San Francisco is home to UCSF, a nationally ranked medical university and hospital without outstanding health services. In light of new challenges and a brighter future, they were looking for a modern digital fundraising strategy.
Role – UX research, information architecture, UX design, strategy
Team – Favorite Medium and Tomorrow Partners
– Meghan Casey, The Content Strategy Toolkit
The project began with conversations. We spoke with the core client team and stakeholders across departments, including the Foundation Board, the Department of Alumni Relations, the UCSF Benioff Children's Hospital, and others. Together, they provided a cohesive picture of UCSF as an institution, their goals, and their challenges.
We also spoke with the future audience of the new digital strategy. These 1-on-1 interviews provided insights about the needs and desires of those who chose to give / not give to the institution.
Based on these insights and an audit of existing UCSF assets, analogous experiences, we developed personas to clearly articulate the desires of the audience. The Devoted Supporter, Conscious Contributor, Major Steward, and Grateful Ambassador became a foundational framework for the content strategy and design that followed.
We sat down with the team to define short-term and long-term success for the strategy. In co-creation sessions, we evaluated the goals and personas and proposed a future structure of UCSF's digital assets and how they might interact with the new giving site.
From the beginning, it was apparent that UCSF's story and high-quality content would be the major focus throughout the digital strategy.
In order to support the creation, maintenance, and quality of the content over time, we generated a variety of editorial tools designed for the UCSF team.
In addition to the adaptable workflow seen above, we created a living suite of content creation tools via Google Drive. As digital content is a constantly shifting medium, the entire team recognized the importance of flexibility and adaptability in their own culture also.
The tools included a comprehensive Content Audit, Competitive Landscape Analysis, Editorial Calendar, Ecosystem Map, Social Content Guidelines, and an Implementation Roadmap.
Based on the research, we developed a comprehensive information architecture and structure for the new giving site. Existing pattern libraries, assets, and links were incorporated to streamline the roll-out of the site in a timely manner. We designed the wireframes atomically to build onto the pattern library and make sure that the site would be configurable and flexible for future use cases.