The SUN Bucks program was introduced in Hawaii in 2024 as part of a nationwide initiative to grant eligible families EBT cards to purchase groceries during the summer, while children are out of school. While most children qualify automatically, some families need to apply.
I had the privilege of leading the design for Hawaii’s SUN Bucks website, ensuring parents and students in Hawaii could easily check their eligibility and apply for this new program.
The website went live in June 2024, receiving 2,758 online applications—a major success in expanding access to essential food assistance for families across the state.
Lead UX Designer
Hawaii Department of Human Services
May 2024 - July 2024
With the national SUN Bucks initiative launching in Hawaii in the summer of 2024, students and parents needed a clear, simple, and accessible way to check their SUN Bucks eligibility and apply for benefits online.
Since this was a new program, families were unfamiliar with the process, making it essential to provide a straightforward and user-friendly digital solution to ensure they could easily access this assistance for the first time.
To address this, we designed an intuitive website that guides users through the eligibility check and application process seamlessly.
The website prioritizes clarity, accessibility, and mobile responsiveness, ensuring that all families—regardless of technical proficiency—can easily navigate and complete their applications.
After being onboarded to this project as the lead UX/UI Designer, I collaborated closely with the business analysts to understand the project requirements and learn more about the type of people that would be using our product.
Main users will be kids under 18 and parents/guardians, often from low-income households, that may not have an advanced vocabulary and may not be very digitally literate.
Users will be accessing this website via smart phone, home computers, or public computers (i.e, school or library).
Many users won’t know if they need to apply or if they already qualify.
Many users (especially kids) that are applying won’t know all of their household members’ financial details.
9th grader | Leiyah Velasco
Age: 14
Location: Kaneohe, HI
Background
Goals & Frustrations
Office Worker | Reid Jackman
Age: 33
Location: Honolulu, HI
Background
Goals & Frustrations
The website has 3 main functions of the minimal viable product—to apply online, view SUN Bucks benefits and application status, and to learn more about the program.
The initial black-and-white wireframes outlined the main aspects of the website to visually present the overall structure and flow before applying colors and styling.
Click through the prototype or see links here:
SUN Bucks Prototype - Desktop
SUN Bucks Prototype - Mobile
Our designs addressed the main pain points we gathered from the research stage.
Our team would regularly share our prototypes and progress with the stakeholders to receive feedback and secure approval. We also collaborated closely with the Development Team to ensure technical feasibility on our designs.
The live website can be viewed here: SUN Bucks Hawaii (Note: Online applications are only open during certain periods of the year.)
On June 5, 2024, the website went live. There was a total of 2,758 online applicants for 2024. It was a huge success that has made a meaningful impact on families in Hawaii by providing essential grocery-buying benefits.
This project has not only been rewarding but also provided significant learning opportunities. As SUN Bucks continues, there are valuable insights and improvements to be applied, which will guide ongoing development and enhance its effectiveness for the future.
Gather feedback from real users to determine areas to improve existing functions of the website for next summer.
Implement enhancements and new features to upgrade the user experience for next summer.
Propose the website framework to other states that are rolling out the SUN Bucks program and customize the design according to their requirements.
