With a strong commitment to social intervention, the City of Oakland launched initiatives to support its most vulnerable citizens. This mission inspired Hi Interactive to help them help others.
In early 2021, Oakland set out to create an app to assist homeless individuals in finding shelter, essential resources, and job opportunities — a tool to empower those facing difficult circumstances.
To bring this vision to life, we designed and developed an app tailored to the homeless community, ensuring easy access to help whenever needed. Throughout the process, we applied best user experience practices, aligning the app with the city’s goals of simplicity, accessibility, and citizen support.
By combining technology with empathy and human-centered design, we created a platform that makes a real difference — connecting people to services, fostering collaboration, and building a stronger, more compassionate Oakland.
During the UX Design phase, we began by conducting research to understand the challenges faced by the homeless community in accessing shelter, food, and employment. The main focus was on deeply understanding users’ needs, challenges, and behaviors in their daily lives.
The goal was to design a simple, accessible, and functional experience that could truly support users in vulnerable situations. By prioritizing clarity and usability, we ensured that anyone could easily navigate the app, regardless of their digital literacy level or access conditions.
We identified key user profiles and their specific needs to create intuitive and straightforward user flows that prioritize efficiency and empathy.
High-fidelity prototypes were developed, tested, and refined to ensure a smooth, inclusive, and efficient experience across all navigation stages.
In the UI Design phase, the priority was to transform the user experience into a visually appealing, cohesive, and functional interface. Every design element was crafted to enhance usability while maintaining a strong visual connection with the City of Oakland’s mission and values.
Through a clear, accessible, and consistent design language, we created an app that inspires trust, feels intuitive, and encourages interaction from all users.
We developed a visual language aligned with the City of Oakland’s values — empathy, simplicity, and community support — ensuring a recognizable and human-centered identity.
The UI Style Guide and visual assets prepared developers, guaranteeing consistency and efficiency during implementation.
During app development, we faced the challenge of displaying many locations on the map. We solved this by implementing filters by city, resource type, and more.
Oakland was set as the default city, providing more accurate results, faster loading, and smoother interaction. This made the app functional, easy to use, and efficient for users to find exactly what they need.
We utilized the OutSystems platform for the app’s development, allowing for rapid delivery while maintaining high design and performance standards.
A thorough QA process ensured all features worked as intended, with special focus on accessibility, speed, and usability so users with limited technical skills could easily navigate the app.
To transform the City of Oakland’s vision into a practical and impactful tool, we combined technology, design, and empathy to create an app focused on real user needs. The solution was developed on the OutSystems platform, ensuring flexibility, scalability, and fast deployment. Through a human-centered approach, we designed clear user flows, implemented smart filters for faster navigation, and optimized map interactions to make locating shelters and services effortless.
Every feature was guided by one principle — accessibility. The app’s structure, visual hierarchy, and interaction patterns were built to be intuitive even for users with limited digital experience.
By merging robust technology with thoughtful design, we delivered a solution that not only connects people to essential resources but also strengthens the city’s commitment to inclusion and community well-being.
The key metrics of this project highlight its impact and effectiveness. The app is now accessible to over 3,000 unsheltered individuals, providing essential support tailored to a specific target audience. By leveraging the full potential of the OutSystems platform, we were able to meet the project’s user experience requirements, ensuring a seamless, efficient, and highly usable solution for those who need it most.
Throughout the project, we developed high-fidelity prototypes and a UI Style Guide, providing visual assets that ensured consistency. Smart filters, with Oakland as the default, improved map functionality, helping users quickly find shelters, resources, and job opportunities. By combining intuitive design, performance, and accessibility, the app delivers practical assistance while promoting inclusion, dignity, and lasting social impact.
The project teams were very responsive, knowledgeable, and easy to work with. They did a really good job in understanding our needs and went above and beyond to deliver the product in a timely manner. Will definitely work with them again.
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Hi Interactive Corp. 1030 Salem Road Union, NJ 07083
Alcântara-Rio Bloco A, nº36 – 2º Dto, R. Cozinha Económica 1300-149 Lisboa
info@hi-interactive.com
+351 213 630 796