Shine Collective
Simplifying information flow for site visitors
Guiding users to the right resources by redesigning information architecture & adding an interactive resource funnel feature.
DESCRIPTION
A trauma-informed nonprofit resource site redesigned to help survivors find the right support, and to make it easier for others to get involved through donations, volunteering, or joining the referral network.
CONTEXT
SHINE Collective connects people in crisis with trauma-informed care, but their website made it hard to get help or get involved. I worked with their team to simplify the structure, clarify user flows, make key actions easier to find, and introduce new ways to serve their community.
PROCESS
I audited the site structure to spot gaps, redundancies, and buried content, then reviewed the sitemap and CTAs against competitor examples to identify clearer paths forward. With the new information architecture in place, I handed off to developers for implementation due to timeline constraints.
MY ROLE
UX Designer
Content Strategist
TEAM
Me, PM, Stakeholders
TOOLS
Figma
FigJam
Squarespace
TIMELINE
6 weeks
Keep reading
BACKGROUND
SHINE is a leader in psychedelic harm reduction
SHINE Collective is a non-profit dedicated so supporting survivors of abuse within psychedelic communities.
They addresses the less-discussed risks, while providing survivor-led peer support, providing trauma-informed care, advisory services, and educational resources to promote ethical practices in non-ordinary states of consciousness (NOSC) spaces.
Their audience is wide ranging:
Help seekers and supporters of help seekers (e.g., partner, family, friends)
Support providers (e.g., therapists, bodyworkers, medical professionals)
Community organizations and institutions (e.g., nonprofits, agencies, clinics)
Advocates (e.g., donors, funders, policy makers, volunteers)
WHY REDESIGN?
Impact is growing, but the website was a bottleneck
Business Problems
The website created real barriers to impact.
Missed opportunities to help target audience
Missed opportunities to connect with potential practitioners, volunteers, and donors
Website wouldn't support SHINE's $300k fundraising goal for 2025.
DISCOVERY
Mapping where users got lost
In order to get better oriented with their range of offerings, I audited the site structure, reviewed the sitemap to find buried info and CTAs, and completed competitive analysis.
Methods: Site mapping, information architecture (IA) audit, UX audit, SWOT analysis, competitive analysis, user journey mapping
Site structure led to major breakdown
I audited the original sitemap to surface redundancies, dead ends, and confusing pathways.
What I learned
Content without a compass
I reviewed the site content to spot how important info was portrayed. I was guided by two main questions:
Are audience members getting the information they came for?
Are meaningful next steps being clearly communicated?
What I learned
Learning from the competitive landscape
I conducted 3 competitive analyses. Indirect competitors had great insights into role-based navigation and trauma-informed content delivery, while cross-industry analysis offered insights on referral flows.
What I learned
STRATEGY
Framing the work ahead
Restructure navigation around roles
To facilitate immediate understanding, the navigation needed to move away from org-first categories and create paths for real people seeking help, offering help, and those supporting from the outside.
Consolidate and simplify critical content
Too much information was split across too many similar-sounding pages. Up-to-date content needed to be restructured so users wouldn't have to guess if they were in the right place.
Add meaningful CTAs to every page
Everyone gets frustrated when hitting a dead-end on a webpage. Seeing a workshop mentioned but having no way to sign up or go forward leaves you stuck.
It was important for us to make sure every page pointed users to a clear, helpful next step.
Design for emotional states & mental load
Inspired by other trauma-informed sites, we wanted to introduce additional features (e.g., quiz-style resource finder & digital language guide).
SOLUTION
Final designs
Due to time and budget constraints, I delivered the redesigned architecture, user flows, and key page templates directly to SHINE’s in-house developer for implementation before rapid fundraising.
Where UI impacted clarity or user flow, I offered targeted input, while respecting the existing visual system in place.
01
We overhauled the main navigation touch points.
We simplified the site architecture to reduce time and clicks users used to find applicable info.
Organized nav around real user needs: Get Help, Get Involved, Get to Know Us, etc.
Reduced clicks to key actions for respective target audiences
02
We made it easier to take meaningful action.
We gave every form and opportunity a place.
Embedded forms directly into the side (no more redirects or broken links).
Added consistent CTAS across pages.
Offered gentler paths for those not ready to act: learning, keeping informed, or reaching out anonymously (important for trauma-sensitive design).
03
We brought fresh thinking.
Designed the flow of a quiz-style resource finder to help users navigate complex offerings
Added a digital glossary to model respectful, inclusive language
Carved out new space for volunteers and partnerships that hadn't existed before
RESULTS
What changed
Getting help or offering support now takes fewer steps
Volunteers & interested parties have clearer, actionable pathways
CTAs are consistent, relevant, and embedded on page
SHINE's developer received clear documentation and flows for seamless handoff
IMPACT
A strong start for 2025
In two months since launch, SHINE has already seen 30 new applications to join the referral network.
I'm still waiting on more metrics, including numbers on fundraising goals, but early signs show the site shift is getting more people involved.
RETROSPECTIVE
We didn't redesign everything but it was a pleasure clearing pathways. This project reminds me how much impact site architecture and user flows have, especially in a nonprofit context.