PALM A GRANT

Every year, Billions of dollars in grants go unused simply because no one applied for them. Palm A Grant is a mobile app that simplifies the way users search for grants. Everyone is familiar with searching for jobs using the latest apps but what if you could use the same approach for funding your next project? 

Research Plan and Survey

After researching the grant application process online, I realized I  needed to interview users who were familiar with the grant funding process. Due to scheduling conflicts, the best way to reach a large number of users was through an online service called Typeform. Below is an infographic with the results from the survey: 

Empathy Maps & Personas

Card Sorting

User Flows

Usability testing and pain points

I made a few adjustments to the app after conducting usability testing sessions. User feedback produced common pain points where 2 actions were doing the same task. I eliminated links while maintaining the integrity and flow of the app.

Tools used for this app:

Pen and Paper (sketching, low fidelity wireframes, card sorting), Typeform (online survey), Illustrator (empathy maps, personas), Photoshop (photos), Adobe Experience Design (high fidelity wireframes, prototyping). 

Here is a working prototype of the app

In Conclusion

I initially thought the main purpose of PALM A GRANT would be connecting grant applicants to grant writers. Research, interviews and user feedback revealed something different. While grant writers can be an integral part of the application process the main priority for grant seekers is simplifying the grant search.