Project Overview

Introduction of the island

Roosevelt Island is situated within New York City's East River, nestled between Manhattan Island and Queens on Long Island.

Comapny and my role

As a product design team member at The Citizen Project on Roosevelt Island, a non-profit organization advocating for residents' interests, I contributed to the development of a website enabling Roosevelt Island inhabitants to connect with their government and community leaders. Our approach entails collecting and analyzing information to build an accessible and user-friendly platform.

My responsibilities encompass

• ‍Product design，
• UX research,
• Content development,
• Roadmap planning,
• Branding
• System design
• Visual design.

Problem

Our research reveals that Roosevelt Island residents gather information from a range of sources, such as bulletin boards, flyers, social media, RIRA, RIOC, and inter-committee communications, resulting in inefficiency.

Solution

Develop a website to facilitate information sharing among long-term residents and committees, fostering an engaged and well-organized community, ultimately improving their quality of life.

PERSONA

Inhabitants Behind the Insights

USER RESEARCH

Voices from the Island:
Uncovering Perspectives on Local Information Sharing

A team member conducted interviewed with five residents and four community members. The interview findings are categorized into four primary groups.

• Residents are dissatisfied with how the island is managed and how information is shared.
• They need a better media outlet with up-to-date information about island news and community events because current sources are lacking.
  
• Residents actively participate in community events and interact with their neighbors, with higher attendance on holidays and weekends. Popular activities include movie nights, children's parties, and sports or health-related events.
• Board members want the platform to be easy to use to encourage more participation.
• Board members want a faster, more extensive way to communicate with residents.
• Board members wish to share full information about the island.

• community events (29%)
• the island calendar (18%)
• emergency alerts (15%)
• real-time red bus location information (12%)
• community bulletin (9%)

COMPETITIVE ANALYSIS

Learning from the Competitiors:
Insights on Neighborhood Engagement

• The events section ought to be effortlessly searchable, well-structured, and provide tailored recommendations.
• The website should offer social groups for residents or members of the neighborhood.
• Contents should be regularly updated.
• The landing page should offer a summary of the website's layout and incorporate beginner-friendly tutorials when feasible.

BRANDING EXPLORATION

Later, I explored design elements that resonated with the island’s culture and history.

Keywords are welcoming, relaxing, and calming.

WHAT I LEARNED

Collaborating with a community-driven project reinforced the importance of empathy in design.

Throughout the entire process, user research forms the foundation of our designs. Surveys and interviews keep me focused on addressing user needs, guiding me as I iterate and refine the design of this community website.