2013
One Cause, One Coastline, One Chance
Operation 111
A common-sense approach to promote restoration of natural habitats within the Gulf Coast.
Operation111 was an initiative launched to improve the economy by educating and promoting sound conservation and restoration of our Gulf Coast in the 5 states receiving funds related to the 2010 BP Deep Horizon Oil Spill.
Campaign Goal: to ensure meaningful communication and let Gulf Coast residents know that we are all in this together. Encourage the use of funds from the RESTORE the Gulf Coast Act to create local job and training opportunities, strong communities, and long-term economic health by investing in the restoration of the Gulf’s wetlands, oyster reefs and barrier islands.
Contributions
Lead the design and development of the campaign’s online presence that empowers the storytelling of those impacted, build awareness around the impact of the spill on the Gulf region, and plan a pathway for patrons to learn about both the data and the stories of those impacted by the 2010 BP Deep Horizon Oil Spill.
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XD: Matthew Lett
Technical: Trevor Montgomery
Creative Director: JP Manterola
Content/Editor: Samantha Henry
Strategy: Victory Group
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2 months
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Information Architecture
UI/UX Design
Design Integration -
Photoshop
Illustrator
NationBuilder -
Design documentation
Training
Can a campaign create and drive meaningful conversations about the significant impact an oil spill had on Gulf Coast economics and residents?
Why is this important?
Gulf Coast ecosystems are an important economic driver for the states within this region of the US. This campaign is about helping impacted states be provided with the critical services and products needed to drive job creation once again, including:
Production of 1.3 billion pounds of seafood annually — with a dockside value of $661 million;
Supporting the largest remaining wild oyster harvest in the world;
Attracting more than 23 million recreational fishing trips annually; and
Providing more than 600,000 jobs and $9 billion in wages annually in tourism and recreation.
Technical Solution
Choosing the development platform
When deciding on the development approach we researched solutions that provided features needed to achieve the campaign goals. The solution had to support creating a campaign, establishing community initiatives, accepting donations, and providing tools that allowed people to rally around causes they care about. By partnering with a technology consultant, the NationBuilder Community Platform was recommended as the most efficient platform to grow a community and move it to action.
Design Planning
Design planning + wireframes
Due to the complexity of NationBuilder as a robust multi-capability CMS/CRM, we had multiple rounds of technical planning meetings to align and clarify design decisions. Planning artifacts such as flowcharts and wireframes helped collaborate and think through content, messaging, and placement of interactive elements.
Goals
The campaign site provides a Web-based platform for fishermen, restaurant owners, community leaders, and other coastal residents to tell their stories and urge policymakers to support environmental restoration projects that benefit Gulf communities. Get petitions in the hands of state congressmen who would ultimately inspire Washington D.C. to respond with a plan of action.
Round 1 🥊
The first round of ideas focused a lot on blocking out content and running dev tests inside of the NationBuilder, to establish the fixed and flexible aspects of the platform. Finding a balance between using one color throughout the website and if it would be best to include some complimentary colors. Thinking about accessibility, contrast, and content hierarchy throughout the page layout.
Round 2 💥 🥊
Explored a path forward to build a better experience for the user to read and egnage with content, proposed an idea for an interactive map of the Gulf States that would act as entry points into specific state initiatives. Found ways to balance out the dominance of so much blue and use color as an identifier for certain tasks. Rather than just have the website site against a boring background, background images were used to establish both mood and establish, context about the campaign, and bring contrast between foreground and background.
Success
Reach & impact
Launched in March 2014, the campaign significantly influenced the largest environmental settlement in U.S. history by April 2016. By amplifying the voices of those affected by the BP oil spill, the campaign played a pivotal role in securing a historic $20.8 billion settlement, the largest ever in the U.S.
