los angeles ymca tangible life skills program

engaging and empowering young adults

The YMCA is a cause-driven organization that is dedicated to youth development, healthy living and social responsibility.

They are adding a new program for young adults to teach them Tangible Life Skills, such as, how to build your credit score, how to get health insurance, and personal and professional development to help young adults be successful in setting up their futures.

the process

  • It all begins with research. Asking the right questions to the right people. Looking in right places for the right answers.

  • Taking the discovery, tearing it apart and putting it together to find common trends.

  • Taking the common threads and sewing together possible solutions.

  • Taking the ideas to paper and then pixels to create user-centered designs.

“i need to lock in and learn some real life skills”

The Challenge

empowering young adults

The goal of this project was to create a virtual portal that enables young adults around Los Angeles to engage in the Tangible Life Skills Program. Creating an accessible and friendly way to engage and empower young adults.

client

Spec project for Los Angeles YMCA

my role

UX/UI designer

timeline

6 weeks

Discovery

“I value being prepared for change.”

User interviews yielded valuable insights as to what young adults deemed life skills and how they sought out learning them.

  • complex concepts are confusing

    Users need a better understanding of things like loans, credit scores, and budgeting.

  • there are gaps to be filled in

    Parents may have tried to explain things, but there are missing components.

  • what should my next step be?

    Reaching a goal is great, but I get lost when thinking about what comes next.

Persona

jessica

Bio

Jessica is a 26 year old who likes to travel and go to concerts, but she is always getting overdraft alerts from her bank. She desires to become more financially disciplined and independent. She has basic money skills like opening a checking account and applying for credit cards, but doesn’t understand how to manage them properly. She looks forward to becoming the confident and independent woman that financial stability will bring.

Goals

-Would like to learn how to budget for current expenses and plan for the future

-To have financial security

-To learn skills ASAP so I am not left behind and am prepared for change

-Life Skills are important for my future and confidence

pain points

-Needs help understanding loans and how to pay them back

-Would like help figuring out next steps after reaching certain goals

-Wants to learn life skills, but doesn’t want to be judged for asking questions

-Needs an expert to help her understand gaps in her financial knowledge

defining the problem

Young adults often feel overwhelmed by money, budgeting, saving, and credit. Planning for the future can seem complicated, and many are afraid to ask questions for fear of judgement do to gaps in their financial knowledge.

Even when they set goals they can be confused about what to do next which can make it hard to stay disciplined.

How Might We?

  • Simplify the teaching of complex concepts such as loans, finances, etc.?

  • Provide a judgement free space for young adults to learn and grow?

  • Help young adults figure out next steps after reaching goals?

solution statement

The YMCA Tangible Life Skills Portal will provide a judgement-free space that will help break down complex concepts into simple, actionable steps, guiding users in budgeting, saving, and planning for the futures.

Through personalized tools, progress tracking, and supportive resources, it will help young adults gain confidence, stay disciplined, and turn financial goals into achievable habits.

ideation

stepping away from the digital and going analog is how i begin playing with ideas.

hand sketches

Programs

Class Details

Registration

Confirmation

Form

Calendar

defining the flow

The Scenario:

Jessica is tired of receiving constant overdraft notices from her bank. She needs a way to understand how to do her monthly budgeting. Jessica currently takes yoga classes at the YMCA. She has heard that they offer enrichment classes as well. She opens the app to see what they have to offer and finds a budgeting for beginners class that matches what she is looking for.

Moving into pixels

The agile design process

Low-Fidelity Prototype created in Figma in order to test the solution by conducting usability tests to quickly gain user insights and refine the design.

Key usability test takeaways

  • Limit the amount of text and space out necessary text; our user prefers less reading.

  • Our user likes strong fun visuals that make the experience delightful.

  • Prioritize buttons. Guide the user to move forward in the app.

limiting the amount of text and spacing it out

We gave the text breathing room by breaking up the text blocks. In addition, we clarified the titles and added pertinent class description and details sections.

use of strong visuals

We added icons to help clarify details and make the experience in the app more enjoyable and understandable .

Clearly prioritized buttons

Clear CTA buttons to guide the user forward.

final product

Next

Seven Hills Running Shop