The bet was simple. On-chain accountability should not require a wallet, a whitepaper, or a crypto vocabulary to feel useful. We built a Web 2.5 platform that spoke to mainstream donors while keeping the trust guarantees of the underlying tech.

My role

I led design across brand and product, working directly with founder and CMO Matt Gillespie on strategy and positioning, and with the CTO on rapid product iteration. I owned the visual identity, the branding, and UI/UX of the web app, from wireframe to deployment.

What I shipped

• Brand strategy, positioning, color system, typography
• Logo and core visual identity
• Full web app design from wireframe to prototype
• Marketing site, social content, and pitch materials

Outcomes

• 180k USD raised in pre-seed after more than 40 investor pitches
• 14 globally recognized nonprofits onboarded as launch partners
• Over 100k USD in donations generated through the platform

Why it mattered

Most crypto-for-good projects get stuck speaking to the already-converted. Gaia Gives was a test of whether Web3 infrastructure could disappear into a donor flow that felt like any other giving platform, with transparency as a quiet feature rather than a sales pitch.