Turning quiet observers
into active advocates.
A tablet-led exhibit for The Marine Mammal Center, turning curiosity into empathy and measurable donations.
TMMC is a health facility for sea mammals. Daily visitors come to observe — but they leave unmoved.
Improving the visitor experience to foster a stronger sense of connection and compassion is crucial to sustain the center's mission.
The world's largest marine mammal hospital reopened in June 2022. Our job was to make people care.
Our collaborative approach emphasizes the center's social impact, elevating awareness of their endeavors in marine conservation and ocean health — inspiring meaningful action and higher adoption rates.
Cultivate empathy among visitors through captivating narrative, and design impactful call-to-action elements for their experience at The Marine Mammal Center?
A story-driven tablet, paired with a habitat installation.
Explore the patients' unique stories
Visitors discover star patients' stories as they tap the bubbles — seeing how TMMC rescues animals through personalized choices in the story flow.
Adopt your favorite patients
Moved by the story? A symbolic adoption profoundly impacts marine mammals like Bogey, making a meaningful difference.
Leave with meaningful takeaways
Upon adoption, visitors receive warm thanks from patients and the center — photos to share or keep as memories.
Habitat installation
An art installation made of real materials showcases the marine mammals' habitat - tablets embedded into the environment so visitors can explore rescue stories while immersed in the habitat itself.
Habitat Installation Touchpoint
Habitat Installation
How did we reach here?
Qualitative and quantitative research with visitors and stakeholders, to understand their perspective on TMMC's mission and goals.
We wanted to see what it is like — the rescue process, what happens once the animal is admitted, and what their diagnosis is.
I flipped over the adoption cards on the fence and saw dates from 10–15 years ago. Are these animals even still here?
We're trying to reverse what human activity has done. Visitors want individual stories — how humans caused it, what NOT to do.
Three pain points faced by visitors at The Marine Mammal Center.
The center has a wealth of learning resources, but the visitor journey leaves too much to chance. Three consistent gaps surfaced across interviews.
Guidance
A deficiency in thematic guidance during the visit renders it tough to depart with a profound effect.
Empathy
The existing storyline hinders visitors in both understanding and feeling a connection with the mammals.
Donations
Visitors are open to donating, yet they seek a transparent comprehension of purpose and impact.
Rapid prototyping, tested with 42 participants.
Five directions explored in parallel — from low-tech pledges to AR and live tracking — each stress-tested against empathy, guidance, and donation outcomes.
Story Dashboard + Art Installation.
Chosen based on time and budget constraints. From research, we grounded the experience in real-life stories — age, species, diagnosis, rescue and release locations — so every tap brings a visitor closer to one animal's journey.
