Pay Pal
Project Robin
My Role - Project Lead, Creative Direction, Design Direction, Design, UX, Product Design
Brief
Develop an app, backend system and a physical product for both national and local charity organisations so they can take donations via PayPal here. Donations should be possible both on the street and at organised charity events. The physical product should make use of volunteers own device.
End-to-End
User Experience
I initially crafted unbranded user journeys for the app's front end and backend refining the experience.
Brand Templates
I then designed customisable branded templates, ensuring a unique identity for the charity could be applied to the designs. This was vital for an authentic feel, crucial as the app would be used on the streets and needed to feel secure and athentic.
Background Research
PayPal, the world-leading secure payment provider, witnessed a huge rise in contactless transactions during 2015. It also noticed NGOs lagging behind the commercial sector’s innovation in 2016.
Part of this lag was attributed to device cost; part to ease of use / awareness of contactless technologies; part to concerns about claiming Gift Aid; and part to the difficulty of acquiring donor details from a swift transaction.
The cost of developing a bespoke app or solution for an individual organisation was always weighed against a contactless product’s perceived sole role as a replacement for cash at a ‘bucket collection’. PayPal asked HomeMade, an NGO sector fin-tech provider, to initially validate the user need and challenges, then craft a fitting solution which could help NGOs across the world to welcome and embrace contactless payments.
What have we found in the sector?
There have been a number of great trials of contactless payments led by PayPal, Barclays and Paytr. The sector has been lobbying BBA and Visa for changes to enable greater use of contactless.
There is a high level of interest in future use of contactless and card payments. However this type of interaction is perceived to be costly, risky and complicated due to the need for external devices / apps and PCI DSS compliance.
Current suppliers of tech often omit to support certain key contexts (mobile, community fundraising and special events) or remove / ignore donor choice. The products sometimes only support ‘chip and PIN’ OR contactless – rather than both.
They also miss an important opportunity to acquire and share donor and / or event-specific data. This data could enable a Gift Aid claim and proper donor engagement to follow a contactless transaction.
There are concerns about device cost, connectivity, access to training and support plus usability for fundraisers who are sometimes (slightly) tech-phobic volunteers.
What did we discover about context?
When we discussed their needs with our kind steering charities, it became apparent that there are three key areas where donations and payments could be enhanced with the correct application of some terrific tech:
Street or public collections (support and gradually reduce the levels of anonymous cash / change being chucked into buckets while potentially increasing average gift)
Community fundraising events (mass-participation jollies such as Race for Life, the London Marathon, the London to Brighton Ride, coffee mornings, bean-laden bathtime, sport and music events)
Special events (Gala Balls, awards and corporate dinners, auctions and raffles)
Creative UX Design Solutions
After speaking with multiple charities, it became clear that a one-size-fits-all approach wouldn’t work. Each organisation had distinct needs, user expectations, and operational contexts.
To address this, I designed multiple UX journeys that could be easily selected and tailored for different fundraising scenarios. These flexible pathways gave each charity the freedom to choose an experience that best matched their campaign goals and audience.
The final solution also allowed for seamless branding—custom charity colours, logos, and messaging could be applied via the backend UI, while physical branding elements were designed for the hardware itself, ensuring a cohesive experience both digitally and in-person.
Back End Donation System - UX & UI Design
Interactive Prototype
I created an interactive prototype using Flinto. This allowed me to thoroughly assess all app routes and interactive features within the application.
Guerilla Testing
I opted for guerrilla testing. This approach helped me identify usability issues and gather valuable insights in a shorter timeframe and then make changes.
Charity Donation Flow
Specifically, I focused on testing the charity donation flow within the PayPal app.
Insights
By involving potential users, I gained more realistic insights into how they interacted with the donation process. This helped me uncover any friction points, confusion, or areas for improvement.
User-Centric Design
The feedback received from guerilla testing directly influenced my design decisions. I could adapt the donation flow to ensure it aligned with users' preferences and expectations.
Front End White Label - UX & Design
Elevating Engagement: Your Live Presence Takes Center Stage
This ingenious feature accomplished two crucial objectives: firstly, it subconsciously linked your image with the donation amount, intensifying the emotional resonance of giving.
Secondly, it infused an element of enjoyment, transforming the process into an interactive and memorable experience.
Product Arrangements
To test the arrangement of the devices within the product I mocked up scale prototypes in photoshop. This way I could quickly test the most natural looking arrangements as well as which worked best with devices.
Natural Arrangements
Building prototypes visually allowed me to experiment with different arrangements and discover the most natural and intuitive placements for mobile devices. This greatly enhanced the user experience and made interactions feel more intuitive.
User Experience Optimisation
Trying out various arrangements helped me pinpoint the layout that delivered the optimal user experience. This involved factors such as ease of use, accessibility, and user engagement.
Device Compatibility
As I was focusing on testing with mobile devices, it was crucial to assess how the arrangement performed across various screen sizes and orientations. By creating prototypes, I could evaluate the design's compatibility with different devices.
Real World Product Maquettes
To better understand how the device would feel and function in users’ hands, I built a series of cardboard maquettes to explore weight distribution, balance, and ergonomics. These physical models played a key role in evaluating the tactile experience from both the donor’s and charity worker’s perspectives — something digital tools alone couldn’t offer.
Each new version of the maquette included refinements to form, grip, and surface detail, bringing the design closer to a production-ready product before it moved into 3D design.
Key Outcomes
Tactile Validation
Physical prototyping gave me a more intuitive grasp of weight, comfort, and usability than screen-based mockups could provide.
Ergonomic Testing
I fine-tuned shape and handling to suit different hand sizes and real-world interaction contexts.
User-Led Design
Every adjustment was rooted in the actual experience of charity staff and the public, ensuring the product would be practical and intuitive to use.
Fast Iteration
The low-fi nature of cardboard made iteration rapid and responsive, allowing me to adapt based on informal testing and direct feedback.
Pre-Production Insight
By building and handling the maquette, I could anticipate manufacturing limitations and address assembly concerns early in the process.
Holistic Evaluation
These models gave a richer understanding of the product experience — tactile, ergonomic, and emotional — far beyond what screen-based design could deliver.
