Wilder Foundation

Wilder Foundation is a non-profit charity in St Paul, Minnesota that specializes in a variety of mental health, housing, and community assistance programs.

Challenge

User interviews revealed many of Wilder's clients only engaged with one or two services, despite being eligible for several more. Confusing navigation and cluttered layouts only added to users' confusion.

Solution

A redesigned website which clearly communicates Wilder’s services, while also encouraging donations, volunteers, and professional partnerships.

Impact

Increased mental health leads by adding online forms
Increased requests to partner with Wilder Research
Achieved a 20% increase in new and active users sitewide

Defining the Problem

Research Methods

Competitive Audit

User Interviews

Focus Groups

Key Insights

Information Overload: Clients find it hard to understand Wilder's wide range of services, due to the overwhelming amount of content on the site and confusing navigational structure.
Diverse Audience and Goals: Individuals seeking services, volunteers, donors, and community researchers all require different experiences to support their unique goals.
Inclusivity Matters: Wilder serves a diverse audience across cultures, ages, and abilities, requiring an experience that is accessible, inclusive, and responsive to a wide range of user needs.

Wireframes

The design process progressed from three rounds of initial sketches to 35 digital wireframes created in Figma. These wireframes addressed key research insights, including simplifying content and improving information architecture.

Usability Study

A low-fidelity prototype was developed from the wireframes, incorporating key interactions such as pop-up modals and forms. A usability study, with 10 participants, helped identify usability issues and uncover opportunities for improvement. Insights from the usability study were synthesized to create a revised prototype.

View the prototype here.

Branding & Design System

The reimagined Wilder brand establishes a unified visual identity, strengthens emotional connections, and fosters an inclusive environment. It supports a seamless “One Wilder” experience by bridging the gaps across Wilder's various departments.

The extensive website includes over 8,000 pages and thousands of research articles. A cohesive design system was created to reduce total development time.

UI Design & Development

With the design system established, high-fidelity mockups were created from the prototype. The visual design emphasized clarity and approachability, with a strong focus on diversity and storytelling.

Designs were handed off to the development team for implementation in WordPress. I supported the development team, leveraging my previous experience as a WordPress developer.

I like how you can easily understand all of our services and the popup forms are super easy to use.

Wilder Employee

Results

Improving Access to Mental Health Care

Simplified navigation and redesigned pages to better serve users' goals, such as requesting an appointment
Introducing an online appointment form simplified access to care and achieved a 4% conversion rate
Engagement increased by 13%

Driving Donations & Volunteers

Simplified the user flow, guiding users towards the volunteer and donation pages
Added a “What Your Donation Buys” section to increase transparency
Incorporated testimonials to build trust and credibility
Volunteer page visits increased by 341%, and donation page visits increased by 35%

Research Visibility & Engagement

Redefined the user flow to make finding research and partnering with Wilder Research easier
Solved for previous usability issues
Page visits increased by 40%
Engagement rate increased by 5%

Congratulations 👏

You finished Wilder's case study. Thanks for reading!

Next Project Nystrom & Associates Website