Project overview
Project discovery and evidence-based progress reporting for diaspora supporters.
- Platform
- Mobile app · Android-first · portrait
- Screens
- 11 screens + 1 unhappy path (12 frames)
- Features
- 3 core features
- Bottom navigation
- Discover · Watchlist · Updates · Profile
- Prototype
- 4 linked flows
Build order: Auth (screens 1–4) → nav tabs (5–8) → core flow (9–11) → unhappy path → link prototypes.
Problem & primary user
Diaspora groups support local businesses and community projects through informal introductions. Polished chat updates do not make evidence, milestones, verification limits, or progress easy to compare.
Primary user
"Ngozi, a 41-year-old nurse in Manchester who wants to support a women-led processing cooperative in Nigeria."
Geographic scope: National-level
Goals
User goal: Review project evidence and follow progress before deciding whether to support it outside the app.
Business goal: Verified project operators pay for reporting tools; diaspora members may pay for due-diligence summaries.
Success: User reviews evidence, follows a project, and receives a milestone update.
Market context
- Question
- Answer
- Who pays
- Verified project operators pay for reporting tools; diaspora members may pay for due-diligence summaries.
- Why not WhatsApp
- Organisers send polished updates in chats, but supporters cannot compare evidence, milestones, and source dates.
- Design focus
- Evidence-labelled project profile, milestone updates, and watchlist. No investment execution in the MVP.
Competitors to check:
- Family or alumni WhatsApp group (default)
- Crowdfunding page (campaign-focused)
- Informal bank transfer (weak reporting)
Validate before you design
Interview 3–5 people who match your primary user. Update this brief if interviews contradict it. Do not start hi-fi until you complete the confirmation below.
- Validated user (name, age, city)
- Problem in one sentence
- One interview quote
- Success metric for your test
- Primary colour and tone
- One competitor you checked
Interview prompts
- "Walk me through the last time this happened."
- "What did you use instead? WhatsApp, paper, or nothing?"
- "What would make you trust this on a cheap Android phone?"
- "What would stop you from using this every week?"
Features & scope
v1 · three features
- Browse project profiles with verification scope clearly labelled
- Review evidence cards and milestone updates
- Follow a project and receive progress alerts
Out of scope
- Taking investments
- Promising financial returns
- Escrow or securities trading
Screens
Design every row in wireframe, high-fidelity UI, and prototype (where the flow applies).
| # | Layer | Screen | What to show |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Auth | Splash Screen | App logo, name, and tagline for Diaspora Project Trust. |
| 2 | Auth | Onboarding (1 screen) | Explain the app in one sentence. One Get Started button. |
| 3 | Auth | Sign Up Screen | Name, phone number, state, and PIN. No email required. |
| 4 | Auth | Sign In Screen | Phone number and PIN. Forgot PIN link. |
| 5 | App shell | Discover (tab) | Project cards by sector and state with verification-scope badge. Show bottom nav with Discover active. |
| 6 | App shell | Watchlist (tab) | Followed projects with next milestone and last evidence date. Show bottom nav with Watchlist active. |
| 7 | App shell | Updates (tab) | Milestone feed with photos, documents, and what was not verified. Show bottom nav with Updates active. |
| 8 | App shell | Profile (tab) | Country, home-state interests, sectors, and alert preferences. Show bottom nav with Profile active. |
| 9 | Core flow | Project · Evidence | Verification scope, evidence cards, and review date. Show bottom nav on post-sign-in screens. |
| 10 | Core flow | Watchlist · Followed | Project saved with next milestone. Show bottom nav on post-sign-in screens. |
| 11 | Core flow | Update · Milestone | New progress evidence and what was not verified. Show bottom nav on post-sign-in screens. |
Layers: Auth = 1–4 · App shell = 5–8 · Core flow = 9–11
Prototype flows
Link these in Figma. Examiners should click through without your voice-over.
Flow 1 · App entry
Flow 2 · Core task (all three features)
Core flow screens: Project · Evidence · Watchlist · Followed · Update · Milestone
Flow 3 · Navigation
Link every nav tab so examiners can tap each bottom nav item. Tabs: Discover · Watchlist · Updates · Profile
Flow 4 · Unhappy path
Trigger the unhappy path edge case and link to that screen.
Unhappy path
Design this as its own screen state (frame 12):
Verification has expired. Show: Review out of date. Do not present the project as currently verified.
Link in Flow 4.
Design system
- Colour
- You choose. Keep it simple and readable.
- Type
- You choose. Keep body text easy to read on a phone.
- Tone
- Design for your user, not for a tech audience.
Reuse on every screen:
- Primary button (active and disabled states)
- Input field (empty, filled, and error states)
- Card or list item used across the app
- Navigation bar with correct labels and icons
- Empty state: what the screen looks like with no data
Submit & defense
Deliverables
| # | Deliverable | What good looks like |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Wireframes | Every screen in this brief, plus the unhappy path. Layout and labels clear. |
| 2 | High-fidelity UI | Same frames polished. You choose colour and type. Bottom nav on every post-sign-in screen. |
| 3 | Prototype | Four linked flows (entry, core task, navigation, unhappy path). Examiners can use the app without your voice-over. |
| 4 | AI prototype | Figma Make: at least 2 screens. Share link. |
| 5 | Case study (1 page) | Problem · User · Who pays · Competitors · Solution · One design decision |
| 6 | Presentation (6–8 slides) | Name · Problem · User · Solution · Key screens · Flow demo · One decision |
Before you present
- Every screen designed in wireframe and hi-fi
- Unhappy path screen designed and linked in the prototype
- Four prototype flows linked end to end
- At least one empty state on a list tab
- Shared components reused: button, input, card or row, bottom nav
- Case study names who pays and one competitor you checked
- You can explain one design decision in critique (why, not what)
- Completed 5 user interviews or 1 usability test
- Checked at least one competitor listed under Market context