HatchBridge

HatchBridge Incubator supports north-Atlanta entrepreneurs by providing essential resources for business success.

Role

Research

Design System

Interaction

Time

8 Weeks (2023)

Team

2 Designers

Tools

Figma

FigJam

Notion

Webflow

Project Summary

Situation

Internship at HatchBridge Incubator completed in the Fall of 2023.

Task

Adapt frameworks from both Lean UX and Goal-Directed Design to redesign and build HatchBridge’s official website. The main goal was to introduce and inform both current and prospect startup founders about the incubator’s programming.

Action

I collaborated with another Design Fellow intern on assessing the old website, researching with startup founders, creating a design system and internal workflow, prototyping in Figma, and developing the new website in Webflow.

Result

We successfully completed the project within the internship period, and doubled website traffic.

Research

Insight into Company, Product, and Users

As design fellow interns, we immersed ourselves in HatchBridge’s weekly meetings and mentor discussions to better understand both the company and the users of their website. This foundational knowledge was essential to aligning the redesign with Hatchbridge's core principles.

Next, we performed an audit of the old website and its content, analyzing all existent user flows and highlighting issues with usability, accessibility, and SEO. We also created a journey map depicting the experience of a target user signing up for HatchBridge’s cohort program.

With the goal of connecting the company's mission and practical needs of its website users, we completed a modified version of the Lean UX canvas. This helped the design team and stakeholders declare assumptions, align business and user outcomes, and establish a framework for our project moving forward.

Testing

Validating Assumptions

To validate or nullify our assumptions and better understand the goals, needs, and motivations of real users interacting with the website, we created test experiments and MVPs using card sorting and low-fidelity prototypes. We tested hypotheses related to site navigation, call-to-action, information architecture, and storytelling with startup founders from the HatchBridge community.

Participants helped us by organizing landing page sections, grouping navigation items, and locating key information throughout the pages. We used their feedback to make adjustments to our proto-personas and iterate on our prototypes to better reflect user needs and expectations.

Iteration

Designing for Entrepreneurs

Based on system requirements and user research data, we created a comprehensive design system HatchBridge’s new website, including a typographic scale, color palette, icons, reusable components, and brand guidelines, while adhering to UX principles and accessibility guidelines. We also updated the copywriting and original imagery.

My role consisted of translating requirements into user interface components, organizing section layouts into desktop and mobile grids, and photographing staff and the office space during photoshoots. This work culminated into a high-fidelity interactive prototype in Figma that effectively showcased the new design and behavior of the website to be developed.

Development

No Code Website

Using the high-fidelity prototype as my guide, I was in charge of developing the new HatchBridge website in Webflow. With the goal of making future iterations and adjustments asier for future interns, I adopted a naming convention for classes and built reusable components using Webflow variables.

As a team, we ensured that all pages were fully responsive, providing a seamless navigation experience across all device sizes. Additionally, we optimized the content and structure to enhance SEO, ensuring the website ranks well and is easily discoverable by new users.

Takeaways

UX Design and Startups

My experience interning at Hatchbridge wasn't just about redesigning a website—it was my introduction to startup culture. This opportunity was pivotal in my journey, inspiring me and my colleague to launch our own startup: Studio leftright. I’m grateful for the incredible learning experience and proud of the product. Huge thanks you to my mentors Graham Gintz and Colin Ake for the opportunity.