Project Overview

The Hack4Impact Application Portal Redesign project focuses on enhancing the applicant experience by creating a more intuitive, efficient, and scalable application process. The goal is to streamline both the applicant and reviewer interfaces, ensuring a seamless workflow for all users.

We are following an agile methodology, conducting weekly sprint calls on Mondays to present findings, share design updates, and gather feedback. Currently, we are in Sprint 3, finalizing the applicant-side portal before moving to the reviewer interface.

Collaborator: Sohayainder Kaur

Project Timeline: 3 Months

Tools: Figma | Notion

Responsibilities: User research | UI/UX design | Agile sprint reviews | Prototyping | Component library creation | Usability testing | Responsive design | Stakeholder collaboration | Developer handoff

Team : Project Managers | Tech Leads | Engineers | UI/UX Designers | Development Reviewer from Microsoft

User Flow & Experience Strategy

Before beginning the design phase, we mapped out the user flow to understand the various pathways applicants and reviewers take within the system.

Applicant User Flow

• First-time applicants land directly on the application form after registering.
• Returning applicants are directed to the status page to check their application progress.
• If a user tries to submit another application within the same cycle, they are shown an error message, ensuring only one active application per cycle.

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This approach prevents navigation confusion, reduces redundancy, and keeps the process structured and intuitive.

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Design Modifications & Insights

1. Removal of the Status Bar from the Application Page