Meet Maria
Monica is a 37-year-old woman who transformed her passion for holistic wellness into a thriving organic skincare brand. Sourcing ingredients locally and committed to clean beauty, Monica built her business from the ground up, relying on her creativity, resilience, and community support.
Her business is growing, however, scaling up has brought new challenges, limited access to capital and a thin credit history have made it difficult for her to secure traditional funding. That’s where IFEL comes in….
Context
How IFEL Can Helps Entreprenuers
IFEL (Institute For Entrepreneurial Leadership) is a nonprofit organization dedicated to eliminating systemic barriers that hinder historically excluded populations from accessing the knowledge, networks, and capital essential for entrepreneurial success. Helping businesses secure funding by connecting them with investors, offering training programs to strengthen financial literacy, and providing mentorship to scale operations and increase market reach.
The Problem
Users Leaving Without Taking Action
The organization’s website struggled to hold the attention of its most valuable visitors; prospective entrepreneurs, who made up over 50% of its user base—largely due to a high-bounce rate.
I collaborated with organization members and stakeholders to perform a quick audit and gain a deeper understanding of the issue. Here’s what I found:
Stakeholder interview findings
The organization faced challenges in attracting potential investors and entrepreneurs through its website, primarily due to issues with its landing page's high bounce rate.
I met with organization members and stakeholders to conduct a brief audit and better understand the problem. Here’s what I discovered:
Sentiments:
Prospective entrepreneurs are struggling to find relevant information about IFEL’s various programs and events, making it difficult to understand available opportunities.
Absence or poor placement of CTA is potentially disrupting the user experience
Despite mobile users accounting for nearly half of all visits, the site lacks proper mobile optimization
A Costly Navigation Bar
Scaling up has brought new challenges, limited access to capital and a thin credit history have made it difficult for her to secure traditional funding. That’s where IFEL comes in.
Lack of Mobile Optimization
Scaling up has brought new challenges, limited access to capital and a thin credit history have made it difficult for her to secure traditional funding. That’s where IFEL comes in.
Disorganized Layout
Scaling up has brought new challenges, limited access to capital and a thin credit history have made it difficult for her to secure traditional funding. That’s where IFEL comes in.
Restructuring
I set out to design a clear site map to give both myself and the client a better understanding of the overall structure. Rather than working in isolation, I collaborated with organization members to encourage more effective brainstorming. While IFEL has limited access to developers, I connected with team members who had previously worked closely with them. Their insights and context proved invaluable in shaping informed design decisions.
Wireframing
Focusing On The "Happy Path"
Beam is a locative art-sharing platform that seamlessly blends the digital and physical, combining the discoverability of social media with the immersive experience of encountering art in the real world. Through GPS and augmented reality, users can upload, explore, and discover digital art within physical spaces.