Royal Caribbean’s partnership with Make-A-Wish America lacks visibility and seamless integration into the user experience. Potential donors and travelers face challenges finding information and donation options, limiting their ability to engage with the program meaningfully. This gap prevents the partnership from achieving its full potential in driving awareness, donations, and community involvement.
We crafted an innovative web experience that seamlessly integrates donation opportunities within the partnership tab, while enhancing the visibility and impact of the collaboration. Our solution includes a high-fidelity prototype featuring a user-friendly donation flow, live updates on wishes granted, and personalized incentives for contributors. By streamlining the process and showcasing the program’s impact, we created a seamless and inspiring experience that fosters emotional engagement and encourages meaningful action.
There is limited visibility and awareness of the "Wish at Sea" program on the Royal Caribbean website, making it difficult for users to access information and donate seamlessly. Currently, users must resort to external searches to find donation links, which is hindering engagement.
To better understand the motivations and challenges of socially conscious individuals, we approached this research with a structured plan. We focused on middle-aged adults (ages 35–55) who are regular or occasional travelers, actively supportive of philanthropic causes, and interested in family-friendly or adventure-focused travel experiences, particularly cruises.
Socially Conscious
Donation History
This research revealed valuable insights into how socially conscious individuals engage with philanthropic opportunities and travel, shaping the goals and direction of this project to better align with user needs and behaviors. Here's what the interviewers had to say about what may detract them from donating.
"A terrible website, someone seeming unknowledgeable about the subject, and lack of diversity in the cause would prevent me from donating"
-S.B.
"Being able to see the hands-on work. That level of transparency helps people feel their impact is meaningful."
-G.D.
"Thorough information and actual proof that the donation is going to where they promised."
-Tabitha
Seeing personal stories and tangible results inspires people to act. When donors see their community or loved ones involved, they feel more motivated to participate. This suggests that adding a community aspect can make donors feel part of a meaningful, impactful movement.
Based on our persona, Linda, we created a storyboard to showcase her journey. It highlights key moments, such as the user-friendly donation process, transparency, and her emotional connection to the cause. Inspired by the experience, Linda shares the initiative with her family, amplifying its impact.
Linda begins browsing Royal Caribbean’s website, unaware of the Wish-at-Sea initiative. A prominent call-to-action leads her to a dedicated section detailing the program's mission and impact. With a seamless, mobile-friendly donation process and follow-up messaging showcasing the results of her contribution, Linda feels trust and satisfaction, motivating future engagement.
Users want a clear, emotional connection with the cause, a simple donation process, and follow-up communication that highlights their impact.
Improve Visibility
Improve the visibility of the Wish-at-Sea initiative on the Royal Caribbean website, making it easy for users to find and engage with.
Simplify the donation process
Reduce steps and ensuring it is mobile-friendly and intuitive.
Clearly communicating how donations are used and the impact they make.
Foster trust
Follow-up messages, tax-deductible forms, and visible proof of donation impact.
Encourage donations
Create seamless, user-centered experience that resonates with socially conscious visitors.
After conducting interviews and inspecting the Royal Caribbean website, our goal was to determine the best location to guide site visitors to the donation page. We identified potential placements. Our primary objective was to create multiple opportunities for awareness while ensuring we did not interfere with Royal Caribbean's primary goal of encouraging visitors to book a cruise.
For the sketching and concept phase, we aimed to merge the distinct identities of both brands—Royal Caribbean's clean and professional aesthetic with Make-A-Wish's playful and heartfelt vibe. Initially, the team envisioned a storytelling parallax design for the hero section, creating an engaging visual journey that resonates with both brands' values. We wanted to integrate elements from Royal Caribbean's existing donation page, using its structure and tone as a foundation while infusing playful, wish-inspired elements from Make-A-Wish. This approach allowed us to experiment with ways to tell a compelling story that draws visitors in while maintaining brand harmony. Our sketches focused on combining these elements in a way that felt seamless, visually appealing, and impactful.
As a team, we had a lot of great ideas, but given the time constraints, we needed to prioritize what was feasible. While the parallax design was an exciting and interactive concept, I pointed out that it might be too time-intensive and could detract from Royal Caribbean's existing clean and professional design.
Ultimately, we decided on a simpler yet impactful approach: incorporating the Make-A-Wish logo into the navigation bar for consistent visibility and updating the hero section with a compelling photo of a child whose wish was granted—a Royal Caribbean cruise. This decision allowed us to capture the attention of site visitors in multiple places without disrupting the website's overall flow or primary purpose. The combination of these elements provided a balance of storytelling and ease of navigation, ensuring our solution aligned with both brands' goals.
The design process and collaboration during the challenge were truly incredible. Our team had such a great vibe, each of us bringing our unique skills to the table to stay productive throughout. I leaned into my graphic design background to take the lead in building the wireframes and prototypes. My speed and experience made this role a natural fit for me.
To support me, Milcia and Cynthia created what they called "Lego pieces" for the design. They gathered relevant images, conducted research, and pulled inspiration from Royal Caribbean's existing donation page. Cynthia also took on the role of copywriter, crafting engaging paragraphs to pair perfectly with the visuals. Together, we ensured consistency by applying Royal Caribbean's brand colors, fonts, and style elements, which gave me a strong foundation to shape the concept.
With everything prepared, I transitioned seamlessly into creating a high-fidelity prototype. Thanks to our cohesive teamwork, the "Lego pieces" fit together perfectly, allowing us to assemble the final product with ease. It was a rewarding experience that truly highlighted the power of collaboration and shared vision.
Users want a clear, emotional connection with the cause, a simple donation process, and follow-up communication that highlights their impact.
Always consider business objectives alongside user needs.
Strong teamwork and clear communication can overcome time constraints.
Users want a clear, emotional connection with the cause, a simple donation process, and follow-up communication that highlights their impact.
Replace the Make-A-Wish logo in the navigation bar with a “Partnerships” dropdown to showcase multiple initiatives.
Refine the hero section to minimize disruption to the booking process.