UX/UI Design
Brand Development
Concept Ideation
Illustration
Character Animation
Digital Content Creation
Create a design tool that solves a serious societal problem.
Small businesses are at the heart of America. As of 2019, there were 30.7 million small businesses in the U.S. and they account for 64% of new jobs (-sba, 2019 & fundera, 2019). Retail giants like Amazon and Walmart are making it easier and easier for consumers to forego shopping at small stores, and order products right to their doorsteps (think: Amazon Prime). Small businesses are having the rug pulled out from under them and the pandemic has only worsened this situation. As a small business owner and 5-year employee at a family owned clothing store, I felt that this problem resonated with me most. I created the concept of Giving Tree to combat the convenience of 1-click ordering by easily connecting consumers with their local retailers to find the products they need.
Giving Tree is an app that makes it easy for users to find the products they need, right in their neighborhood. The search tool prompts the user to type in the item they are looking for and identifies local retailers that have it in stock. Stores have an opportunity to participate, too, by creating an account. Users can leave reviews on stores and save favorites to their profile for future reference.