Illustration of a person scanning a street pole wrapped with a green snake for a gamified donation experience.
A pole with a monkey climbing up it.

The Australian bushfires of 2020 were horrific, killing over 50 people and burning thousands of acres of land to a crisp. While people knew about the effects of the fire on the people of Australia, many people were unaware of the fire's impact on native animals and habitats. We aimed to improve this by answering the question:

How might we educate potential donors about animal conservation efforts, especially in the wake of the 2020 Australian bushfires?

Illustrated animals including a koala, snake, whale, and turtle surrounding a globe
Quote from user research about donating to animal conservation efforts: 'The number 40 million straight up doesn't mean anything to me'.

Context Building

After speaking to potential donors, we found that people did not know what animal conservation efforts looked like or where the funds were going. Many people expressed interest in donating, but felt that they did not have enough information to make an informed decision. Our team found that people were not empowered to make decisions that aligned with their values.

Illustrated flow showing users tapping physical poles to learn about animals and donate.
A pole with a snake wrapped around it.
A pole with a rhino's head sticking out of it.

The Pole

The final product is a gamified experience that combines physical towers placed around the city with a mobile app. The towers serve as physical touchpoints that draw attention to the cause, where users are able to tap their phones to "collect" animals and learn more about them. These would be placed in high-traffic areas such as parks and downtown streets. The app allows users to track their progress, learn about different animals, and make donations directly through the app.

The App

The app was a gamified experience that allowed users to learn about different animals and their conservation status. Users could earn points by completing challenges and learning about different animals.

Illustrated character holding a phone with a snake coiled around a pole, in a larger city environment.

Gallery

Illustration of a person scanning a street pole wrapped with a green snake for a gamified donation experience.
Illustrated animals including a koala, snake, whale, and turtle surrounding a globe
Illustrated flow showing users tapping physical poles to learn about animals and donate.
Quote from user research about donating to animal conservation efforts: 'The number 40 million straight up doesn't mean anything to me'.
Illustrated flow showing users tapping physical poles to learn about animals and donate.
Illustrated character holding a phone with a snake coiled around a pole, in a larger city environment.
A pole with a turtle on top of it.
A pole with a monkey climbing up it.
A pole with a snake wrapped around it.
A pole with a rhino's head sticking out of it.
An illustration of a koala.
An illustration of a whale.
An illustration of a turtle.
An illustration of a snake.
Illustrated character holding a phone with a snake coiled around a pole, in a larger city environment.