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PAULINE GEFIN

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Improved Discovery Experience for 500K+ Users

Helping over 500K people find ideal communities by redesigning the search experience and optimizing 40 filters. Designed 70+ screens across 2 breakpoints.

Client

(FIC) Foundation for Intentional Communities

My Role

UX Design Lead
UX Strategist

Timeline

Oct 2024 - Feb 2025

Tools

Figma
FigJam

Who is FIC?

The Foundation for Intentional Community (FIC) promotes intentional communities (IC) that live cooperatively, sharing resources and values.

People

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FIC

Intentional communities

Support Networks

Community living fosters resilience through shared support and resources.

Alternative Housing

Shared living models reduce costs and increase financial stability.

Sustainable Living

Shared living enhances financial security by reducing costs and resource waste.

Who is FIC?

The Foundation for Intentional Community (FIC) supports intentional communities—groups of people living cooperatively with shared values and resources. They help people find, build, and improve communities through educational resources and guidance.

Key Value

Community living fosters resilience through shared support and resources.

Shared living models reduce costs and increase financial stability.

Shared living enhances financial security by reducing costs and resource waste.

Project Brief

FIC sought to improve accessibility and usability for diverse audiences, including low-tech literacy users. The goal was to simplify a complex site serving 4 user segments, helping users find, join, and create communities while providing community living and improvement resources.

Key Business Goals

Enhance usability to engage new users, FIC’s key revenue contributors.

Keep FIC as the leading authority on intentional communities

Strengthen brand identity with cohesive design and marketing alignment.

My Role

During this project, I served as a UX Design Lead and assumed UX Strategy responsibilities without a dedicated strategy team.

My Role Included

Co-led a team of 8 designers in discovery

Led design & strategy for Search flow

Collaborated cross-functionally

Created high-fidelity designs

Project
Process

The project followed an Agile product development framework. Over nine weeks of focused design work, I laid the foundation for a larger redesign by addressing high-impact areas first. I took a strategic approach to prioritizing efforts for maximum impact and long-term scalability.

Step 1: Empathize  & Strategy

Defining User & Business Goals

Mapping User Experiences

Prioritizing  Workflow For Scalability

Step 2:
Ideation & Execution

Optimizing User Flows & Low-Fi

Feasibility Check & Client Approval

Hi-Fi Designs

Success &
Deliverables

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Validated by Stakeholders

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Crystal Farmer
Project Manager
FIC Client

“Pauline is a natural, proactive leader with excellent UX design skills. She led her team of designers to deliver an excellent product while working with other team leads to create clarity around requirements and deliverables. As both a coworker and the client for the FIC project, I valued Pauline's drive and design insight as well as her ability to keep her team engaged and motivated”

MVP Deliverables

  • +70 high-fidelity screen across 2 breakpoints

  • Interactive Prototypes

  • Website’s Sitemap (Validated by Users)

  • User Flow - Directory

  • 4 User Reports from CX workshop

  • Style Guide

Validated by Users

Usability study results for Search & Discovery experience are coming soon...

01. Empathize & Strategy

  1. Business Goals & User Needs Alignment

  2. Understanding the User Journey

  3. Workflow Prioritization

Customer
Experience
Workshop

Goal

To navigate the complexity, I led a Customer Experience Workshop to align perspectives, synthesize research, and clarify business priorities.

By uniting stakeholders from design, research, development, sales, marketing, outreach, and an IC resident, the workshop provided a holistic view of user needs and business goals, laying the groundwork for the redesign strategy.

Outcomes

Clarified strategic goals to reconcile user and business needs.

Defined key user goals, mapped user journeys through pain points, and stories.

Defined scope to maximize redesign impact.

Mapping User Experiences

1. Personas Identification

First, we identified personas by exploring key traits that help them seek information, demographics, goals, needs, and pain points.

2. Designing for Personas

Then we focused on how the personas would interact with the website. We answered questions about what they expect to see, their ideal journey, and how to solve their pain points.

3. Customer Experience Funnel

Lastly, we mapped the customer experience funnel, outlining stages like awareness, engagement, and conversion.

User Goals

FIC users evolve through stages, each with unique needs shaping their site interactions. Newer users exploring FIC’s value, community living, and ideal communities drive revenue, so we prioritized their experience for a smoother entry into the FIC ecosystem.

User Journey

Existing research was analyzed to uncover major pain points connected to selected user goals.
These insights, alongside user stories, ensured solutions were rooted in user needs.

Map

Directory

Homepage

Workshops/Classes

Forum

 Pain Point Location

Scope

Considering the 3 key goals for FIC’s priority growth audience, prioritization was driven by insights from the CX Workshop, stakeholders, and existing research. Focus areas were selected for maximum impact and scalability, ensuring clarity and usability for all members.

With these goals in mind, the primary focus areas became:

Home Page

Builds credibility and guides first-time visitors to key FIC and IC information.

Directory Search Flow

Introduces IC information and provides tools for seamless community exploration.

02. Ideation & Execution

  1. Sitemap

  2. User Flow

  3. Optimization & Design of 40+ Filters

  4. Listing Page Design

Sitemap

To create the sitemap, each page and section was evaluated for relevance, relocation, or the need for new sections. This streamlined content removed redundancies and improved navigation to align with user needs better.

The research team tested and validated the proposed sitemap through card sorting.

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User Flow

Problem

Research showed location as the top search priority, but the original search bar only allowed one input, confusing whether to enter a keyword or location. This led to vague results or reliance on complex filters, frustrating users.

Solution

A dual search bar was introduced to streamline the search, enabling users to enter keywords and locations—aligning with top search behaviors and reducing reliance on advanced filters.

Before proceeding to wireframing, a user flow diagram was created to map each step, identify friction points, and ensure a seamless, intuitive search experience.

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Filters

Problem

Users had difficulty navigating advanced search options, which led to frustration and cognitive overload. With nearly 50 filtering options available, finding relevant communities became confusing and time-consuming.

Solution

To address this, I led a cross-functional working session. We analyzed filter usage data to assess relevance, recognizing that poor UI likely led to underutilization. Business priorities were also factored in.

Filtering system was refined by:

Removing low-value or updated options

Renaming confusing labels for clarity

Categorizing filters into intuitive groups

Made popular filters easily accessible

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Cards

Problem

The existing community cards were cluttered and lacked hierarchy, making key details hard to interpret, making it difficult for users to decide.

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Version 1

Included client-preferred details but compromised hierarchy.

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Version 2

Grouping was improved by removing non-essential details but label placement above the title was suboptimal

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Version 3

Labels were placed below title but design struggled with responsive if label had the longest combination of text.

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Solution

The final version balanced clarity and grouping, presenting essential information without overwhelming users, enabling informed decision-making.

Listing Page

Problem

Users found the listing page overwhelming due to its lack of structure, excessive information, and endless scrolling. Poor organization made scanning difficult, especially on mobile.

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Version 1

Used a two-column layout, sub-optimal for large text and small titles hurt accessibility.

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Version 2

Two-option menu limited navigation and failed to solve scrolling issues. Once sections expanded, users were unlikely to collapse them, leading to the same overwhelming experience.

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Solution

The final version used a sticky tab menu, eliminating endless scrolling and making design more conversational. Large user-generated sections were capped at 300 characters for readability.

Listing Page

Problem

Users struggled to find the contact button, often losing it while scrolling.

Solution

Key CTAs were placed in a persistent bottom section for easy access. Contact details moved to a dedicated page, decluttering the listing while keeping essential info available.

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03. Insights & Recognition

  1. Next Step

  2. Key lessons learned

  3. Feedback from colleagues

Next Steps

User Testing

User testing is underway, with insights set to inform the next design iteration. While the sitemap is validated, refining search flow designs based on user feedback ensures a truly user-centric experience.

Implementation

Designs have been validated as technically feasible, and collaboration with developers is ongoing to ensure all UI states are accounted.

Future Focus

The directory and search flow tackled key pain points, but the redesign continues. The next phase may focus on improving the resource purchase flow, which should be easier after solving complex UX challenges.

Key Takeaways

Psychological Safety

Psychological safety is the foundation of any successful project. Prioritizing it strengthened team cohesion. Allowed us to move to performing stage much faster, earned recognition from other departments, made collaboration more effective and fun.

UX Strategy

Without a dedicated product strategy team, I took on high-level decisions, working closely with clients and PMs to define goals, requirements, and deliverables. This role went beyond design, shaping the strategic direction—a challenge I truly enjoyed.

Cross-Functional Collaboration

Prioritizing collaborative working sessions and perspectives from different departments and internal clients ensured a holistic approach to design. This improved outcomes and fostered psychological safety by breaking down silos and encouraging shared ownership of the process.

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Brenda Whetstone
UX Research Lead

“Pauline is an exceptional UX Designer who brings clarity and structure to challenging problems. Her organization and process-oriented mindset ensured smooth teamwork, while her keen attention to detail led to thoughtful, well-executed designs.
From the start, she took initiative in moving the project forward, then, adapted seamlessly to research insights, and kept both client goals and user needs at the forefront.
Beyond her technical skills, Pauline embodies servant leadership—supporting others, sharing constructive feedback and empowering those around her. She’s not just a great designer; she’s a true force for positive, effective teamwork.”

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Cho Huang, PhD
UX Designer

“Pauline is an outstanding design lead, and it was truly a delight to work with her. She is diligent and committed to delivering high quality work. She supports team members by facilitating clear communication, encouraging open, productive discussions. She is  thoughtful decision-maker, who values diverse input and lead the team with clarity. Her strong design skills and problem-solving mindset enable her to craft intuitive, effective solutions for complex challenges. Beyond her expertise, her humor and optimism uplift the team, keeping everyone motivated in fast-moving Agile environment. Her dedication, generosity in sharing knowledge and ability to inspire those around her made working with here an absolute pleasure.”

Recognition

For more feedback from colleagues, check out my LinkedIn recommendations.

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Thank you!

I’d like to hear your feedback!
Feel free to drop me an email to:


pauline@paulinegefin.net

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