An empowering community for business women in its early stages.
This community is for women striving and thriving, for meaningful impact on society and women’s life and about inspiring women.
CHALLENGE
Creation of a MVP (Minimum Viable Product) for an online community of female entrepreneurs. A platform offering multiple educational services.
Shenergy
emPowering Women, One Bold Step at a Time
role
Ux/Ui Design
timeline
10 days
methods & Tools
User research — Testing — Visual design — Prototyping — Competitive Analysis
User research — Testing — Competitive Analysis — Visual design — Prototyping
Problem
Women in business face challenges in leadership, professional growth, and personal development. Existing communities focus mainly on business tools, neglecting the need for support, empowerment, and well-being.
GOAL
Create a responsive website for a dynamic and supportive community that empowers women by providing both professional and personal growth opportunities and tools
01
Reality Check
Over the past 50 years, women-owned businesses have skyrocketed from 400M to 12K. However, when it comes to leadership, the stats are… well, less thrilling.
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For every three managers, only one is a woman.
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The gender leadership gap stands at 68.6% (World Economic Forum, 2023).
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At this rate, full parity will take 131 years
02
Sizing Up the Competition
Looking at what competitors are doing, we realized that their primary focus was business and providing tools for professional growth, leaving behind personal development and well-being. We then saw our opportunity, personal development and well-being after all what good is success if you’re burned out along the way?
03
Insights Before Action
Through stakeholder interviews and user research, including surveys and deep-dive conversations, we uncovered key insights about our audience.
what the users are saying
What drives women to join a business community?
It’s more than just networking. It’s seek support, mentorship, and a sense of belonging.
Biggest pain points & needs?
From breaking barriers to balancing it all, we identified the real struggles they face.
What resources actually matter?
Tools and guidance.
04
meet wendy wise
A bold and ambitious woman standing at the crossroads of career transformation. After years of working in the corporate world, she’s finally taking the leap from employee to entrepreneur.
Juggling multiple roles, Wendy finds herself navigating the daily chaos of running a business while trying to scale and stay sane. She craves a space where she can connect with like-minded women, gain industry insights, and access to practical resources.
More than just business success, Wendy seeks personal and professional empowerment, a community that not only helps her thrive in her career but also supports her well-being, confidence, and work-life balance.
the scenario
Wendy, now her own boss, quickly realizes that running a business is overwhelming. Looking for guidance, she asks friends and colleagues for advice and starts researching based on their recommendations. That’s when she discovers SHEnergy, a platform that perfectly balances business support and personal growth. Excited, she signs up and soon becomes an active member, engaging with the community and booking her spot at an upcoming event.
05
From Problem to Solutions
MUST
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Landing page
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Payment flow
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Upcoming event list
SHOULD
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Learning courses
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Community
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FAQ
COULD
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Booking advice
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Mentoring sessions
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Digital ressources
MUST
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Match Maker
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Legal Aid
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Gratitude reminder
With a clear understanding of the problem, it was time for playground and explore potential solutions.
Using the Crazy 8s method, we rapidly sketched out ideas, from essential features to unexpected extras. Key features began to emerge, including:
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a landing page to introduce the community,
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a payment flow for seamless transactions,
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an upcoming events list to keep members engaged,
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a learning hub for professional growth,
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a community space for networking,
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a FAQ section to answer common concerns
Other ideas come to life, such as digital resources, a matchmaking tool to connect like-minded women, legal aid for business support, and even a gratitude reminder to foster positivity, which lead us to the next step
which ideas to use?
We focused on key features that directly address Wendy's needs. A landing page that serves as the welcoming gateway. A payment flow to ensure a smooth process for event bookings. An event list to keep informed and engaged offering easy access to valuable networking and learning opportunities.
These elements were chosen to provide a balance between usability and engagement, ensuring that women in business can effortlessly connect, learn, and grow within the community.
06
Mapping the Experience
To create an intuitive and engaging experience, we structured the platform with a clear, user-friendly sitemap that prioritizes accessibility and ease of navigation.
The landing page serves as the first touchpoint, drawing users into the community. From there, the homepage seamlessly guides them to key areas like the event list, networking opportunities, learning sessions, and exclusive experiences with an intuitive payment flow, making event bookings effortless.
07
Uncovering Key Issues
With Wendy’s journey mapped out, we jumped into prototyping. The goal? Crafting a seamless experience from discovery to engagement.
We started with a low-fi prototype, that we tested with our stakeholders guiding them through the landing page, community events, and membership sign-up.
And then — plot twist! Stakeholders realized that retreat sales, not memberships, were the real priority. So, we pivoted fast, shifting retreats to a must-have feature.
Next steps? Prototype iteration, running usability tests focused on the booking flow, to ensure design consistency and an intuitive experience.
08
The Power of Feedback
From rough wireframes to polished high-fidelity prototypes, every iteration was guided by continuous user feedback. Testing early allowed us to refine the experience, and balance between stakeholders and users’ needs.
When users asked, “What type of event is this?”, we added event tags. When confusion arose about membership sign-ups, we ensured a “Become a Member” option across all pages. Priorities shifted as well, news updates were moved to the top, and a contact form was added to the pre-footer after testers struggled to find an easy way to reach out.
09
Crafting the Visual Identity
SHEnergy's visual language was designed to be cheerful, uplifting, empowering and accessible.
The color palette has a primary color that promotes clarity, trust, and empowerment. A secondary color to add warmth and approachability. And an accent color to boost energy, used to highlight actions and engagement points.
As per typography it was crucial to find balance between readability, hierarchy, and personality. We have chosen the type Barlow Condensed Semibold for attention in titles, and for body text, Barlow Regular, to ensure an effortless reading experience. Together, they create a visual rhythm that is both empowering and user-friendly.
10
bringing it to life
After multiple iterations and rounds of feedback, a high-fidelity prototype emerged.
Based on the brand's essence, users' feedback and Wendy's happy path, we included some key pages such as, landing page, event list, community hub, and seamless payment flow.
11
the result
click to play
12
Reflections
This project was an incredible journey, taking an idea from concept to a fully designed product.
As with any project, things didn’t always go as planned. Unexpected challenges arose, but they became opportunities to adapt, pause, and rethink solutions. One key shift was our focus on membership sign-ups, which we later pivoted to retreat bookings to better align with business goals. Fortunately, early-stage testing with stakeholders helped us identify this need before it became a larger issue.
Throughout the process, user feedback shaped our design decisions, leading to multiple iterations and refinements. In the end, this approach not only improved the final product but also earned us first place at Ironhack’s Hackshow — a rewarding validation of our user-centered design process.