NIMMSA
Redesigning NIMMSA’s website to help visitors discover ethical wildlife experiences and give organizations the visibility they need to stand out.
Overview
Project Overview
NIMMSA (North Island Marine Mammal Stewardship Association) is a nonprofit focused on marine conservation and ethical ecotourism. However, their platform made it difficult for:
Visitors to find and compare relevant wildlife experiences.
Organizations to differentiate their offerings and showcase their conservation commitments.
Challenges
No clear way for visitors to compare experiences based on species, length, or type.
Members were not properly highlighted, making it hard for them to stand out.
NIMMSA’s conservation commitments were buried, reducing their impact.
My Role: Lead UX Designer
Certification: This project was part of the OOUX Masterclass Certification Program (Cohort 10), where I applied Object-Oriented UX (OOUX) methodology to untangle complex information and create a structured, scalable system.
Timeline: October - November 2024; Designed in March 2024
Tools: Figma
UX Research & Key Insights
For this project, I was given a project brief outlining the main business goals, challenges and user pain points of the current NIMMSA website, which guided my object mapping and design decisions.
The research clearly showed that visitors and members had different but interconnected goals. I used this insight to ensure the system was structured in a way that served both groups effectively.
Insight #1: Visitors wanted to compare experiences, but the current site didn’t allow it.
Right now, we don’t even highlight the various offerings of our members, so it’s not clear who offers a sunset cruise and who offers coastline birdwatching.
– Stakeholder
Insight #2: Members needed better visibility to stand out from competitors.
Some of our members focus on photography tours, some are great for kids. Right now, there’s no way to explore options and find a great fit.
– Stakeholder
Insight #3: Visitors often searched by species, but the site didn’t support it.
My wife has loved orcas since she was a kid, so I want to book an adventure for her birthday. We really just care about seeing the orcas, so I want that to be the focus.
– User
Insight #4: Conservation efforts were underrepresented on the site.
Our shared vision is all about protecting wildlife, but we don’t really feature the wildlife that we protect.
– Stakeholder
Current NIMMSA Experience: Identifying Gaps
In addition to insights from the project brief, my own analysis of the current NIMMSA website revealed gaps that impact both visitors and member organizations.
Key gaps in the current experience
No clear way to compare experiences → Users must visit member websites to see their offerings.
Lack of visibility for member organizations → Listings don’t showcase what makes each operator unique (e.g. specialty tours, conservation efforts).
No filtering or sorting → Users cannot refine options based on species, tour type, or length, creating friction in discovery.
Scattered conservation messaging → NIMMSA’s core mission is mentioned but not integrated into key user flows, missing a chance to engage eco-conscious visitors.
Takeaway
This evaluation reinforced the need for a more structured system. Using OOUX, I aimed to create a clearer, more navigable experience that connects visitors to the right experiences and highlights the value of NIMMSA members.
Structuring the System with OOUX
To create a structured, scalable system, I used OOUX and the ORCA process to define:
Core objects: Experiences, Members, Species, Commitments
Relationship between objects: How visitors navigate from species → experiences → members
How the structure would support filtering, navigation, and discoverability
By defining structure first, I avoided design inconsistencies later and ensured all interactions aligned with user needs.
Final Object Map: The Foundation of the Redesign
To ensure the system was structured for both visitors and members, I mapped out the core objects and their relationships in an object map. Through multiple rounds of Object Discovery, Relationship Discovery, CTA Discovery, and Attribute Discovery, I defined the core objects in the system and their relationships. This artifact served as the backbone of the redesign, ensuring that visitors could seamlessly explore experiences, discover member organizations, and understand conservation commitments.
Sketching the UI: A Streamlined Process
With a solid foundation from my object map, sketching became a straightforward process. Instead of making arbitrary design decisions, I used my structured object relationships to guide the layouts. This allowed me to focus on clarity and usability rather than second-guessing what content belonged where.
To illustrate this, here’s how I translated the Experiences object from the object map to sketches. Notice how:
Yellow corresponds to core content (unique identifiers like experience title, images, and descriptions).
Pink corresponds to metadata (attributes used for sorting and filtering, such as price, length, and type).
Blue corresponds to nested objects (connections to Members and Species).
Green represents CTAs (actions like “Book experience”).
This visual alignment made it easy to structure the UI without guessing what content belonged where.
Final UI Design: Bringing Structure to Life
With structured sketches in place, high-fidelity UI design focused on refining visuals, interactions, and usability. The final system provides a seamless way for visitors to browse experiences, compare members, learn about species and engage with conservation efforts, all within an intuitive, structured experience.
Landing page
The landing page provides a high-level overview of NIMMSA’s offerings, highlighting featured experiences and members while encouraging users to explore further. Clear CTAs drive engagement, and structured sections ensure quick access to key content.
Experiences
List Page: A structured browsing experience, organized by type with filtering and sorting options, allowing users to quickly find relevant experiences.
Filter Page: A dedicated filter menu that enables users to refine results based on type, species, length, price and location.
Detail Page: A deep dive into a specific experience, providing rich information about the experience, the species involved, and the NIMMSA member offering it.
Members
Each NIMMSA member now has a dedicated profile, showcasing their story, and available experiences, and species that they focus on. This provides differentiation among members and helps users make informed decisions.
Species
Species pages connect users with wildlife they’re most interested in seeing, offering information on conservation efforts and linking directly to relevant experiences and member organizations.
Conclusion and Key Takeaways
Conclusion
By applying OOUX and the ORCA methodology, I created a structured, scalable system that improves both user experience and business goals. Visitors can now seamlessly browse experiences, discover members, and engage with conservation efforts, while NIMMSA members gain stronger visibility for their unique offerings.
Key Takeaways
Structured thinking leads to simpler UI: Defining objects and relationships upfront streamlined the design process, reducing unnecessary iteration.
OOUX helps balance business and user needs: The new system supports NIMMSA’s goals while making navigation and discovery easier for visitors.
A Strong Foundation Enables Future Growth: The redesigned platform is flexible enough to scale as NIMMSA expands its offerings.
This project reinforced that great UX starts with great structure. By designing with objects in mind, I built a system that is intuitive, navigable, and sustainable and truly supports NIMMSA’s mission.