AXS Map is mapping the difference.
I reimagined the Mapathon user flow, designed responsive mobile-first screens, and created social media templates to make it easier for users to share their mapping efforts and rally others to join in.
The Problem
Jason DaSilva, founder of AXS Labs and activist, created AXS Map as a crowdsourced platform for rating the accessibility of public spaces. The vision for the Mapathon feature was for AXS users to team up with friends to map their neighborhoods — but there was a gap between what users were doing and the deeper purpose behind it. That disconnect made it harder for people to engage meaningfully with the platform.
The Solution
Realigning Mapathon with AXS Map's mission meant a full redesign of the user flow across mobile and then desktop; making the feature's purpose clearer and the experience more intuitive and rewarding to interact with.
From why to how.
I met with real AXS Map users, running interviews and heuristic evaluations to get past surface complaints. The real issue wasn't confusion about how Mapathon worked — it was a missing sense of why it mattered. That reframed the problem: this wasn't a cosmetic fix, it was about surfacing purpose at every step.
I took that insight into Miro to brainstorm and workshop concepts, then to pencil and paper to wireframe flows that led with motivation before mechanics — reframing Mapathon from a task to complete into a mission to join. The challenge: designing mobile-first with a constrained design system and lean, part-time dev support, which meant every element had to be purposeful from the start.
Every component and every screen had to earn its place. I focused on tight visual hierarchy, consistent styles, and reusable components — flexible enough to scale into desktop later, but disciplined enough to ship fast with the resources we had. Collaborating closely with Jason and the dev team kept the designs grounded in what was actually buildable.
This feature has since became part of the broader AXS Map relaunch. Since going live, the platform has seen that awareness efforts paired with more intuitive features has driven a growth in donations tenfold since launch.