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Santa Cruz Mountains Art Center Volunteer

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Duration: November 2023 - June 2024 (27 weeks)
Tools: Figma

My Role: Sole UI/UX Designer

Team: 1 Project Lead, 6 Developers

The Santa Cruz Mountains Art Center (SCMAC) aims to support and encourage art through education, exhibitions, and cultural activities. It provides unique art experiences through hands-on learning, artwork displays, and cultural events that enrich the lives of its community residents and beyond.

The Problem

The Santa Cruz Mountains Art Center has long relied on pen-and-paper methods for handling event sign-ups. Although this method accomplishes the task, it frequently leads to miscommunication issues that hinder the smooth functioning of events and impose unnecessary strain on organizers. There is no reliable way to communicate event updates or make last-minute changes to volunteer sign-ups. The organization has recognized the need for a digital replacement but lacks the technical experience to adopt one successfully.

Project Scope

The goal of this project was to replace SCMAC’s paper-based sign-up process with a simple, user-friendly mobile app that improves event organization, volunteer management, and communication. I worked from a statement of work (SOW) agreed upon by the project lead and the client that defined the project scope, success criteria, and responsibilities. Based on the SOW, our team was responsible for creating a minimum viable product featuring two distinct user interfaces: volunteers and SCMAC administrators.

Minimum Viable Product

The minimum viable product consisting of core features for each user interface is as follows:

  • Volunteers:

    • Sign-up for events within the app

    • Cancel volunteer sign-up

    • Interface for booking volunteer slots

    • Event reminder notifications

  • SCMAC Administrators:​

    • Manage, verify, and alter entries made by volunteers

    • Receive notifications for volunteer bookings and cancellations

    • Send reminders about upcoming events

    • Create events

My Role

I served as the sole UI/UX design contractor, leading the app’s end-to-end design while working closely with the project lead and a six-developer cross-functional team.

The project wrapped in June 2024 when the project lead delivered and handed off the final MVP to the Santa Cruz Mountains Art Center.

Competitive Analysis

Because the nonprofit had no existing digital platform or design assets to reference, I researched apps with similar concepts for inspiration. I ran a competitive analysis on TeamSnap, a communication and management app for sports teams, because its event-discovery and sign-up features aligned closely with the project requirements.

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Critique: When signing up for an event on TeamSnap, users can only indicate whether they are attending and leave a brief note about their availability. However, they cannot provide detailed information about how they plan to contribute to the event, which limits the options for effective event coordination.

Low-Fidelity Prototyping

Using insights from the competitive analysis, I sketched low-fidelity mockups of the app’s main pages to visualize their layout and hierarchy. I then stitched those sketches into a product map that outlined the app’s flow, connecting each screen with arrows to show navigation paths triggered by different buttons. This process helped me uncover and address any missing interactions and pages early on.

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Iterative Design Process

After completing the product map, I was able to create the high-fidelity prototype of the app. Throughout this stage, I held regular design reviews with my project lead, incorporating feedback from both developers and the client. This iterative feedback process was essential for refining the designs and keeping the app’s development on track. 

Introducing Santa Cruz Mountains Art Center Volunteer

Santa Cruz Mountains Art Center Volunteer is a mobile app that redefines how the Santa Cruz Mountains Art Center connects with its community. By replacing outdated paper sign-ups with an intuitive, digital platform, the app streamlines volunteer registration, shift scheduling, and real-time communication. This modern approach gives volunteers and administrators direct control over sign-ups whenever and wherever they need, improving event success and community engagement.

Getting Involved

Volunteers can browse a list of upcoming events and sign up for the ones that interest them. During sign-up, they can select their preferred work shifts, select the materials they will bring, and leave availability notes.

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Creating Events

SCMAC administrators can easily create and manage events using the app's comprehensive tools. This feature simplifies the process of organizing events and ensures all details are accurately communicated to volunteers.

Staying Updated

Volunteers can stay notified of event updates, event reminders, and announcements from SCMAC administrators.

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Managing Profile

Volunteers can display their contact information for others to reach out to them. They can also keep track of the events they signed up for.

Next Steps

If I had the opportunity to continue working on Santa Cruz Mountains Art Center Volunteer, here are several ideas I would implement:

1. Web Version Development:

I would make a web version of the app to enable cross-platform functionality and improve accessibility. Certain features of the mobile app would be more convenient to use on a desktop or laptop. For example, the event creation feature offers numerous customization options that might be easier to edit and fine-tune on a larger user interface. Additionally, volunteers without smartphones can sign up for events using their laptops or desktops, which could potentially help increase the number of event attendees.

2. Implementation of Stretch Features:

Although I implemented every required feature for the minimum viable product, the statement of work included several stretch features that I did not have the opportunity to implement. I would be interested in developing these enhancements to further expand the app's capabilities. Some of these stretch features include documenting free studio time in exchange for volunteer hours and providing surveys for volunteers to record their experiences, which will support the organization’s CORE grant application.

Results

The app launched on the App Store on May 13th, 2025. After release, SCMAC will actively monitor user feedback, especially regarding usability and overall experience. By comparing attendance rates before and after rollout, the streamlined event sign-up process is expected to boost volunteer participation. Additionally, a reduction in logistical and communication errors between staff and volunteers is anticipated.

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