“An app that makes discovering and joining volunteer events simple, social & fun.”

UX/UI Case Study

Overview

Project: Volunteer Events Discovery App

Platform: Mobile

Role: UX/UI Designer, Product Deysigner, Brand Designer

Tools: Figma, Adobe Illustrator, Adobe Photoshop, ChatGPT (research)

Summary

A mobile app that helps people in Hungary discover nearby volunteer opportunities and allows organizers to easily create and promote events. The product focuses on accessibility, trust, and community engagement.

The problem

Volunteer opportunities in Hungary are fragmented across social media and outdated websites, therefore volunteers struggle to find relevant, trustworthy events, while organizers lack an efficient way to reach motivated participants.

❌ I found that there was no centralized, user-friendly platform supporting both discovery and event creation.

Goals & Objectives

The main goal was to create a platform that lowers the barrier to volunteering for both participants and organizers.

User goals

🔹 Quickly discover nearby volunteer events

🔹 Find causes that align with personal interests

🔹 Easily understand event details and requirements

🔹 Keep track of upcoming volunteer commitments

Product goals

🔸 Increase visibility of volunteer events in Hungary

🔸 Enable anyone to create and promote events

🔸 Encourage long-term engagement and community building

Target Audience

Primary users

🔹 People interested in volunteering (students, young professionals, socially conscious users)

🔹 Users with limited time who need relevant recommendations quickly

Secondary users

🔸 NGOs, non-profits, and local organizers

🔸 Individuals hosting grassroots or community-driven events

Research & Insights

Key findings

🔹 Volunteer opportunities are fragmented across multiple platforms

🔹 Location is the most important filter when choosing an event

🔹 Users want to support causes they personally care about

🔹 Trust and legitimacy strongly influence participation

🔹 Organizers need a simple, low-effort way to publish events

Core Features for Solution

🔸 Location- and interest based recommendations: users set their location, and the app highlights nearby events automatically. They choose causes they care about, helping personalize event recommendations.

🔸 Event creation: any user can create a volunteer event and manage its details.

🔸 Calendar view: users can see all joined events in a calendar format, helping with planning and commitment.

🔸 Favorites: users can favorite events or organizers to easily find them later.

🔸 Social features: users can add friends, message them, and invite them to events.

🔸 Direct contact with organizers: volunteers can contact organizers via phone or email for clarity and trust.

🔸 ​​​​​​​Gamification: users earn badges for achievements, encouraging long-term engagement

UI Design Approach

🔹 Color palette: friendly and vibrant tones to create an energetic, fun style; it was also important that the colors work in dark mode

🔹 Typography: clear and readable to support accessibility

🔹 Components: consistent buttons, cards, and icons for faster recognition

🔹 Hierarchy: important information is easy to scan, especially on event detail pages

Final Reflection

Designing this app felt like a form of volunteer work in itself. Through research, UX decisions, and UI design, I aimed to make helping others more accessible, visible, and inviting. I was especially motivated by the idea that thoughtful design can remove friction and hesitation, and help people take that first step toward doing good.

Working on this project reinforced my belief that design has the power to create positive social impact. Beyond improving my skills as a UX/UI designer, it reminded me why I care about this field in the first place: to build products that are useful, inclusive, and genuinely help people connect with meaningful causes.