Problem

Natural disasters are becoming more frequent and severe, displacing millions, destroying infrastructure, and overwhelming emergency response systems. Affected individuals often struggle with accessing critical resources, communication, and recovery assistance in the aftermath. The lack of a centralized, efficient solution leaves many vulnerable, prolonging their suffering and delaying aid.
Floods in Poland
2024
Wildfire in U.S
2024
Floods in Spain
2024
Earthquake in Turkey-Syria
2023
Australian Bushfires
2020-2021
Hurricane Ian in US
2022
Floods in Pakistan
2023
Floods in China
2020

Floods in Poland issues

Lack of Coordination and Centralised Management
During the 2024 flood, donations often included an excess of clothing, while essential items like hygiene supplies and medicine were in short supply.
Source: PAH, flood reports, humanitarian organizations.
Excess of One Type of Goods
In the early days of the 2024 flood, the most critical needs were cleaning supplies and drinking water. However, many donors sent non-perishable food, which did not always match the actual requirements.
Unsuitable Products
During the 2024 flood, many people received food that required cooking or refrigeration—impossible due to damaged infrastructure.
Changing Needs Over Time
As floodwaters receded in the 2024 disaster, survivors needed building materials, but instead, they continued receiving basic necessities that had already been secured.

Early Idea Solution

A service that allows people affected by natural disasters to receive customised support for their needs in real time.

Personal Goals

Double Diamond

Double Diamond graphic

Discover

Desk Research
Competitive Analysis

Define

User Persona
Problem Statement
How Might We
Design Specification
Value Proposition Canvas
Story Board

Develop

Wireframe
Mobile Sitemap
Tests
First improvements
Style Guide

Deliver

Final Prototype
Tests A/B
Feedback

Competitive Analysis | (ai) Chatgpt
Chatgpt logo
Competitive analysis graphic
App Available
Features
Customise Support
International Availability
Interface / UX
Feature to donate goods
Story Board | (ai) Midjourney
MidJourney graphic
Story Board - family standing next to flooded house

Family affected by flood

Story Board - family is checking their mobile phones regarding getting help

Family try to find help using mobiles

Mobile phone with Support App visible on the screen

They use the Support App

Family is getting support

Support arrives near by location

Family is moving received goods to their home

Family receive support (goods)

Family members arrived to a shelter

Unwell family members go to a Shelter

Family member talks to a doctor

They receive medical support

Family is looking forward to a positive future in a sunny day

They prepare for the Future

How Might We?

How might we provide a service, which can be used by a wide range of population?

How might we coordinate and manage support for affected by a flood / natural disaster? So they do not get unnecessary items and, also needed items are provided to correct places?

How might we ensure that relief efforts evolve to meet the changing needs of disaster victims over time?

How might we help people affected by a disaster, e.g. flood to get support, which is really needed?

How might we support people affected by disaster to improve their mental health?

How might we improve or replace the lack of support from the government?

How might we improve claiming system so it is easier to manage by affected people and administration to speed up claims?

Design Specification  must / should / could

Must:

- be available for elderlies
- be able to use with poor network / low access to the internet
- has an option with medical support
- be an app
- be simple to be able to used by low tech users

Should:

- has a feature, which can tailor needed support for affected  people by natural diseases
- provide feature for shelter support

Could:

- has an option, which improve insurance claims
- has an chat option for communities/ neighbourhoods

Value Proposition Canvas

User Persona | (ai) Xtensio
Xtensio logo
(ai) Xtensio

Robert

Person image

“Think positive, tomorrow will be a good day.”

Age: 57
Work: Engineer
Family: Married, 2 kids
Location: Nysa, Poland

Bio

Robert’s house was partially flooded, with water entering the ground floor. Though he stayed in his home, significant damage occurred to personal belongings, furniture, and household items. His garden was destroyed.

Life

What is important?
Family

What do you believe in?
I believe in justice and that we will not be left alone with this problem

What are your dreams?
My dream is to rebuild the house so that it will be in the same condition as before the flood

Goals

  • Be able to support and protect his family
  • Provide food and hygiene to his family
  • Receive the insurance as soon as possible

Frustrations

  • Lack of communication
  • Issues with receiving needed support
  • Received too many shoes but not enough blankets
User Persona | (ai) Xtensio
Xtensio logo

Ana

Persona image

“Rising waters may challenge us, but they also inspire us to build smarter, stronger, and more resilient communities”

Age: 66
Work: Housewife
Family: Widow, cat
Location: Prudnik, Poland

Bio

The 2024 flood devastated her home, destroying many belongings and making it unsafe to live in. Maria, who suffers from arthritis and high blood pressure was evacuated to a shelter, struggling with the emotional and financial toll of losing her home. With a fixed pension, she faces challenges in rebuilding her life, but remains hopeful for support from her community and family.

Life

What is important?
Health

What do you believe in?
To come back to home

What are your dreams?
I believe that as the community and the nation we can survive this hard time

Goals

  • Maintain her health
  • Return to her home
  • Rebuild financially

Frustrations

  • Her high blood pressure make the physical and emotional strain of the flood even harder
  • Not proficient with complex mobile apps

Ideas for a Solution

Radio News
Put a white item outside the window if you need basic necessities—water, food.
Put out a colourful plastic bag if you need something more advanced, like medicine.

Solution example - radio

App IdeaService connecting affected by natural disaster with supporters. Tool to make customise fundraisers.

Solution example - Support App

AI Agent
Correspond with an AI agent via SMS, making support accessible for users who are not tech-savvy.

Wireframes | (ai) Uizard
Uizard logo
Wireframes
Wireframes
Wireframes
Wireframes
Wireframes
Wireframes
Wireframes

First Usability Tests

2 Users
Age: 24-59

Tasks:

1.  Register to the app and order Goods- UHT milk (x4) and Protein bars (x10).

2. Support Johnattan who is affected by the flood in Poland. Donate them blankets (4), sleeping bags (4)and beanie (1). Choose Fedex for a delivery. Then go back to home page.

3. Tell me what you liked the most and the least.

4. Tell me what, in your opinion, could be changed

Outcome:

1. Order section- at the end of an order, there should be confirming current address screen, as people affected by natural diseases could often change a place of living.

2. In the support section- no service and delivery fee are displayed.

3. Good structure of Information Architecture. Easy to navigate. Margins sizes are too small.

4. Bottom Navigation Bar does not indicate on which screen we currently are.

Before Test:

1.

First Usability Tests

2.

First Usability Tests

After Test:

1.

After First Usability Test 1

2.

After First Usability Test 2

Style Guide | (ai) Colormind

Colormind logo

Typography

Inter
Text Colour
Header 26 px
Body Small 12 px
Body Medium 18 px
Body Large 16 px

Components

Figma component

Colour

Style Guide - colours
Style Guide
(ai) Colormind

Colour

Brand Colour
Hoover Colour
Text Colour
Text Secondary
Text On Colour
Background Primary
Background Secondary
Border Primary

Typography

Inter
Text Colour
Header 26 px
Body Small 12 px
Body Medium 18 px
Body Large 16 px

Components

Final Design | (ai) Uizard

Uizard logo
High Fidelity Wireframes Wireframewireframe
A/B Test

Problem

It is not clear where to find ‘Receiving Help’ and ‘Providing Support Details’.

Results

Users find ‘Receiving Help’ and ‘Providing Support’ Details faster in Version B.
This flow is more transparent to navigate. Version B is chosen as a final design.

Version  A

Test A/B version A

Version B

Test A/B, version B
Mobile Sitemap
Mobile Sitemap
User Flow - Registration and Customised Order of Medicines
User Flow - Registration and Customised Order of Medicines
User Flow - Order of Food & Water Kit
User Flow - Order of Food & Water Kit
User Flow - Receiving Help
User Flow - Receiving Help
User Flow - Providing Support
User Flow - Providing Support
Personal Goal Summary

AI tools can be helpful during the design process, especially at the beginning of a project, in areas such as research, early ideation, and wireframing. In my opinion, however, the technology still needs improvement. For example, while it is easy to generate initial wireframes in Uizard using prompts, making satisfying adjustments can be difficult and time-consuming.

Colormind is a simple AI tool that can assist designers in selecting a color palette.

On the other hand, I do not recommend using Xtensio for creating personas. Its features are very basic and can be easily replicated manually in tools like Adobe Illustrator or Figma. Additionally, Xtensio requires payment to export a persona without a watermark, which I consider a major drawback.

ChatGPT was helpful to me during the research and competitive analysis phases.

Overall, I’m glad I used these AI tools in the project, as they allowed me to take my first steps into the world of AI through practical tasks.

What is next?

Release 2.0

Chat feature for local communities and neighbours
Service, which improve insurance claims for affected by natural diseases