Sarah Andersen
sarahandersen.pro@gmail.com
In 2020, I created The Love Visa, a collaborative, crowdsourced database to help couples separated by coronavirus-related travel bans reunite by helping them navigate through "success stories" that match their individual situation.
Background
The pandemic has geographically separated countless couples around the globe. I spent four weeks creating a website to help them reunite by using human-centered design tools and engaging with separated couples to identify their needs. I created a product development roadmap, which I used to prototype, design and code the site. Using audience-centric strategies, I then collected and published stories of couples who had successfully connected with their partner across the world. Throughout this project, I reinforced my design skills, strengthened my coding abilities and broadened my understanding of how to best serve a community through active listening and user testing.
Problem identification
In an effort to slow the spread of the coronavirus, most countries have closed their borders and suspend travel. While it remains difficult to assess exactly how many couples have been affected by travel bans, I joined two Facebook groups catering to couples separated by the pandemic, each with an enormous following — one group had 41,000 members, the other had 16,000 members.
I spent days listening and talking to members of these online communities in order to best identify their needs. I quickly understood that most of the members of these Facebook groups were couples seeking stories of other separated couples who had managed to reunite. Finding these "success stories" was valuable to them, not only because travel restrictions were confusing and unclear but also because many of the couples in the groups had reunited by navigating through loopholes in the system. Therefore, success stories had the potential to inspire and help other couples to reconnect with their significant others. While these groups serve a meaningful purpose for many, I realized from speaking to various members that the variety and the enormous amount of posts in the groups was making success stories difficult to find.
"As someone in a relationship affected by travel bans, and given the absence of clear guidance from authorities, I want to learn from couples in a similar situation than mine so that I can find the best way to reunite with my partner"
Throughout this process of active listening, I also identified several constraints that were specific to the community. For example, language appeared to be an important component. Stories posted by members had to be benevolent and warm, but also straightforward and accessible to people worldwide, especially since a majority of members do not speak English as a first language.
Solution
The Love Visa is a collaborative website that collects and uplifts couples' success stories by offering a clear and personalized user interference experience. Through my conversations with potential users, I identified a need for two specific features: a browser to search specific stories and a submission form that allows every user to populate the database. To make sure that every story would address couples' needs, I designed the submission form according to:
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suggestions from potential users I interviewed;
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analytics about most searched keywords on Google;
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frequently asked questions within the Facebook groups.
Wireframes
I shared my wireframes with three members of the community and recorded their reactions and the way they utilize each feature. I used these observations to inform my final product. For instance, I realized that the "Submit" button was not serving the purpose I wanted it to serve and was misleading users.
Coding components
I designed the website on Wix, a platform that offers plenty of ready-made tools; but I still wanted to code some specific features that would:
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facilitate navigation through success stories by creating a simple but efficient browser;
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allow for crowdsourcing by linking a form to an internal database;
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provide the right feedback to users submitting their story (when processing, when errors occurred, when forms were submitted, etc.).
Usability testing
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5 members who managed to reunite with their partner
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5 members who were researching how to reunite with their partner
Once I had a minimum viable product, I reached out to members of the Facebook groups who had managed to reunite with their partners. I asked them to try the tool and send me their feedback. Then, I asked them to sumbit their own stories to populate the website. Once I had published these success stories, I reached out to members who were researching how to reunite with their partner and asked them for feedback about their experience using the browser.
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Website launch
Call to Action
When the website was ready to launch and had been populated with five success stories to pave the way for more contributions, I released call to actions. After having promoted the project on two worldwide Facebook groups, I started targeting Facebook groups with a smaller reach but a more specific geographic zone.
Crowd-sourcing
Success stories started flowing into the database. Once I approved a story, it would get published directly onto the site. I would then send each contributor a thank you message through a dedicated email server.
Visibility
The Love Visa was featured as a resource on the website of the worldwide movement Love Is Not Tourism. It also had a cameo on Metro.co.uk and on Today - NBC.
Impact
In less than three months, The Love Visa has attracted thousands of visitors from around the world and 130 couples shared their story. As of today, I continue to receive emails of couples seeking help or connection. Most importantly, The Love Visa has connected dozens of couples and helped them reunite — the biggest metric of success.
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130 stories collected
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7,530 unique visitors
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106 countries
