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I collaborated on a project for a non-profit organization in partnership with JP Morgan. The non-profit organization empowers school-aged children to lead meaningful climate projects using science-backed resources, hands-on workshops, and digital tools. While the web app offers a variety of environmental projects, it faced several usability challenges—particularly in its onboarding process.
We were tasked with redesigning key parts of the web app to improve user experience. The main goals were:
Make the sign-up process intuitive to increase user adoption
Automate age verification for under 18 users
The redesign is expected to significantly boost user adoption and engagement, helping to build a more active and connected community. According to the non-profit organisation the user base will expand to over 10 thousands users across the next couple of years.
Solo UX Consultant - I led the end-to-end design process.
9 members: 1 Project Lead, 1 Client Manager, 6 Engineers, and myself as the UX Designer.
Key users are school children. Apart from them there are volunteers, teachers and organisation partners.
I began by performing a UX audit of the sign-up form to pinpoint areas of friction. The assessment uncovered several key shortcomings in the user flow.
Error messages appeared before users finished typing
A 10-character password requirement was too demanding, especially for kids
School name was required for all users, even when irrelevant
Teachers and corporate partners were forced to enter birth dates, defaulted to 1970, making it impossible to proceed
The form lacked personalization for the platform's four different user types
The audit highlighted the need for personalization, as the current form does not adequately support the four distinct user types.
To better understand why the sign-up form was not intuitive, I conducted a usability test with five potential users: two children and three adults. The testing revealed key usability challenges, particularly for the younger users.
Username Field: Children were excited and highly engaged when prompted to create a username. They enjoyed using their imagination during this step.
Email Field Confusion: Confusion arose when the form requested an email address. Most children either did not have a personal email or were unsure about using one, often relying on their parents.
Date of Birth Input: The calendar widget used for selecting the date of birth was not intuitive—navigating back to the correct birth year was especially difficult.
School Email Entry: Children hesitated when asked to enter their school email. They either didn’t remember it or were unsure whether it was appropriate to use in this context.
Teacher's Name Input Field: Most of the children entered their class teacher’s name in the Teacher's Name input field.
Partners Section: Adult participants expressed surprise when school-related questions appeared in the partners section, indicating a mismatch in expectations.
These findings reinforced the need to personalize the form based on user type and provide clear instructions tailored for children. Additionally, the date picker should be redesigned or replaced with a more accessible alternative, especially for younger users.
Conversations with the admin team revealed key constraints around user management and verification:
Each user group has a separate section within the web app.
Age verification for school children is required before approval and currently depends on school information.
There is no process in place to verify homeschooled children.
Partners are not required to provide school-related details.
Manual verification queues are lengthy and impact onboarding speed.
To support the non-profit in streamlining age verification, I conducted secondary research on automation tools that could be integrated into the sign-up process. My focus was on finding solutions that were both compliant with data protection regulations and kid-friendly.
I identified a third-party tool that met these criteria and offered easy integration with existing forms. After presenting the findings to the team, one of my teammates continued the research to explore implementation details.
Due to budget constraints, the organization was unable to adopt the solution immediately—but they plan to revisit it as part of a future roadmap.
Children may not have email addresses
Children often skip or misinterpret school-related fields
Admins face delays in verifying children's ages
Partners don't need school details
Current form is not personalized by user type
I synthesized research findings into a user journey map to identify friction points and opportunities. This led to the final problem statement:
Users struggle to complete the sign-up process due to irrelevant or missing information requirements (e.g., children's lack of email), leading to confusion and a high drop-off rate.
Clear, simple instructions
A form with only the essential fields required for sign-up
A fun and supportive onboarding experience
A fully automated age verification process
Increased user registration and platform adoption
An alternative age verification method for homeschooled children who may not follow standard schooling frameworks
I created user flows for each user type—children, volunteers, teachers, and organizational partners—to design a tailored onboarding experience. These flows provided a clear structure to visualize the sign-up process, helping me identify potential pain points, gaps in communication, and areas where guidance was lacking for each user group. We also did secondary research for the automation of the age verification process.
I created a personalized onboarding experience where users could choose their favorite avatars to make signing up more fun. The client appreciated the direction and added two additional sections to collect user data, which enhanced the overall experience.
During development, engineers ran into platform constraints. The initial plan to use plugins required some design compromises—like removing icons from the interest list. Eventually, the team chose a custom-coded solution, which allowed better alignment with the original design.
New Designs With UX Uplifted
Each user completes an individual form.
A step-by-step onboarding experience guides users smoothly through the process.
Clear instructions accompany each input field to ensure ease of completion.
Users can select a fun avatar from a curated collection.
The “What inspires you to help the planet?” section gathers insights into users' personal motivations.
An option to provide school or parent/guardian details supports age verification — ensuring that even homeschooled children or those hesitant to share school information can still be verified.
Users are given clear information about what to expect after submitting the form.
Only essential input fields are displayed for Organisation Partners, Teachers, and Volunteers, streamlining the experience.
The “How did you hear about us?” section helps identify which outreach and marketing strategies are most effective.
I tested the updated design with the same two children to evaluate whether the new solution improved their experience. While I recognize that testing with five users is ideal, I conducted a quick test with friends and family due to limited access to actual users.
Key learnings from the test:
The updated instructions were clear and easy to follow.
The avatar and username selection made the form feel fun and engaging.
Removing the date picker improved the usability of the Date of Birth field.
One Size Does Not Fit All in UX
The biggest takeaway was the importance of designing with distinct user groups in mind. Children, volunteers, teachers, and partners all have different expectations, levels of digital literacy, and information needs. Personalization was not just a nice-to-have—it was essential for reducing friction and making the onboarding flow feel welcoming.
Usability for Children Requires Empathy + Simplicity
Designing for children introduced unique challenges. Many children didn’t have email addresses or struggled with certain inputs like date pickers. I learned how important it is to consider developmental stages and to support younger users with clear instructions, fun elements, and minimal cognitive load.
Collaboration with Engineers is Key to Realistic Design
Some of my original design concepts, like interactive avatars or icon-enhanced interest lists, had to be revised due to platform constraints. This was a valuable reminder that design must stay flexible—a good solution balances creativity with feasibility. Regular check-ins with engineers helped us land on effective compromises without losing the core user experience.
Research Anchors Good Design
The audit, usability testing, and admin interviews helped me build deep empathy with all users and stakeholders. Having evidence-based insights made it easier to advocate for changes and defend design decisions when prioritizing features.
