Overview
The Wild Center, the Adirondacks' natural history museum, partnered with our Digital Media capstone team at the University of Rochester to support their volunteer program.
Impact
Recruited 90 active volunteers by conducting research, building a webpage, and producing a marketing campaign.
Our team earned the University of Rochester's Digital Media "Outstanding Capstone Project Award"
Presented at a2ru's 2024 national tech and art conference.
Role
UX Researcher, UX Designer, Visual Designer
Timeline
9 months, September 2023 - May 2024
Tools
Figma, Surveys, Interviews, A/B Testing, Adobe Illustrator, Premiere Pro
1. Intro
The Problem
During the COVID-19 pandemic, The Wild Center lost 75% of its volunteers. As a non-profit with limited full-time staff, The Wild Center’s volunteers are an essential part of their organization.
Meet the Team
Digital Media Capstone Team, University of Rochester:
Miles Vilke - Audio and Video Engineer & UX Researcher
Katie Ho - Communications Manager & Editor
Leann Kuchler - Web Designer & Developer
Dustin Paden - Visual Designer & UX Researcher
Jeremy Reguer - Creative Support
The Wild Center Staff:
Ruth Burnell - Volunteer Coordinator & Director
Nick Corcoran - Volunteer & Education Services Coordinator
Nick Gunn - Marketing Director
Jen Tremblay Moore - Marketing & Comm Manager
Kerri Ziemann - Program Director
My Digital Media capstone team. I'm kneeling in the front!
Communication
Our capstone team took pride in leading strong communication with our client, The Wild Center Staff. This included Google Meet video calls every other week, organized email threads, and 3 weekend trips to The Wild Center.
2. Research
Surveys
We collected quantitative statistics via two surveys: one designed for The Wild Center's volunteers (15 responses) and another for visitors (15 responses).
Insights:
60% of volunteers were 65 years or older ➞ Need to recruit younger volunteers
90% of volunteers lived less than 15 minutes away ➞ Need to recruit from greater region and remote locations
Only 2 volunteers found out about the center via website ➞ Need to build a stronger webpage and social media presence
Interviews
To deepen our understanding of the people and stories at the heart of the volunteer program, we had one-hour long interviews with 3 volunteers and 4 staff members.
Insights:
Learned about volunteer roles, application and on-boarding user-experience, volunteer motivations, volunteer program staff roles, volunteer training process, and volunteer program goals.
Site Visit
Our first visit to The Wild Center was in November, 2023. On this trip, we met The Wild Center's staff in person, learned about the 18 volunteering opportunities across departments, and experienced the volunteering orientation process ourselves from online sign-up all the way to hands-on helping. Plus, we got to enjoy an awesome mountain hike.
3. New Volunteer Program Webpage
Design & Iterate
Our webpage redesign started with collaborative white-boarding to brainstorm affinity maps and wireframes.
Prototype Test 1: Layout
Next, we designed 3 low-fidelity prototypes in Figma and tested them with 12 users. Data revealed that Version B was most preferred for its fast navigation speed, easy access to information, and intuitive user experience.
Prototype Test 2: Refine
Building on Version B, we designed a high-fidelity prototype in Figma and tested it with 8 users. Feedback helped us to refine the user experience, including clarifying role tags, making scrolling more intuitive, and optimizing apply buttons.
It's live!
The new and improved webpage is actively recruiting volunteers on The Wild Center's website!
*Shout-out to Leann, our Web Designer & Developer, for taking the technical lead on producing all Figma prototypes.
4. Volunteer Marketing Campaign
Video Production
Behind the Scenes
Our second visit to The Wild Center was in February, 2024. On this 36-hour production trip, we coordinated and filmed a full video campaign of volunteer interviews and social media trends to promote the volunteer program online.
Action!
Here are short-form and long-form video samples from the marketing campaign.
Filmed by team; Edited by Dustin
Graphic Design
Identity Assets
As the team's visual designer, I modified The Wild Center's existing word mark and logo with a "Volunteer Program" subheading to distinguish the volunteer program, fostering pride amongst volunteers.
Print Publicity
I sketched, iterated, and designed a poster and banner to promote the volunteer program on The Wild Center's grounds. These materials direct potential volunteers to learn more on social media and apply on the new webpage.
5. Impact
The Wild Center gained 90 active volunteers since implementing our digital solutions in May, 2024.
The volunteer program has expanded demographic diversity, with emphasis on younger volunteers.
The Wild Center reported there have been 3,472 volunteer hours since May, 2024, adding $116,227.28 value.
Client Testimonials
"I really think that there'll be an increase in numbers of volunteers, awareness of the program, and hopefully also expanding who is volunteering" – Kerri Ziemann, Program Director
"Everybody seemed to be accepting of each other and each other's ideas" – Carol Denit, Volunteer
"You really looked deeply into what The Wild Center is and what it's all about… you have created something new for us and something innovative and something you know that we needed" – Rick Godin, Photographer & Videographer
"I love everything that they did… If I did not work here and I watched that video that they created, I would come here and volunteer." – Hillarie Logan-Dechene, Executive Director of The Wild Center
Outstanding Capstone Project Award
Our team was recognized by the University of Rochester's Digital Media program with the Outstanding Capstone Project Award. This annual award recognizes one senior capstone team for their outstanding commitment and success.
National Technology Conference
At a2ru's 2024 conference Generate | Iterate: Technology, the Arts, and Design, our team from the University of Rochester and The Wild Center staff presented a panel about community partnerships through design education.
