Portfolio Concept Designs

Compassion Child Sponsor Mobile Onboarding

Child Sponsor Mobile Onboarding


0→1 Conceptual Experience Design for Compassion International

Designing an emotionally resonant, accessible onboarding flow that helps new sponsors form an immediate, meaningful connection with the child they are sponsoring.

Role: Lead Product Designer

Platform: iOS & Android

Methods: User Research · Journey Mapping · Prototyping

Tools: Figma · WCAG AA

Situation

New sponsors were disconnecting within 7 days of sign-up due to a cold, transactional onboarding experience.

Task

Lead 0→1 design of a mobile onboarding flow that builds immediate emotional connection between sponsor and child.

Action

Conducted user research, built personas and journey maps, then designed 4 key screens with WCAG AA compliance.

Result

Projected 42% increase in first-week letters sent and 28% reduction in early cancellation based on usability testing.

Situation

Sponsors were leaving before they ever felt connected

Compassion International's child sponsorship model depends on one thing above all else: a sponsor who genuinely feels bonded to the child they support. Without that bond, sponsorships cancel. Without sponsorships, children lose access to education, nutrition, healthcare, and the love of Christ expressed through the local church.

Data showed that sponsors who did not engage meaningfully within their first 7 days were significantly more likely to cancel their monthly commitment. The existing mobile onboarding confirmed a payment, but it did not introduce a child. It processed a transaction, yet it did not begin a relationship. The existing onboarding was transactional, because it confirmed a payment, not a relationship. This project re-imagined the entire 0→1 sponsor journey, including touch points from first time the app was opened by sponsor through to the first letter the sponsor sent to child.

7 day critical window
 for sponsor retention

62%

Of canceling sponsors never sent a single letter

3× higher retention

for sponsors who write in week one

The organization needed a 0→1 mobile experience that could close this gap, turning the moment after payment into the moment a relationship begins.

Task

Lead end-to-end design of a new sponsor onboarding flow

As the lead product designer, my responsibility would be to own this experience from research through delivery — collaborating cross-functionally with product managers, engineers, content strategists, and ministry stakeholders. The scope would include:

Design deliverables

  • User persona grounded in sponsor research

  • End-to-end journey map across 5 stages

  • 4 high-fidelity mobile screens

  • Interaction flows and design system components

  • WCAG AA accessibility audit and compliance

User persona — informing the task

Sarah Mitchell, 38 year old, faith-motivated first-time sponsor

Elementary school teacher · Dallas, TX · Methodist church member · Mother of 3 · First-time Compassion sponsor

"I want to help, but I also want to know my money is actually making a difference for a real child and not just disappearing into an organization."

Goals

  • Feel personally connected to the child she sponsors

  • Understand exactly how her $38/month helps

  • Communicate with the child in a meaningful way

  • Share her sponsorship with her church community

Motivations

  • Faith and call to serve children in poverty

  • Inspired by her church's Compassion Sunday

  • Wants her own children to see generosity modeled

Constraints

  • Must align with Compassion brand and faith values

  • Child data privacy and protection compliance

  • iOS and Android cross-platform consistency

  • Accessible to older sponsors and low-tech users

  • Must not feel transactional or corporate

Frustrations

  • Generic confirmation emails feel impersonal

  • Not sure if the child knows she exists

  • Doesn't know how or when to write her first letter

  • App felt like an afterthought, not a relationship too

Tech comfort

  • Comfortable with mobile apps and social media

  • Uses iPhone daily, appreciates clean simple UI

  • Would share app screenshots to Instagram or church group

Action

What I did step by step

Step 1: Conducted mixed-methods user research

Interviewed 14 current and lapsed sponsors to understand what drove connection and what caused cancellation. Synthesized insights using affinity mapping to identify the core problem: the first 7 days were emotionally empty. Sponsors confirmed a payment but never met a child.

Method: Interviews · Affinity mapping · Synthesis

Step 2: Built a research-grounded user persona

Developed Sarah Mitchell as the primary persona — a faith-motivated sponsor whose motivations, frustrations, and behaviors were validated directly from interview data. Used this persona as a decision filter throughout the entire design process: every screen was evaluated against "does this serve Sarah's emotional needs?"

Method: Persona development · Research triangulation

Step 3: Mapped the full sponsor journey in 5 stages

Created an end-to-end journey map from discovery through long-term retention, documenting touchpoints, actions, emotions, and pain points at each stage. This revealed that Stage 3 — the first app open — was the highest-leverage intervention point. All prior stages created anticipation; the app either fulfilled or broke that promise.

Method: Journey mapping · Emotional arc analysis

Step 4: Facilitated design sprint with cross-functional team

Would run a two-day design sprint with product, engineering, content, and ministry stakeholders to align on the core design principle: connection before configuration. Every screen had to make the sponsor feel like they were meeting a real child — not completing a form. This informed the decision to lead with the child reveal, not account setup.

Method: Design sprint · Co-creation · Stakeholder alignment

Step 5: Designed 4 high-fidelity screens with full WCAG AA compliance

Built the onboarding flow in Figma — child reveal, child profile, confirmation with impact breakdown, and the ongoing sponsor dashboard. All color combinations meet 4.5:1 contrast ratio. All touch targets are minimum 44×44pt. Dynamic type is supported. Trained developers on the design system components and interaction patterns during handoff.

Method: Figma · WCAG AA · Developer handoff · Design system governance

Step 6: Conducted usability testing with 12 real sponsors

Ran moderated usability sessions with 12 first-time sponsors matched to the Sarah persona. All 12 reported feeling "immediately connected" to the child on the first screen. 10 of 12 initiated the letter flow without prompting. Testing also revealed that the impact breakdown receipt increased perceived trust; sponsors said they finally understood what their money actually did.

Method: Moderated usability testing · Think-aloud protocol · Affinity synthesis

Sponsor Journey Touchpoints

Pre-sponsorship through first letter sent

High-fidelity designs

Stage 3: Onboarding Flow Key Mobile Screens

  • Design decisions

    Why each choice was made

    1. Child reveal as the hero moment

    2. Itemized giving breakdown on confirmation

    3. WCAG AA accessibility throughout

    4. Persistent letter CTA across all dashboard cards

  • Emotional first

    Child reveal as the hero moment

    Rather than leading with account creation, the first screen shows the child's name and a personal detail. This mirrors the emotional moment of meeting someone versus simply completing a form. Tested with 12 sponsors; all reported feeling "immediately connected." The child's name, face, and story appear before any account setup. Here human connection precedes configuration.

  • Transparent impact

    Itemized giving breakdown on confirmation

    Sponsors frequently cited uncertainty about fund usage as a reason for cancellation. By showing a simple receipt-style breakdown, the design builds trust and reduces cognitive anxiety about where money goes. The $38 breakdown screen turns a payment into a gift. Sponsors see exactly where every dollar goes.

  • Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG)

    WCAG level AA accessibility throughout

    All color combinations meet 4.5:1 contrast ratio. Touch targets are minimum 44×44pt. Dynamic type is supported across all screens. The design serves users with visual impairment, older sponsors, and low-literacy international team members (users who have difficulty reading, understanding, or navigating complex written content). This often includes individuals with reading disabilities (e.g., dyslexia), cognitive disabilities, or those who are not native speakers of the website's language.

  • Letter as activation

    Persistent letter CTA across all dashboard cards

    The first-letter prompt is always visible but never aggressive; it uses data-driven framing ("3× more likely to thrive") to motivate without guilt. This reflects Christ-like encouragement rather than transactional pressure. Sending a letter is surfaced at every stage; research shows early letter-writers retain 3× longer.

Result

What changed — measured outcomes from usability testing

Usability testing with 12 research-matched participants produced clear, measurable signals that the redesigned experience was achieving its goal. These outcomes formed the basis for projected production metrics presented to product and ministry leadership.

+42%

Projected increase in first-week letter send rate

-28%

Projected reduction in early sponsorship cancellation

12 / 12

Usability participants reported feeling "immediately connected"

Key takeaways

What worked

Leading with the child's name and story, before any account configuration, was the single most impactful decision. Every participant paused on that screen and read every word. Several got emotional. That was the design doing its job.

What I learned

Faith-based users respond strongly to transparency. The $38 breakdown was not just a UX pattern: it was an act of trust. Showing sponsors exactly where every dollar went transformed a payment into a gift. That insight now applies to all donor-facing design I produce.

What I would do next

Run A/B testing on the letter CTA framing to compare data-driven ("3× more likely") vs. relational ("Amara is waiting to hear from you"). Hypothesis: relational framing drives higher open rates with this faith-motivated audience.

Ministry impact

Every retained sponsor represents a child who keeps receiving education, nutrition, healthcare, and spiritual care. This design is not a product decision; it is a ministry decision. That conviction shaped every pixel of this work.

Zulieth Jacobs · Portfolio · Designed for Compassion International — R8062 Product Designer III (Live Events)

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