Hi Reader,

Who's really paying for the fixes you keep postponing?
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I was reviewing a donation flow for an organization doing genuinely important work when I discovered who was really paying for the fixes they'd been postponing. Imagine yourself in this donor's position: would you jump through all the hoops, or would you give up instead?
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The problems weren't huge individually, just default settings and assumptions no one questioned. Compounded, they turned what should have been simple into something needlessly frustrating.

The country selector started with Afghanistan and made Canadian donors scroll through dozens of options. It asked for "state" instead of "province." No option for PayPal, no Apple Pay, just credit cards, which meant anyone browsing on their phone would have to get up to find their wallet (unlikely to happen). The currency defaulted to USD even though both the organization and most of their donors were Canadian.

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​Read the full newsletter below.
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Who Do You Think I Am, Anyway?

This wasn't designed for anyone at all. It was likely a template solution that never got a close enough look, or the care to adapt it for the people who would actually use it.

The organization knew the donation experience was clunky. The community giving team had been asking for changes based on donor feedback, but the communications team wasn't integrating that data into design decisions. Everyone was waiting for the website redesign budget. They were waiting for the right time to tackle their whole online experience at once.

While they waited, donors encountered these barriers and walked away.

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The cost of waiting isn't neutral

Over the past two months, I've been thinking about what happens while we wait for perfect conditions to fix the things we know aren't working. In January, I told you about changing my business name at the worst possible time because waiting would have meant staying stuck. In February, we looked at how broken systems and disconnected experiences send messages whether we mean them to.

Today I want to talk about what it looks like to be ready enough to act, and how to know when the obvious problems you can see are signals of something deeper that needs attention.

Broken donation flows lose supporters. Websites that fail basic accessibility standards exclude the communities you claim to serve. Unclear messaging creates barriers between your mission and potential advocates.

Fixing these problems feels overwhelming, and the right time to tackle them never comes. While you wait, someone absorbs the cost. It's rarely your board. It's rarely your major donors.

It's usually the person your mission exists for.

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You don't need perfect conditions to make meaningful progress

When you start seeing these problems as symptoms rather than isolated issues, you can ask better questions about what's actually broken.

The question that changes everything

When I work with organizations on these issues, we discover that surface problems are symptoms of one of two deeper issues.

Sometimes, it's a resource problem. They know exactly what needs to be fixed, they understand why it's important, and they just need more time, money, or people to execute. The strategy is clear; the capacity isn't.

More often, it's a clarity problem. They've been trying to fix symptoms without understanding what's creating them.

Here's the question that will save you time, money, and frustration: Is this a resource problem or a clarity problem?

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If you can articulate exactly what's wrong, why it's wrong, and what good would look like, but you just don't have the bandwidth to execute, that's a resource problem. Hire implementers. Add capacity. Allocate budget.

If you know things are broken and you're unsure why, or you keep fixing the same issues over and over, or your solutions create new problems, that's a clarity problem. You need strategic thinking about how these systems should actually work.

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​Ready enough to get strategic help

The organizations I work with best are the ones who've done this diagnostic and realized their issues run deeper than surface fixes. They're ready to invest in understanding how their brand, digital presence, user experience, and accessibility should work together to serve their mission.

Ready enough means clear enough problems and enough understanding of what you're really solving for.

If any of these questions are resonating and you're starting to see patterns, let's have a conversation. I help organizations figure out how their brand, digital presence, user experience, and accessibility can work together instead of against each other. We'll start by understanding what you're really solving for, then figure out your next right step from there.

Rooting you on,
Reesa

• ​"The Curb-Cut Effect" by Angela Glover Blackwell​​
  ​(Stanford Social Innovation Review, 2017)
  Blackwell shows how designing for the most excluded communities benefits everyone: "When the nation targets support where it is needed most—when we create the circumstances that allow those who have been left behind to participate and contribute fully—everyone wins." Accessibility isn't charity; it's smart design.
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• ​"You Know What? Fuck Dropdowns" by Eric Campbell & Golden Krishna​
  (SXSW 2016)
  Fair warning: spicy language ahead. You’ll have to take my word for it, this is considered peak comedy in the design world. Campbell and Krishna hold a satirical funeral for dropdown menus, showing how default templates create unnecessary friction. Rumours of the dropdown's death have been greatly exaggerated since this 2016 talk, but their critique remains sharp: when you accept defaults, you make users work around your assumptions.
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• ​"Making Your Work Visible: Community Impact and Accessibility Statements" by Cheryl Stephens​
  ​Stephens argues against sector jargon that alienates communities: "Don't expect everyone to understand the terms used in the social services field. Use plain language instead of jargon or internal program names." If people can't understand what you do, they can't access what you offer.

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P.S. If this resonated with you, here are three ways you can let me know:

• Reply and say hello—I read every one.
• Forward this to someone who needs to hear it.
• Bring me in as a design partner when your team needs someone who actually gets it.

About Reesa​
​I work with people who give a damn—about their message, their mission, and the people they serve. Your message matters™. Together, we craft work that deeply resonates with your audience and helps you achieve your goals.
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As active member of the Association of Registered Graphic Designers of Canada, I'm proud to serve on its bright and tenacious Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion Committee.

Beyond design, I'm a parent to a young girl gang, and move from weightlifting to vernacular jazz dance (though seldom together), along with reading, cooking, and reading about cooking. I'm always happy to talk about vegetarian food or my temperamental sourdough starter, Pudding.