Redesigned Haven to simplify and humanize refugee-host connections.
Haven
Responsive Web Re-design
3 months
Freelance UX Designer
Background
Haven is a non profit platform that matches local Canadians to refugees to help them resettle in Canada.
As an active volunteer at Haven, helping refugees with English tutoring, career coaching, and resettling into their new lives in Canada, I personally felt there were some deficiencies with the Haven platform.
What did I do? I redesigned their platform by, collaborating with the product and engineering lead, conducting extensive research with volunteers and refugees.
What was the result of this project? Delivered a high-fidelity prototype praised for its user-centric approach, functionality, and business alignment.
This project led them to consult me on additional problems to tackle business issues.
Challenges I noticed first hand as a Haven volunteer
As a user of Haven, I noticed these gaps were directly affecting the experience for both volunteers and refugees.
Lack of Structured Tools Led to Inefficiency and Mismatched Connections
Without sorting, filtering, or detailed profiles, volunteers struggled to assess compatibility, resulting in confusion and poor-fit matches.Limited Communication Support Hindered Relationship Building
Language barriers, absence of scheduling tools, and long wait times made it difficult to initiate and maintain meaningful interactions.Lack of Volunteer Support Systems Affected Engagement and Impact
Missing features like lesson planning and progress tracking made it hard for volunteers to stay organized, reducing effectiveness and retention
The problem I wanted to address:
Without the right tools and support, volunteers struggled to help effectively—causing delays and mismatches in refugee support, and ultimately weakening Haven’s impact.
01 - Research
Secondary research to better understand the problem
Comparative analysis
To examine the landscape of refugee resettlement support, I conducted secondary research on existing organizations and programs. I closely examined platforms like the O-Canada app and University of British Columbia's international exchange programs, which revealed a common set of support areas.
What other refugee support programs do:
Language acquisition
Cultural integration
Employment services
Housing support
Financial literacy & budgeting
Key insights from other refugee support programs:
Focus on educational or directive content
Lack hands-on personalized support
Bureaucratic eligibility requirements (eg. proof of permanent residency, employment etc.)
This research highlights Haven’s competitive advantage:
Haven takes a human-centered, action-oriented approach — something that should be further emphasized and integrated throughout the user experience.
This research highlights Haven’s competitive advantage:
Haven's ability to provide timely, hands-on assistance without the usual red tape.
Human-centered, action-oriented approach — something that should be further emphasized and integrated throughout the user experience.
Pre-Kickoff research
Given Haven’s wide range of services, I focused my case study on enhancing support for English tutoring and resume-building—two areas that significantly impact a refugee’s resettlement journey. I interviewed three professionals with expertise in these areas to understand user needs and pain points.
A recurring theme during our conversations:
Fulfillment these professionals felt in helping individuals grow and progress over time—a valuable emotional driver I aimed to reflect in my design solutions.
Cultural barriers that volunteers often had to overcome in helping their students and mentees - emphasizing the need for a product experience rooted in universal clarity and simplicity.
Aligning project and business goals
Kick off meeting with Haven
To align my project with business goals, I facilitated a kickoff meeting with the product team where I presented my research to date, shared my project plan and timeline, and gained valuable insight into their priorities.
I learned that the organization’s core objective is to increase the number of successful matches between Canadians and refugees, with language support identified as the most critical service area. Following this, the director connected me with 10 active volunteers and 5 refugee users from Haven, enabling me to move forward with targeted user research.
What the business wants
Increase the number of Canadian-Refugee matches
Improve the English language program
With the time constraints, this engagement will focus on optimizing the volunteer flow rather than the refugee flow
Empathizing with users of Haven
As I interviewed volunteers and refugees to understand their struggles with the Haven platform, I found out that:
Many had challenges with the communication channel
Volunteers feel there’s a lack of support once the match was made
I realized that user goals are different from business goals
Challenges with interviewing refugees
Many of the refugees I spoke with had experienced significant trauma and hardship, both before and after arriving in Canada. Adjusting to a new country—while navigating unfamiliar systems, language barriers, and caring for their families—remains a daily challenge.
Recognizing the sensitivity of their experiences, I prioritized building trust and rapport during our conversations. Rather than jumping directly into questions about Haven, I took the time to connect and create a safe space for them to share their stories on their own terms.
02 - Research Synthesis
Affinity Mapping: what users said during interviews
I interviewed a range of users—including non-Haven volunteers like English tutors and resume coaches, Haven volunteers, and refugees. I captured key insights on individual cards, using color-coding to represent each participant, allowing me to visually identify recurring patterns and themes.
Pain points highlighted from Affinity Mapping
Lack of info to filter search to find a compatible match
Language barrier, hard to get conversation going
Inactivity and long wait times from refugees
Lack of booking tool, meetings often forgotten or timezones mixed up.
Hard to track who I’m helping and the progress of English lessons
Personas
Based on information gathered from user interviews, I created two personas that best represent user goals, motivations, needs, and pain points.
Main user pain points that I aim to solve
I prioritized these key pain points because addressing them would have a direct, positive impact on both user satisfaction and Haven’s core goals of engagement and successful matching."
Lack of a booking tool was leading to missed meetings and scheduling confusion.
Low engagement and long response times created frustration and uncertainty for users.
Difficulty finding the right match hindered meaningful volunteer-refugee connections.
Lack of structure in lessons left volunteers feeling unprepared and unsure how to support effectively.
Aligning user needs with business goals
Re-tweaking the problem statement
My research revealed a gap between user pain points and business goals. I developed separate problem statements for each, then identified design opportunities that addressed both—ensuring the final solution delivered user value while advancing Haven’s mission.
User problem statement:
How might we streamline operations so that the most urgent refugees get help in the most effective way possible?
Business problem statement:
How might we increase the number of Canadian and refugee matches?
Aligning user needs with business goals:
How might we streamline operations so that we can increase the number of impact matches?
Mapping the End-to-End Experience
To ensure the solution addressed both user and business needs, I created a detailed customer journey map that captured each step of the user experience:
Logging in
Searching for a refugee
Making a match
Offering support
At each stage, I identified key pain points and uncovered opportunities to improve the process, guiding design decisions that would reduce friction and enhance engagement
Prioritizing Through Collaboration
After presenting the journey map to the product team, we collectively recognized numerous opportunities for improvement across the user experience.
However, resource constraints meant we couldn’t address everything at once.
What came of the journey map:
Visualizing the journey allowed the team to clearly identify and prioritize high-impact areas.
We aligned on focusing efforts around the matching, communication, and English program process—specifically refining the browse refugee page, dashboard, booking functionality, and chat interface.
We prioritized these stages of the journey map because improving them directly supports the core objective of increasing Canadian-refugee matches, while also addressing key pain points experienced by volunteers.
Features Road Map
Guided by the opportunities identified in the journey map, I developed a prioritized features list focused on increasing Canadian-refugee matches. I used this list to determine the most impactful elements for Version 1 and translated them into wireframes, which I then presented to the product team for feedback and alignment.
Main changes to current platform
Combine the messaging, refugee profile, and booking features into a single unified page to streamline the matching process
Add booking and scheduling tool
Increase user profile transparency
Streamline browse experience
Conversation suggestions
Implement lesson tracking tools
03 - Ideate
Organizing features' content in a sitemap
Haven Site Map
05 - Design
Designing the Browsing, Booking, Lesson Activity flow
05 - Testing
Usability Testing
Objectives
Test new user flows: browsing, profile viewing, booking, messaging, and lesson planning
Identify usability issues across pages
Align design with operational goals
Make data-backed decisions for next-round improvements
Method
Participants: Haven volunteers (current users of the platform)
Format: Remote, moderated usability sessions
Tasks Tested:
Browse and filter refugee profiles
View individual profile cards
Book a meeting
Message refugees via the inbox
Add/update lesson notes
Tools: Figma prototype, Google Meet
Usability Test Key Insights & Findings
What Worked Well
All tasks were completed successfully
The new UI was described as intuitive and easier to navigate
AI support features felt helpful and not overwhelming
Direct alignment with Haven’s business goal: more impactful matches
Stakeholder Feedback
Direct feedback from the Founder and Product Manager/Engineer provided deeper insights into:
Design implications for engineering complexity (e.g., search filter logic, SMS costs)
Importance of color neutrality (purple/pink may not clearly differentiate roles)
Need for "baseball card" style dashboards to showcase key metrics at a glance
Emphasis on dynamic banners and profile-depth consistency across pages
Next Steps
Implement top-priority UI adjustments
Continue testing refined interactions
Align with the Haven team as they onboard a new engineer to ensure smooth handoff and integration
Impact of usability testing
This round of usability testing demonstrated how thoughtful design not only improves user experience but also streamlines development and supports business operations. My design decisions were informed by real users and internal stakeholders—ensuring that the final solution is both human-centered and technically feasible.
Priority Revisions
Browse page
Allow auto browse by removing the close and search button; enable tag-based auto-search
Booking function
Add confirmation popup and disable "send" button until complete
Dashboard
Show "gold card" info: who you're helping, sessions, profile link, needs.
Profile Cards
Add personal details (e.g. hobbies, responsiveness score)
UI Feedback
Clarify icons, lighten active states, label buttons, using simplified and concise terms.
Notes Input
Replace grayed-out fields with clear entry spaces.
06 - Finalize
From Testing to Transformation
Evolving to Higher Fidelity
With validation from usability testing, I refined key interactions:
Reimagined profile cards to feel more personal and informative
Streamlined filtering in the browse experience
Simplified messaging flow
Clarified the lessons tracking page to reduce confusion
Once the structure was solid, I brought it to life visually. Staying true to Haven’s design system, I used salmon pink (for refugees) and lavender (for Canadian volunteers) to subtly reinforce roles and identities throughout the experience.
Conclusion and Key Takeaways
This project was a huge step in my growth as a UX designer. I gained valuable experience collaborating with a product team and learned how to balance user needs with engineering constraints and business goals.
One of the most rewarding moments was being asked to consult on another challenge outside the original scope—low conversions for Haven’s English program. It showed that the team valued my work and trusted my approach. By mapping the customer journey, I helped identify smaller friction points contributing to the bigger issue.
A key challenge was the pace—waiting on user interviews and team feedback slowed things down, but it taught me patience and flexibility. I also discovered that user needs and business priorities don’t always align. Initially, I focused on improving the lesson experience, but shifted once I realized the core goal was to increase successful matches.
To stay grounded, I tested with real users, kept an ongoing roadmap, and regularly aligned with the product team.
Biggest takeaway? Don’t rush research. Strong insights early on lead to smarter, more effective design decisions.