Healthier Jersey City through Community Partnerships

I redesigned HealthierJC’s digital platform to better support over 500 community partners, making it easier for residents to access health resources and programs.

Overview

HealthierJC partners with local organizations to improve community health.

HealthierJC is a public health initiative by the Jersey City Department of Health and Human Services, connecting over 500 organizations focused on impactful causes. As the platform expanded, the outdated website struggled to meet the needs of clients, partners, and residents. I was selected to redesign the experience due to my unique blend of technical expertise and design vision.

Before
After
  • Client
    Jersey city department of health and human services
  • Timeline
    Dec 2024 - Jan 2025
  • Crew
    2 Designers, 3 Engineers
  • My Role
    Information architecture, Visual design, UX design, Software developer

Discovery

Comprehensive Audit and Stakeholder interviews

We kicked off with a full audit of the site’s design, structure, and backend to uncover gaps in usability and data flow. This helped us define what needed fixing and what needed rethinking. In parallel, we spoke with city stakeholders and community partners to understand their challenges and expectations.

Disorganized Content

Confusing users trying to navigate resources or locate relevant content

Flawed Usability

Lack of a cohesive design system led to inconsistent user experiences.

Unstructured Database

Outdated, poorly categorized database made it hard for users to find critical partner information.
Takeaway #1
A Ticking Clock : Design fast, build faster

With less than a month to go live before January 1st, 2025, we needed a tech stack that could move as fast as we did. That meant:

  • Parallel work across design and development
  • Built-in support for secure auth and dynamic content
  • Prebuilt components to skip boilerplate setup
  • Cost effecient
  • Scalable infrastructure

The challenge wasn’t just to build fast, it was to build smart. The stack we chose made it all possible.

Define

Problem statement

How might we enable the health department to empower local organizations through partnerships, ultimately supporting residents' community health and wellness?

Balancing Time, Cost & Scalability

Webflow let us design and build at the same time, speeding up delivery. Its visual editor made responsive design easy, and the built-in CMS handled content updates without extra dev work. We got full design control with zero handoff delays.
Firebase gave us a fast, secure backend with minimal setup. Its ready-to-use Auth system and real-time database helped us build core features quickly. Webhooks and serverless functions streamlined tasks, cutting the need for third-party tools.
Tech architecture
Takeaway #2
Relying on multiple third party apps is not a good practice

Relying on too many third-party tools can slow down development, increase costs, and introduce unnecessary points of failure. Choosing a unified stack with built-in functionality gave us more control, better performance, and fewer moving parts to manage.

Design

Style Guide and Design Exploration

The design process began with defining the essence of the new HealthierJC website. We aimed to create a platform that felt approachable, community driven, and up-lifting.

To achieve this, we focused on a clean and modern design language that emphasized clarity and accessibility. Subtle yet inviting visual cues were planned to guide users through the website seamlessly, ensuring they could easily locate information and resources.

UI style guide for healthierJC

Design solutions

We dove into the details of design and functionality, presenting the design to multiple stakeholders and users. Their feedback provided valuable insights that we used to iterate and refine the design.

Local organisations are supported by the platform

Empowering local organisations to create a profile in the web app through a clean sign up process. Partner profiles will be available for the public to view and access help from these organisations.
Partner profile and dashboard
Partner profile and dashboard

Local organisations are supported by the platform

Empowering local organisations to create a profile in the web app through a clean sign up process. Partner profiles will be available for the public to view and access help from these organisations.
Event creation by partner

Partners create and promote heath and wellness events

Partners are able to create event listings on the web app to promote and reach more people in need of their services and support.

Residents find resources intutively

The structured and organised website is much more intuitive to navigate and the partner directory is so easy to search through and find what you want.
Easy to find resources
Easy to find resources

Residents find resources intutively

The structured and organised website is much more intuitive to navigate and the partner directory is so easy to search through and find what you want.
Event creation by partner

Well structured partner profile

Residents are able to find relevant information corresponding to partners with ease and find help quickly.

Conclusion

Reigniting the Jersey City health partner community

The result is a revitalized platform that significantly enhances the accessibility and usability of health resources in Jersey City. By streamlining navigation and improving content structure, the new website empowers residents to connect with local organizations and access essential services more efficiently.

What's next?

  • We are iteratively refining the design and functionality based on partner activity and feedback, ensuring that event creation and profile management are seamless. This approach will empower partners to engage more residents effectively in their initiatives.
  • Managing new partnerships and incentivizing and celebrating organizations to motivate and that align them with the mission. By fostering these connections, we aim to enhance the resources available to residents and ensure a more comprehensive support system.