End HIV

Designing Trust and Clarity for a High-Stakes Scientific Mission

The Abzyme Research Foundation was launching a first-of-its-kind HIV vaccine initiative in a climate of scientific mistrust and donor skepticism. The success of the campaign depended on whether visitors could understand the science, trust the organization, and feel confident taking action.

Background

The Abzyme Research Foundation approached us with unusual momentum. Well-known artists and performers, including Sia, Julianna Moore, Todrick Hall, and Bob the Drag Queen, had already contributed their time and creative work to support the cause. The foundation had a library of polished videos, performances, and fundraising assets, but these lived alongside an outdated website that struggled to explain the science or guide visitors toward meaningful action.

Our task was to translate that cultural energy into understanding and trust. The success of the campaign depended on whether visitors could connect the artistry to the research, grasp the vaccine concept, and feel confident donating.

The Challenge

Stakeholders hoped the celebrity contributions would drive traffic and donations, but early reviews showed that attention alone did not create confidence. The existing site was largely outdated, presented scientific concepts without context, scattered credibility signals across pages, and made donation paths difficult to evaluate.

The work operated within real constraints:

  • Scientific accuracy could not be compromised

  • Donors and younger audiences had different expectations

  • Multiple stakeholders required alignment

  • Funding deadlines were imminent

These conditions required balancing inspiration with explanation, and visibility with trust.

My Role

I served as design and strategy lead with a strong focus on UX content strategy. The site needed to perform in an ecosystem shaped by social media and press coverage, where visitors would arrive with high emotion and little context. I planned the information architecture and messaging to support unpredictable traffic surges from celebrity posts, interviews, and media features, ensuring that first-time visitors could quickly understand the science and find a clear path to action.

My contributions included:

  • Stakeholder interviews and synthesis

  • Information architecture and user flows

  • UX copy and content structure

  • Tone and storytelling guidelines

  • Cross-channel planning for social and media traffic

  • Ongoing partnership through delivery

Research Insights

Interviews, surveys, and usability sessions revealed recurring pain points:

  • Users wanted transparency around the science and funding

  • Scientific terms needed context to be understood

  • Visitors struggled to see how they could help

  • The narrative emphasized visibility over clarity

The central insight was that inspiration alone did not build trust. People needed a clear story before they were ready to participate.

Strategy

We organized the experience around a trust ladder, moving visitors from understanding the problem → the science → the people → the action.

  • Simplify the science with plain language and visuals

  • Make impact visible early

  • Design for dual audiences, easy engagement for younger users and trust for donors

  • Connect the who, what, and why into a coherent narrative

A core tension guided the work: donor optimism versus scientific caution. The campaign celebrated high-profile artists, yet testing showed that the connection between art and research needed to be explicit. The science had to be approachable, and the inspiration had to be grounded.

Design

Through iterative prototyping we focused on:

  • Replacing jargon with a plain-language science explainer

  • Clarifying the difference between pledges and donations

  • Making funding transparency visible

  • Introducing infographics and optional deeper scientific content

  • Providing context for the role of art in the campaign

As part of a broader engagement strategy, we integrated a short film using choreographed dance as a metaphor for the science, paired with visual diagrams that translated complex mechanisms into understandable concepts. These assets became bridges between the celebrity energy and the educational content.

The Outcome

The new site brought coherence to the story and confidence to the mission. It was designed to receive visitors from social media, press, and artist channels, offering immediate clarity for people arriving with little background. The experience helped audiences understand what the foundation stood for, how the vaccine worked, and how their involvement would directly support progress.

The content model supported traffic from social and media channels, guiding emotionally motivated visitors from curiosity to understanding before asking for action.

Impact at a Glance

  • 75% increase in visitor understanding of the vaccine’s purpose

  • 2× faster path to donation through simplified flows

  • Higher engagement with explainer content and donor FAQs

  • 100% mobile-friendly experience enabling social sharing

  • Scalable design system supporting future campaigns