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QuestionEarth- Human Insight Platform
Overview
QuestionEarth is a fully responsive website where users can complete human insights testing to earn in-platform tokens to donate to nature restoration projects.
It allows:
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Completion of surveys, usability studies and interviews for 'EarthTokens'.
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Searching, donating and volunteering at all nature restoration projects posted on the site.
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Project owners to receive more visibility on their projects and businesses to get human insights data while contributing to a positive cause.
Role: UX Designer & Researcher
Tools: Figma, FigJam, Adobe CC, Pencil & Paper (and Coffee)
UX Research
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Background
Question Earth is a human insights platform with a focus on nature restoration, for completing surveys, usability studies and interviews, it rewards users with tokens they can donate to a nature restoration project of their choosing. The platform is subscription free.
Research Goals
The goal of this research was to understand user motivation and trust when contributing personal insights, validate the EarthToken reward and donation model, and evaluate the usability and clarity of the platform’s core flows. The research aimed to identify friction points, assess engagement drivers, and inform design decisions that support meaningful participation and long-term use.
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Methodologies
"Get paid to test"
User Testing
Features
Strengths
Weaknesses
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Rewards paid in dollars.
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Surveys, usability testing and interviews.
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Review rating system for testers.
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In platform results summary and analysis.
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Extensive integrations with figma etc.
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Clean layout, easily read and not overloaded, clear tutorial.
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User flows are clear.
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Higher rewards than userlytics.
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Very simple colour scheme, not particularly joyful and very similar to competitor (userlytics).
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No incentive outside money.
"One User Testing Platform, Endless User Insights"
Userlytics
Features
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Rewards paid in euros.
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Surveys, usability testing and interviews.
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Review rating system for testers.
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In platform results summary and analysis.
Strengths
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Extensive integrations with figma etc.
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Clean layout, easily read and not overloaded with information on dashboard.
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User flows are clear.
Weaknesses
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Very simple colour scheme, not particularly joyful and very similar to competitor.
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Only pays out in euros.
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Lower rewards than user testing and no tutorial.
Affinity Mapping
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Research Findings
Motivation & Values Alignment
I've donated to this sort of thing before, but you dont really get to see what your money was used for, that should be clear.
Something about earning money through a quick survey makes it more meaningful than just donating money, I don't know why.
I like the idea of feeling part of these projects by donating or even volunteering. If its done right i think it could be really rewarding.
I like the idea of being able to find the kind of nature restoration I really agree with and donating to those. I could help a project in my area and see it!
Trust, Transparency & Data
The company mission and message makes me like & trust them a lot more than other platforms I've used.
The company would have to feel ethical, if I'm doing surveys for a fake currency I need to know why and how it helps.
I'd worry about greenwashing and that its all a façade, its needs to make it clear where my data will go and what my tokens are worth.
It can feel a little weird giving these websites a lot of information, I'd want to know what happened to my data, it needs to be worth it.
Rewards, Tokens & Value
If its not real money I need to know what its worth or it would feel pretty pointless.
It shouldn't feel gamified and vague just for the sake of it, or like you are hiding something.
I feel like it would feel strange to earn money and not be able to withdraw it, there needs to be a reason why its not just money.
I'd want to clearly see how much I donated, where it was used and how the projects are doing since my donation.
Usability & Engagement
I've done surveys before where I just abandon it when its taking too long or the progress doesn't change.
It should be easy to jump into a survey wherever I am, I don't want to waste time finding a test and I want it to be short or long by choice.
I needs to be clear how I should complete the tests, sometimes I get nervous I'll do them wrong. Surveys are fine, more the rest.
I'd like optional updates, maybe even photos of how the project is going, I think that would encourage me.
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Competative Analysis
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Trust and transparency are critical.
Privacy and data use must be clear, company mission and language should build trust, not confusion.
Users need to connect with the cause wherever they are.
Users want to feel part of the projects and like their effort is having an impact they can see, impact tracking, updates and even volunteering could make users feel involved. It should be accessible by any device on the go or at home.
Rewards must have perceived value
If a platform currency is used it must have a clear value and feel tangible, the impact it has should be clear and it needs to be worth the time to earn.
Competative Analysis
Secondary Research
User Interviews
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Secondary Research
I did some secondary research to see if there was any insight I could gain about the area this platform is hoping to enter. This was very useful, the key findings are summarised below.
Studies in research participation show that people often enroll for both altruistic and financial reasons; while some are primarily driven by altruism, others respond to compensation, and many are motivated by a mix of both.
While incentives are useful for uptake, intrinsic engagement drivers (e.g., purpose, impact visibility) are critical for long-term participation.
Evidence shows that monetary motivations don’t work equally in all contexts, in some cultures, social or psychological incentives (like contributing to community or social recognition) can be as or more effective than financial ones.
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User Interviews
6 Users were identified, 3 who have donated to nature restoration in some form and 3 who have used a human insights platform to complete tests for money. All interviews were conducted remotely using google meets.
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UX Design
Business Goals
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To gain new users.
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To quickly teach users how the app works and its benefits.
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Retain diverse user base and regular testing completion.
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Get platform launched to market with MVP (minimum viable product) and update over time.
User Goals
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To contribute to nature restoration.
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To follow projects of interest and receive updates.
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To complete surveys for a reward.
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To volunteer with interesting projects.
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To be part of a community of like minded users.
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Design an intuitive and engaging onboarding experience.
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Launch a minimum viable product (MVP) quickly with essential features.
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Encourage consistent platform engagement to retain users
Project Goals
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Project Goals
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Features Roadmap
P1
Must have
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Sign up & onboarding
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All projects search
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Profile & dashboard
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Survey search
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Donate & follow system
P2
Should have
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Volunteering function
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Map view search for projects
P3
Nice to have
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Gamified Rewards (badges or achievements for donations or testing completion)
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Dark Mode
P4
Can come later
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Integration with social media to allow connection of posts and volunteering footage to projects.
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UX Focus
Mobile First
From our user interviews we determined users want to use the platform while on the go, and that they currently do short surveys while on the way to work, or a car journey. For this reason we decided to follow a mobile first principle, designing for mobile devices first and then adapting the mobile version to work on larger screen sizes.
Fully Responsive
It was decided early on that the platform should be fully responsive on any screen size, be that tablet or desktop. In order to achieve this I used Figma's autolayout feature and 3 separate breakpoints.
Mobile - Tablet - Desktop
I created a design system to ensure consistency both in layout and brand style, this combined with auto layout and tokenisation of the colour palette allowed me to quickly drag and drop elements. This is discussed in more detail under UI design.
Progressive Disclosure
As the platform presents a new concept that users will be unfamiliar with, progressive disclosure was important to introduce complex concepts gradually, allowing users to engage without being overwhelmed by technical or informational detail. For this reason we opted for minimal information on the landing screen with links to optional 'learn more' sections for those that want to dive into the detail. We used simple language with as little text and possible and generous negative space to allow for scan reading.
UI Design
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Brand Identity
I wanted the app to have a vibrant colour palette, representing the regrowth of nature and the spring/summer colours. A lot of competitors (usertesting, userlytics) have opted for very similar utilitarian designs with a corporate professional feel. This would immediately heighten the experience and present QuestionEarth as a fun, informal alternative, less about money, more about nature!
For the Logo itself I opted for a simple text logo to ensure users would have the name of the platform in the forefront of their mind throughout and to complement the simple, spacious design.
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Design System
I’ve created a colour palette with 1 primary, 2 secondary and 2 neutral colours. For typography I went with a combination of Tilt Warp and Roboto. Tilt Warp for stylised headings and Roboto for good legibility on smaller text.
With those elements added to my low fidelity wireframes, I made my way into high-fidelity wireframes.
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Fully Responsive Design
In order to create a fully responsive design I create 3 breakpoints to adjust necessary elements, such as the header navigation menu switching to a burger menu to avoid overlap. The responsive behaviour was creating in combination with auto layout using hug, fill and auto spacing. This allowed elements to wrap and fill the vertical space before distorting or overlapping. In order to ensure photos and buttons remained consistent I implemented min/max widths where necessary.
For the 3 breakpoints I used the following margins to make the most of available screen space.
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Mobile: 412px - 790px (20px width ,40px height margins)
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Tablet: 790px - 1045px (40px width ,40px height margins)
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Desktop: >1045px (80px width ,60px height margins)
To bring life to the home page where most users will first experience the platform, I implemented a hero video of a nature restoration project and some moving elements to the page to make it feel less static. Like the animation below, to mimic the typing reasons users might struggle to commit to or assist in nature restoration.
I opted for the Inter Extrabold Typography in 48ps as it was most legible at all screen sizes.
Usability Testing
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Prototype
The prototype testing was split into two groups, 3 users on mobile and 3 on desktop.
Testers were given a series of prompts covering different use cases, but for this case study we will focus on the 'individual' user (the user aiming to complete testing and earn rewards).
The prompts covered the main user flows for sign up, completing a survey and then using their reward to donate to a project.
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Findings
Overall, usability testing was successful and where it wasn't it provided very useful insight. The 'individual' user flow proved to be viable with a few areas of minor confusion.
Worked Well
General flow
Sign Up
Understanding of concept
Sign up process
Needs Improving
Users wanted to know the equivalent value in their currency of the tokens.
Icon for EarthTokens needs tool tip, user didn't know what it was.
User expected longer sign up process, need option to complete profile
Hero image transitions for projects pages not clear.
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Iterations
#1
When users entered the project page, some selected the projects from the hero carousel at the top of the page, this would transition to the project summary page with the same image at the top, some users didn't realise this had changed.
To alleviate this confusion I added:
- A slower, more obvious transition animation from the featured projects to the project summary.
- Arrows drawing the user to scroll down the project summary page after the transition.
#2
Added tool tip to earth tokens icon, giving explanation of its value, meaning and use for those who don't visit the info pages.