Concept Designs & Speculative Work

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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 days
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 was to own this experience from research through delivery — collaborating cross-functionally with product managers, engineers, content strategists, and ministry stakeholders. The scope included:

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 — 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

Stage 1: Discovery

Stage 2: Sign-up

Stage 3 :Onboarding

Stage 4: 1st Letter

Stage 5: Ongoing

Journey map

Pre-sponsorship through first letter sent

Touchpoints

High-fidelity designs

4 key screens — Stage 3: Onboarding Flow

  • 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 — not 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.Sen ding a letter is surfaced at every stage — research shows early letter-writers retain 3× longer.

Redesigned Donor Flow

New mobile app donor flow process

[ Measurable Success ]

Donation Platform

  • Increased completed donations by 35% within 3 months

  • Boosted in returning donor engagement by 20%

  • Improved user satisfaction metric, qualitative feedback

  • Increased donation completion rates by 45% on mobile devices

  • Reduced bounce rates on mobile donation pages by 30%

  • Increased engagement with a 60% increase in views and interactions

Mobile Improvements

  • Reduced bounce rates on mobile donation pages by 30%

  • Increased donation completion rates by 45% on mobile devices

  • Increased engagement with a 32% increase in views and interactions

Reflection

[ Takeaways ]

This project reinforced the power of combining user empathy and data-driven insights to solve real-world problems. By focusing on donor needs and motivations, we were able to create a platform that not only increased donations but also strengthened relationships between donors and the mission they support. The power of mobile accessibility and user-centered design in driving donor engagement. By applying research-driven recommendations—grounded in usability testing, interviews, journey mapping and data analytics—we transformed desktop and mobile frustration into a seamless, emotionally engaging experience that strengthened donor relationships.

User Testing Feedback

  • "The process feels so much easier and I feel more connected to the families I'm supporting."

    Participant #AX123A

  • "I really like the new dashboard. I trust where my money is going, this level of transparency gives me peace of mind."

    Participant #AX124A

  • "I love seeing the stories of the families’ progress."

    Participant #AX125A

  • "Oh, I really like being able to check status updates right in the dashboard."

    Participant #AX126A

Next

Customer Experience