Raíces Rising: Nuestra Voz
(Prototype Design)
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The project:
Individual project completed as part of a Visual Design for HCI course.
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My role:
I conducted market research, designed a logo and slogan, and developed a small-scale prototype for an app. The app demonstrates the potential functionalities that could be implemented to support a nonprofit dedicated to the Latinx community.
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Tools:
-Figma
-Adobe Illustrator
The Problem
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Nearly a quarter of a million residents living in Iowa identify as Hispanic & Latino.
By 2050, this number is expected to double. Furthermore, 28% of Hispanic Iowa residents were born outside of the United States.
(2020 Census)
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Nonprofits that support the Latinx populations are facing many challenges.
Fluctuating funding, lack of resources and staffing, language and cultural barriers, and countering negative stereotypes are all common challenges that nonprofits face.
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These challenges cause instability, limited outreach efforts, and a lack of public support and understanding.
So, how can we help?
THE QUESTION: How might we develop an innovative and user-centric mobile application that addresses the unique challenges faced by nonprofits serving the Latinx community in Iowa, including fluctuating funding, limited resources and staffing, language and cultural barriers, and countering negative stereotypes?
THE SOLUTION:
Raíces Rising: Nuestra Voz: An app that promotes stability, enhances outreach efforts, and fosters public support and understanding for nonprofits.
Creates a sense of community and brings names and faces to the struggles of being an immigrant in the community.
Allows users to donate to the cause.
A calendar to advertise events for the community.
THE PROCESS
Latino culture is a bright, rich, rhythmic culture, so it only makes sense that design must be an agent for transformative change in the system. The campaign I designed is called “Raíces Rising: Nuestra Voz” which means “Rising Roots: Our Voice”. This name encapsulates the essence and significance of a storytelling campaign focused on the Latinx community and immigration:
It has emphasis on heritage – “raíces” means “roots” in Spanish and emphasizes the rich cultural heritage and deep roots of the Latinx community. The name acknowledges the significance of celebrating their ancestral traditions and values.
“Rising” conveys the idea of growth, progress, and empowerment. It symbolizes the Latinx community’s resilience and determination to overcome challenges.
By combining “Raíces” with “Rising” the name embraces a Spanglish approach, bridging both English and Spanish to signify inclusivity and unity.
Lastly, “Nuestra Voz” translates to “Our Voice”. This phrase highlights the campaign’s focus on giving the Latinx community ownership of their narratives. It emphasizes that the campaign aims to amplify authentic and unfiltered stories from the community members themselves.
The name also serves as a call to action, calling on those in the Latinx community to rise, unite, and share their voices.
The Design
The design element I created is an application for the “Raíces Rising: Nuestra Voz” campaign. At the top of every page, there will be the option to switch the text language to Spanish, to make the app accessible for its Spanish-speaking users. To design the rest of the app, I started by doing market research as to what other nonprofit applications have and settled on five main pages: Home, Donate, Nuestra Voz, Events, and Contact. Each page has a distinct function to support Latinx Immigrants of Iowa. Firstly, the home page has the organization’s motto of “Education. Empower. Community.” This phrase emphasizes what the organization is about. It also has a call-to-action button that will directly take the user to make a donation, which will help the organization raise funds to support their projects and personnel.
Nuestra Voz
The most important page is called “Nuestra Voz”. This is where the stories will be displayed. This button is in the middle of the navigation bar and is in a contrasting color than the other buttons. The videos will have short summaries regarding who the video is about as well as a “watch now” button that will take the user to a short, documentary-style video about the immigrant who is now living in Des Moines. The reasoning behind this is to create a sense of community and to bring names and faces to the very real struggles that immigrants are facing in our own Des Moines community.
Donate
The user selects how often they want to donate, and the amount. They can select to donate monthly, or a one-time donation. The pre-selected amount is $5, and then the amount of each button increases from there. There is also the option to select “Other” and the user can enter a custom donation amount. The app will then take them to a secure checkout page where the user enters their payment information.
Events
The next page is an Events page, where users can find upcoming events such as English classes, citizenship workshops, etc. in a very user-friendly format, which will hopefully inspire them to attend and/or volunteer, depending on who the user is. On the calendar, the dates that have events are slightly larger and have a blue font. The current date is shown with a red circle to make it apparent.
Contact Us
Lastly, a simple “contact us” form which allows users to reach out to the organization and voice their concerns or offer support, and also fostering a sense of community and engagement within the app. Its simplicity is designed to make it accessible and intuitive to all users.