Duration
Team
Role
Sep 2024 - April 2026
2 Team Leads, 2 Product Managers, 3 UI/UX Designers, 3 Backend Developers, 7 iOS Developers,
Lead UI/UX Designer
PORCH, a non-profit organization based in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, collects fresh and non-perishable food from donor's front porches and distributes it to families, pantries, and schools in need.
By mobilizing neighborhoods and volunteers, PORCH streamlines food pantry donations to ensure vital resources reach those need, raising over $6.5 million for hunger relief since 2010.
OVERVIEW
Initially, PORCH donation coordinators relied on manual texting, fragmented tracking, and repetitive data entry to manage monthly food collections.
This created inconsistent communication with donors, difficulty tracking responses and participation, and high coordination overhead for volunteers.
The challenge was to design a mobile app tool that centralized communication, reduced manual effort, and made it easier to manage collections at both a neighborhood and organizational level.
CHALLENGE
DISCOVERY
UX Research
To inform the app's design and ensure it aligned with user needs, user interviews were conducted with PORCH's CEO, our primary stakeholder. Her key needs were determined as:
Identifying consistent donors
Simplifying coordinator tasks during monthly collections
Given the variability between chapters, a research strategy was planned that included gathering feedback across range of experiences and locations. We also identified the need to be mindful of privacy concerns around data collection and respect for chapters' autonomy.
The app's goal was to not only support smoother workflows for coordinators but also to help PORCH visualize and share impact, whether at a chapter level or across the organization.
UX Research
To inform the app's design and ensure it aligned with user needs, user interviews were conducted with PORCH's CEO, our primary stakeholder. Her key needs were determined as:
Identifying consistent donors.
Simplifying coordinator tasks during monthly collections.
Given the variability between chapters, a research strategy was planned that included gathering feedback across range of experiences and locations. We also identified the need to be mindful of privacy concerns around data collection and respect for chapters' autonomy.
The app's goal was to not only support smoother workflows for coordinators but also to help PORCH visualize and share impact, whether at a chapter level or across the organization.
Insight from prior A/B Testing
Volunteer #1:
Found interface intuitive and appreciated its clean design. Starting a new collection, selecting volunteers, and drafting messages felt familiar. However, the user flow for setting a reminder caused confusion. She had expected a clear "Send Reminder" button and wanted to be able to message specific donors. While she typically uses email to contact donors, she was open to leveraging Short Messaging Services (SMS) and texts. Thought transition would take adjustment
Volunteer #2:
Was able to accomplish tasks but noted some moments of hesitation, particularly after sending messages. She would have preferred more confirmation and visual feedback after successfully sending a messaging to ensure it went through. She valued personalized communication and the ability to filter recipients by reply status. Overall her experience with the app was positive, and she was enthusiastic about future features such as managing volunteer information and contacting donors through the app.
DEFINE
Both volunteers from A/B testing saw the app as a valuable upgrade to their current systems. Their feedback emphasized the need for clearer reminder features, flexible messaging, and optional data entry. These insights directly informed our design revisions, and my team and I updated key features accordingly before handing them off to developers.
DESIGN SOLUTION
User Flow for Scheduling Food Donation Pickups with Volunteers
TAKEAWAYS
This project strengthened my ability to design for real-world workflows where adoption depends on balancing efficiency with familiarity. I learned how to translate qualitative feedback into concrete design decisions, iterate quickly based on usability testing, and design systems that scale across diverse user needs and contexts.
Role
Team
Duration
Lead UI/UX Designer
2 Team Leads, 2 Product Managers, 3 UI/UX Designers, 3 Backend Developers, 7 iOS Developers,
Sep 2024 - Apr 2026
OVERVIEW
PORCH, a non-profit organization based in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, collects fresh and non-perishable food from donor's front porches and distributes it to families, pantries, and schools in need.
By mobilizing neighborhoods and volunteers, PORCH streamlines food pantry donations to ensure vital resources reach those need, raising over $6.5 million for hunger relief since 2010.
CHALLENGE
Initially, PORCH donation coordinators relied on manual texting, fragmented tracking, and repetitive data entry to manage monthly food collections.
This created inconsistent communication with donors, difficulty tracking responses and participation, and high coordination overhead for volunteers.
The challenge was to design a mobile app tool that centralized communication, reduced manual effort, and made it easier to manage collections at both a neighborhood and organizational level.
DEFINE
Both volunteers from A/B testing saw the app as a valuable upgrade to their current systems. Their feedback emphasized the need for clearer reminder features, flexible messaging, and optional data entry. These insights directly informed our design revisions, and my team and I updated key features accordingly before handing them off to developers.
DESIGN SOLUTION
User Flow for Scheduling Food Donation Pickups with Volunteers
UI Research
To inform the app's design and ensure it aligned with user needs, user interviews were conducted with PORCH's CEO, our primary stakeholder. Her key needs were determined as:
Identifying consistent donors.
Simplifying coordinator tasks during monthly collections.
Given the variability between chapters, a research strategy was planned that included gathering feedback across range of experiences and locations. We also identified the need to be mindful of privacy concerns around data collection and respect for chapters' autonomy.
The app's goal was to not only support smoother workflows for coordinators but also to help PORCH visualize and share impact, whether at a chapter level or across the organization.
DISCOVERY
UI Research
To inform the app's design and ensure it aligned with user needs, user interviews were conducted with PORCH's CEO, our primary stakeholder. Her key needs were determined as:
Identifying consistent donors
Simplifying coordinator tasks during monthly collections
Given the variability between chapters, a research strategy was planned that included gathering feedback across range of experiences and locations. We also identified the need to be mindful of privacy concerns around data collection and respect for chapters' autonomy.
The app's goal was to not only support smoother workflows for coordinators but also to help PORCH visualize and share impact, whether at a chapter level or across the organization.
Insight from prior A/B Testing
Volunteer #1:
Found interface intuitive and appreciated its clean design. Starting a new collection, selecting volunteers, and drafting messages felt familiar. However, the user flow for setting a reminder caused confusion. She had expected a clear "Send Reminder" button and wanted to be able to message specific donors. While she typically uses email to contact donors, she was open to leveraging Short Messaging Services (SMS) and texts. Thought transition would take adjustment
Volunteer #2:
Was able to accomplish tasks but noted some moments of hesitation, particularly after sending messages. She would have preferred more confirmation and visual feedback after successfully sending a messaging to ensure it went through. She valued personalized communication and the ability to filter recipients by reply status. Overall her experience with the app was positive, and she was enthusiastic about future features such as managing volunteer information and contacting donors through the app.
TAKEAWAYS
This project strengthened my ability to design for real-world workflows where adoption depends on balancing efficiency with familiarity. I learned how to translate qualitative feedback into concrete design decisions, iterate quickly based on usability testing, and design systems that scale across diverse user needs and contexts.