’m also exploring ways to implement it in real-world contexts to better support communities and create meaningful impact.
Thank you for following the greater journey
Let's connect
I’m always learning, always designing :)
If you’re working on something exciting, have a problem to solve,
or just want to connect over anything creative or cultural quirks — let’s chat!
Designed and Created by Rebecca Lam | Last updated May 2025.