Raising donations by nearly 800% — Officeworks

Platforms — Adobe XD, Adobe CC, Confluence & JIRA

Expertise — UI Design, supporting UX decisions

How can Officeworks leverage its products, services, and community giving to support educational initiatives?

The Problem: Declining donations due to reduced in-store traffic

COVID-19 fundamentally changed the way people interacted with businesses, and for cause campaigns, the impact was significant. Officeworks had long relied on in-store donation methods, where customers could easily contribute at checkout. However, with fewer customers visiting stores, donations began to decline.

Key challenges included:

  • Decreased engagement – In-store donations previously thrived on social interaction and visibility, which was now missing.

  • Underutilised digital tools – Customers weren’t leveraging existing online donation features, limiting contribution opportunities.

  • A rigid approach – The initial request focused on executing a predefined solution, rather than exploring the best way to drive donations in a changed landscape.

The Solution: A socially integrated online donation experience

Rather than simply shifting existing donation methods online, we took a user-centered approach to redesign the donation experience, making it more engaging, transparent, and socially driven.

As the UI Designer, I focused on creating a seamless, visually compelling design elements that made donating feel effortless while increasing engagement. The solution revolved around:

  • A redesigned donation flow – Improving the UI for a frictionless, intuitive experience.

  • Social sharing integration – Enabling customers to share their donations and encourage others.

  • Stronger messaging & transparency – Clearly communicating how donations make an impact.

How it worked

  • User Research & Insights – We conducted secondary research and identified key motivators for online giving. Findings showed that people wanted clarity on how their donations were used, and social sharing correlated with higher donation rates.

  • Rapid Prototyping – Given time constraints, I designed quick, high-fidelity prototypes to test interactions and flows.

  • Redesigning the Donation Flow – I worked closely with the UX designer to create an interface that made donating simple, clear, and rewarding.

  • Adding Social Sharing – We integrated a share feature in the checkout and post-donation experience, making it easy for donors to amplify their impact.

  • Iterative Testing & Launch – We validated designs with stakeholders and iteratively refined the flow before launch.

Results

790% Increase in Donations – The new design significantly boosted contributions, proving the power of social engagement.

Stronger Engagement – Customers were more likely to donate when they saw others doing so.

Future Investment – Due to the success of this enhancement, leadership allocated resources for further donation experience improvements.Recognition: Service Victoria Award for Innovation

This project reinforced the importance of designing for human behavior rather than just replicating existing methods in a new format. By understanding user motivations and designing an experience that aligned with them, we created a donation system that didn’t just compensate for lost in-store traffic—it made giving easier, more impactful, and more engaging than ever before.