Humanitas AI

Introduction

Dandi.io is a data focused platform (mobile and web) for community organizations to gain funding, collaboration, and also to discover and reach out to those who need help in their immediate local area. Sponsor and investors included Stanford University, Nikolaj Coster-Waldau, and others.

I was inspired by their mission and really liked the idea and team. I came onboard Humanitas AI (Dandi.io is a subsidiary) as a software engineering intern but I quickly shifted into design role. There was an urgent need to redo their current website so I took on that task.

I worked along with the co-founders, marketing, and the community team to develop many iterations and finally this version of the site.

Website Design

The website's design is focused on friendliness and accessibility. We kept in mind that there will be users who might not be as technologically literate and therefore don't understand as many UX cues as we might. So, I designed a site that is extremely easy to navigate and clearly communicates what is intended.

The challenging aspect in this design is that the website must cater to two different audiences—those who wanted to give help and those who needed to get it. It was difficult at first to come up with a cohesive design that gave equal importance to both types of users. In the end, we opted for a bisected home page so that either one can clearly understand which button to click. From there on, we direct the user to their respective pages. This gave the best and most efficient and coherent user flow.

Screengrab of Dandi.io page to give help

I also did a rebrand of Dandi.io to a warmer and more approachable feel. However, I did keep Fredoka One as the heading typeface. The first designer chose it because its fun and friendly and I really enjoy it as well.
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The body is Roboto, a classic and reliable sans-serif.

Dandi.io rebrand showing font Roboto, Fredoka One, and the color palette

The color palette supports the representative Dandi Yellow. I added some warmer tones for shadows and highlights but also another pop of color in a bright blue. Black felt too dark as the body text color so I opted for a dark blue instead. This palette balanced the ultra-bright dandi yellow without overshadowing it.

Learnings

I really enjoyed working with such a tight knit team and communicating with everybody. This was my first time designing for a startup so I had to get used to how fast things changed, moved, and progressed. Often times I would send a mockup and the very next day the concept would have changed completely. However, I really enjoyed that aspect and contributing to not only the design but the product and ideation of Dandi as well. I loved being able to actually see my work published and being used.

A compilation of 4 Dandi.io site screengrabs to showcase the design

*Humanitas AI has since moved on from Dandi.io so the site is no longer live but please check out what they're doing here!