NGO AID MAP

DESIGN RESEARCH AND UI/UX DESIGN CONSULTING

 
 

Key Findings

During the design research phase Alma Major led InterAction’s design team through three key principles of the human-centered design process: identifying and building empathy with key users; defining the right problem; and thinking through systems holistically.

 

Our research uncovered four key user types and use cases:

  1. For InterAction policy staff: the ability to add advanced data, visualization, and mapping capability—beyond what the current InterAction web page is capable of—to strengthen our advocacy efforts.

  2. For policymakers and their staff: the ability to better understanding the context, challenges, and needs as they relate to foreign aid and InterAction’s policy advocacy

  3. For InterAction Members’ communications staff: the ability to amplify the impact of the life-saving work that InterAction Member organizations are already doing around the globe.

  4. For development and humanitarian professionals: the ability to share and illustrate in detail the work of InterAction and our Members with the sector broadly.

Early UX/UI

Wireframe created in Figma in partnership with InterAction and Taoti design teams.

What is a wireframe?

A wireframe is a simple, skeletal drawing representative of the information and functionality available on a webpage. It is often compared to an architectural blueprint vs. a fully designed mock-up. Wireframes are a useful tool for improving user experience (U.X.) before web design begins. They provide a visual framework to explain complex concepts, but because they are just drawings, they provide the design team the opportunity to pivot and make changes based on user feedback at a much lower cost than with a fully coded website.

Key Functionality

The new NGO Aid Map will still be a map, but not necessarily a map of active projects. The precipitous drop over the last three years in InterAction Members’ uploading to NGO Aid Map was one factor in this decision. The fact that other systems already compile deep rosters of active humanitarian and development projects around the globe, e.g., USAID Foreign Aid Explorer, IATI Registry, and U.N. OCHA’s Financial Tracking System led us away from attempting to duplicate those efforts or to unify them.

This led us to the decision to re-design NGO Aid Map around two core functions:

  1. To map InterAction’s impact as an alliance as well as the impact of our Members through their work in humanitarian action and international development.

  2. To support InterAction’s advocacy work, bringing advanced data and mapping capability to in support of our advocacy work.

The site will be powered by three core content types:

  • Member Updates: short, timely updates from InterAction Members about their work around the globe, mapped and filterable by country, sector, issue, and Member.

  • Country Profiles: high-level country-specific data and advocacy priorities.

  • Featured Stories: periodic, data- and map-driven narratives on key global issues authored by InterAction staff.