bootcamp
My Role
Platform
year
Reefstars was born from my participation in the Adobe Creative Jam, a fast-paced design competition where teams are challenged to ideate and prototype a product in just two weeks. Competing against some of the most prestigious design schools, like PRATT, RISD, and SVA, we were tasked with creating a platform to support coral reef restoration.
Creating an engaging and informative platform that motivates users to contribute to coral reef restoration efforts by making donations to Reefstars.
We conducted an online survey to identify behavioral patterns around donations, gathering 67 responses. Here’s what we learned:
of people are motivated to donate because they believe in the mission and want to make a difference.
will stop donating if they lose trust in the nonprofit organization.
expect updates on the impact of their contribution.
are willing to donate $1-$10 monthly, and 75% have made one-time donations under $100.
We analyzed three key competitors in the coral restoration space.
Coral Restoration Foundation
Coral Reef Alliance
Oceana
Long donation forms were ineffective and disengaging. We also learned that impactful imagery was essential to engage users.
We used the MoSCoW method to prioritize the features that would deliver the most value and impact:
The Reefstars logo was inspired by sacred geometry, particularly the Flower of Life, symbolizing protection, life, and creation. The hexagonal patterns found in nature and the universe—like bee hives, sunflowers, and planetary orbits—mirrored the structure of the reef, making it a perfect fit for our visual identity.
Our MVP aimed to create an engaging donation experience, free from long forms. We built a dashboard to provide transparency and trust, showing users the real-time progress of the reefs they supported.
We created four unique user flows to target different donation motivations:
Individual
One-time or monthly donations.
Family
Donate "stars" for each family member.
Teams
Donate as a team with stars for each member.
Corporate
Sponsor entire ecosystems with contributions of $5K+.
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As winners, we earned tickets to Adobe MAX in LA, where we had the privilege of meeting The Ocean Agency and the Adobe team. It was an incredible experience, filled with learning and celebration!
Throughout this process, we aimed high, designing without limits. But as we got closer to launch, we had to make tough decisions to meet goals and deadlines. The key takeaway? Don’t be afraid to dream big, but know when to scale back and focus on what will deliver the most value.