The Survivor Project
Empowering survivors of domestic abuse to seek help confidently without compromising their safety
Team
2 designers
3 developers
3 project managers
My Role
Visual Design
UI & UX Design
Industry
Charity & Not-for-profit
Duration
6 months (ad hoc)
About the project
This project was part of a volunteering initiative at Publicis Sapient called <Codeaid>, partnering with charities to use our digital skills for good.
The Salford-based charity we partnered with aims to educate and offer support to survivors of domestic abuse.
The new website and branding offers a trustworthy and information rich experience to help survivors and their loved ones to navigate challenging environments and relationships.
The existing experience
An audit of the existing experience was conducted to identify experience pain points and opportunities for improvement.
Understanding our users
Due to the nature of the charity, it wasn't appropriate at this stage to seek out conducting primary research with survivors. Instead, we turned to insights from past ethnographic research and conducted desk research to gain an understanding of who we were designing for.
Core user needs
Based on the personas and the existing website experience, three core pillars were identified to drive the design process.
Since this website accommodates for different users at different phases of the awareness cycle, as well as users who purely wish to support the charity, it was important to think about the versatility of the website too.
Crisis & Intervention
I need to easily access crucial support information discreetly and the first time around
Contemplation & Awareness Raising
I need support and ressurance without compromising my safety
Supporting the Cause
I want to empathise with the work of the charity and learn how I can contribute
A mobile-first approach
In the context-of-use, most survivors of domestic abuse would seek help using a mobile, as opposed to a desktop, device.
This helps to ensure discreetness and therefore minimises the risk of being 'caught' by the abuser.
All experiences were designed for mobile first, then desktop.
User journeys
For each user, journeys were mapped to gain an understanding of users' expectations at each stage, and to identify the path of least resistance for users in a crisis situation.
This exercise helped to spark ideas to enhance the website to leave a greater impression on users in the contemplation stage.
Outcome
With new visual identity and website restructure, the new Survivor Project website is a destination for education, support and reassurance. The ability to discover and learn is disclosed in a progressive way, sensitively disclosing information in a frank but compassionate tone.
Key design decisions
Enhanced site-map
The initial website was disorganised and non-intuitive. Finding important information wasn't easy to find, and some pages didn't have any content in them at all.
By digging deeper into what the needs were of each of our core users, we improved the information architecture to best serve the needs of those in crisis, or those who are in need of support. It was important to think about how each page is relevant to each other, and how one page of content could spark curiosity or realisation to continue reading, or ideally to take action and seek help.
Donation functionality
Building out a donate feature in the website that lives in the navigation bar of the website draws the eye towards the button. Once the user is on the page, immediately the user learns about the value that different amounts of money can bring to a survivor and their loved ones, making the experience of donating money online more tangible.
Quick escape
No matter what device they're on, survivors of domestic abuse could be in a very dangerous position if they are caught browsing support websites by their partner. It was crucial for us to implement a 'quick escape' function that is visible on every page at any scroll position so that users can exit the page without compromising their safety.
By clicking the quick escape button, the users are taken to the BBC Weather website and their history for that session is erased, meaning they don't leave a trail that their abuser might find later.
Entry-points for exploration
The platform needs to serve users at different stages of awareness. Considering that there would be users would be in a stage of denial when using the website, it was important to consider the pathways the user could take through the website to be well informed enough to reach the awareness and realisation stages from thinking about their own experiences.
Below is just one example of how a user visiting the site for the first time could potentially experience the different stages of this cycle. The reality of the situation is that it is a lot more complex, but the goal is that The Survivor Project's website is the 'lightbulb' moment for as many people as possible. Therefore, through these journeys, it was important not only to be informative, but also create a platform that users can trust and feel safe using. Embedding survivor stories allows users to relate their own experiences to others, and empathise with the struggles but also how they got the help they needed safely.
Tone of Voice
Tone of voice was a key aspect of our design process. Striking a balance between sounding friendly but also trustworthy was a priority when building out the experience because this increases the likelihood of survivors feeling comfortable with acknowledging their abusive relationships and ideally, feeling comfortable with seeking help.
Using first person narratives for headings such as 'I need help' and 'I want to help someone else' helps users to resonate with the content based on their own lived experiences, adding a layer of personification.
Relatability counter
In the context of domestic abuse, the mechanism of social proof is nuanced in the sense that some people reading other survivor's stories, for example, may be in an abusive relationship but not yet realise it.
Adding a relatability counter helps those in the contemplation stage to self-validate their feelings, and feel a sense of control in signalling to others that they feel the same way without leaving a digital footprint that could leave them in a vulnerable situation, like a lot of forums would do.