GIGI’S PLAYHOUSE: WEBSITE REDESIGN
Changing the World’s Perception of Down Syndrome
About: Collaborated with Gigi’s Playhouse and its members to redesign the website, fostering a welcoming environment for new members seeking community. Improved accessibility and reduced cognitive load for easy access to events and programs.
Role: User Researcher and UI Designer
Team: Sarah Hollister, Marily Scaria, and Ivania Chavarria Marcia
Timeline: 3 weeks
CONTEXT
Why Gigi’s?
“I made a promise to her that I would change the way the world looked at a person with Down Syndrome.”
Nancy Gianni experienced an overwhelming amount of joy and fear of the unknown when her daughter, Gigi, was born with Down Syndrome. Like most moms, she wanted to protect her daughter fiercely and equip her fully. She saw beyond the extra chromosome and made a promise to Gigi to help others understand that this community was so much more than a diagnosis.
Gigi’s offers completely free resources and programs to families within the Down Syndrome community. It provides not just education, but activities, routine and most importantly, love and support.
How might we take Gigi’s old website and turn it into something more family-focused and welcoming?
PROBLEM
Gigi’s Current Website
Instead of giving the feeling of comfort and security, the website felt more like a complicated puzzle that users had to solve. The site colors are too harsh, the layout doesn’t have consistency, and the menu structure is misleading. Events and programs are Gigi’s main focus yet users found their calendar and events dropdown confusing.
Inside Gigi’s Playhouse, users felt understood and accepted, unlike the outside world…
USER INTERVIEWS
“You’re supporting a cause where you feel identified with Gigi’s.”
We interviewed both members and non-members of the Playhouse and discovered that what was seen online was really different from what was felt inside Gigi’s doors.
Ironically, the website came off as too serious, which ended up discouraging some members from participating in events and volunteering.
Active members of the playhouse shared with us that this is a HUGE loss for Gigi’s since over 90% of their activities are based on its volunteers and their good will.
Taking a closer look at the problem
POST INTERVIEW WEBSITE ANALYSIS
Instead of giving the feeling of comfort and security, the website felt more like a complicated puzzle that users had to solve. So how do we take the old website and turn it into something more family-focused and welcoming?
We created a mother and put ourselves in her shoes, meet Polly
STORYBOARD
Thinking of our mother in the design
SKETCHES + LO-FI PROTOTYPING
We produced detailed sketches and lo-fi prototyping to create a more welcoming online hub for Gigis Playhouse Houston. A place where our mother could easily plug in and find relevant resources for her daughter. When thinking of Polly, it was clear that the redesign needed to focus on giving her the confidence to engage within the website rather than overwhelm her with lengthy information.
Inspired by Memphis Design Style
STYLE GUIDE
Our style guide is inspired by the Memphis Design Style, created by the Memphis Group, one of the most instantly recognizable design styles that blends art deco with pop art.
Memphis Design Style is the perfect source for inspiration as the style is known for challenging the norm, much like the Playhouse members who overcome pre-set expectations and stereotypes, every day.
Design elements were sparked by Gigi’s movement for inclusion
Our vision truly comes to life in this high-fidelity mock up
FINAL DESIGNS
Our vision honors the integrity of Gigi’s Playhouse brand while improving engagement and accessibility for moms like Polly.
Photos feature the original imagery curated from the Playhouse
Warm and welcoming copy encourages users to learn more, rather than feel overloaded by information upfront
New events page provides a special place to showcase events which will encourage more volunteers and community response
The impact of our redesign
FOLLOW UP INTERVIEWS
After our re-design we went back to Gigi’s to see what the playhouse and it’s member’s had to say. They immediately noticed the new events page. This feature now gives the Playhouse a special place to showcase their events and programs which will encouraged more volunteers and community response.
“The website is so much more welcoming! It makes me feel exactly how I feel when I’m at Gigi’s.”
IF I HAD MORE TIME
What’s next for Gigi’s?
Continuing the redesign, I would expand the new simplified structure to clean up the volunteer page to increase volunteer engagement.
The current page has a lot of reading, which was almost unanimously felt to be intimidating, both by new users and current Playhouse staff and members.
If we can minimize the text, we can achieve a user-centric experience that will allow site users to feel as welcome online as they would when stepping into Gigi’s open doors.
I learned the power of storytelling
WHAT I LEARNED
Even Walt Disney himself, arguably the greatest storyteller known has said,
“There is no greater power on this earth than storytelling.”
It is through this understanding that I chose to center the focus of my project on the truly unique story that is Gigi’s Playhouse.
In telling the story of Polly and Lily, my goal is to give the user an authentic representation of the emotional journey that brings a family from the isolation of feeling different to the beauty of finding acceptance and community.
We accept you as you are.
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