2023
Direction / Amy Auman @ Sam Fox School of Design & Visual Arts, Washington University in St. Louis
UX Strategy
UI Design
Branding
overview
The Saint Louis Zoo is recognized as a leading zoo in animal management, research, conservation, and education, not just in the Saint Louis region but nation-wide. Using their conservation initiatives as my baseline, I set out to research the problem space of wildlife conservation, and how organizations like the Saint Louis Zoo make the public aware of efforts to get involved.
user research
My target audience were people interested in conservation who may not know how to get involved or where their effort would do the most good. Based on a survey of peers ranging from outdoorsy to urbanite, I identified the following insights:
People form emotional attachments to zoos that keep them coming back
Zoo visitors indirectly support conservation efforts just by visiting for personal enjoyment
People explicitly interested in conservation choose what to get involved in based on what’s accessible and what they’ve been exposed to
People interested in supporting conservation efforts may not know where they can be most helpful or what efforts even exist
People appreciate efforts that are fun as well as impactful
design goals
ENCOURAGE EMPATHY
Convey a strong emotional narrative about each effort and provide impressions of real people and community
KEEP IT PLAYFUL
Infuse the site with fun micro-interactions that encourage exploration and further engagement
PROVIDE OPTIONS
Encourage involvement by offering the ability to either get involved directly with the organization or provide financial support
approach
With those goals in mind, I focused my attention on building a responsive site listing a range of global conservation efforts. I emphasized the distinct work of each organization with large photographs and clear filters, so that users may easily find the efforts they most resonate with. I leaned into a brand identity full of bright color, quirky organic shapes, and micro-interactions that maintain a lighthearted attitude and optimistic tone, further encouraging involvement.
"Detailed" pages allow users to quickly shuffle through photographs and captions describing the people involved with each effort and the good work they do. Meanwhile, huge colorful CTAs grab the user's attention, encouraging them to get involved.
In addition, a designated 'Stories' page features heart-warming local updates alongside important conservation news from across the catalog of organizations.
