NewLeaf App Design

A comprehensive app design that aims to solve the social problem of individuals reintegrating into society after incarceration

Client

Student Project

Date

March 2023

Role

Lead Designer

Website

N/A

Project Description

This project aimed to create a user-friendly website for a local business, enhancing their online presence and customer engagement. The primary objective was to design an intuitive interface that reflects the brand's identity while ensuring seamless navigation.

Problem Statement

Each year, 600,000+ people are released from federal and state prisons. Formerly incarcerated individuals face significant barriers upon re-entering society: they are not allowed to vote, have little access to education, and face obstacles in terms of job opportunities. They are ineligible for public benefits, public housing, and student loans (The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights). Furthermore, one in three people in the U.S. have a criminal record that appears on a routine background check; and a 2009 study found that 28% of applicants without a record got a job callback, compared to only 15% of those with a record. Most individuals released from prison want legal, stable employment opportunities upon release; and some criminal justice research suggests that acquiring and maintaining a legitimate job can reduce former prisoners’ chances of reoffending (Christy Visher, et al 2008). Many employers are hesitant to hire ex-offenders out of concern that these individuals might commit crimes while working for them or otherwise damage their company's reputation. (Ross et al., 2010) While in prison, some people attempt to gain some sort of education by enrolling in vocational or academic courses offered by technical schools, community colleges or universities; others wait until they are released to enroll in educational programs. While employment isn’t the only barrier recently incarcerated individuals face, it is one that can have long-lasting impacts and effects that act as a burden upon re-entry to society. Without legitimate opportunities to earn an income and provide for themselves, the chances of these individuals being able to continue their lives upon release remain low. Therefore, employment upon release might be considered one of the more important barriers that these individuals face. Previously incarcerated individuals need a way to more easily reintegrate themselves into society through employment so that they can continue living their lives while facing minimal barriers and obstacles.

Exploring My Design Process: From Concept to Creation

Role: Team Leader

As team leader, I took initiative in keeping team members up to date on bi-weekly modules and assignments through regular meetings. The biggest challenge with this project was the online aspect and the difficulties that arose with the lack of in-person communication and collaborative work.

Acting as team leader, I was also held responsible for ensuring our team’s app design was cohesive and usable. This involved utilizing a style guide and the Apple Human Interface Guidelines, as well as a keen eye to make sure that all components created by different team members were identical, cohesive, and comfortable to view when navigating between different screens and features.

Individual Feature: Onboarding

I chose to design the onboarding feature of the app. These screens are often the first experience that users encounter when using an app for the first time, and I was intrigued by creating an effective (as well as visually appealing) experience for onboarding and beginning their journey on the NewLeaf app. Specific screens included in this feature include the splash screen, social login options, account and profile creation, and a walkthrough/tutorial of the app upon completion of creating an account.

Wireframes

Initial Designs

Prototypes

High-Fidelity

Testing

User Feedback

Launch

Final Product

Design Research

User Flow Chart

The flow chart illustrates the user journey from the initial splash screen to the end of the onboarding process. (The app’s need for tutorial pop-up screens were recognized and added after the flow chart was created).

Competitive Analysis

I chose to analyze Indeed, a popular job search platform because the platform is based off of an important feature that we wanted to include in our app. Analyzing this app provided some good direction as to how we should structure our job search feature. While researching Indeed, a key aspect that we wanted to include was job search tool that was tailored to a more specific audience of previously incarcerated individuals. Indeed also lacks a navigation bar along the bottom edge of the screen, making it a bit difficult to navigate different features of the app.