Observatory for
Restoration and Reforestation
The ORR is a national platform that centralizes data on ecological restoration initiatives across Brazil. Created by the Brazilian Coalition on Climate, Forests and Agriculture, its purpose is to serve as a reliable source for national and international climate reporting.
01.
About
Organizations involved in ecological restoration face challenges when registering and monitoring spatial information in a structured and reliable way. Manual processes, complex validations, and lack of data standardization compromise the efficiency and quality of ORR’s database, directly impacting the visualization and strategic use of this information.
To address these challenges, I conducted an initial discovery phase focused on the platform's core workflows. Based on stakeholder needs, I began redesigning the restoration area registration experience, prioritizing clarity, consistency, and usability.
The project is being developed in a continuous delivery model, with ongoing alignment with the development team and key milestone deliveries, such as those required ahead of COP30, which will take place in Brazil in 2025. This international event highlights the urgency and strategic importance of strengthening restoration monitoring systems like ORR.
02.
The admin team had to validate each restoration record manually, navigating through multiple screens to check over 20 attribute fields and analyze spatial data. This process was inefficient, click-heavy, and prone to human error.
Solution: Create a unified interface with layered sidebars, visual tags for status, and support for bulk actions — reducing steps and improving clarity.
Multiple records had overlapping, nested, or shifted geometries, which distorted area calculations and undermined data reliability. There was no structured way to track or resolve these issues within the platform.
Solution: Collaborate with the dev team to restructure the database and explore automated geometry validation alerts for common inconsistencies.
The original platform relied on a plain data table with minimal visual hierarchy, no spatial overview, and overloaded modals. This hindered user understanding and slowed down the review and decision-making process.
Solution: Redesign the experience using an interactive WebGIS interface, with filters, map layers, visual clustering, and contextual sidebars — bringing data and action together in one flow.
03.
My design process
We followed a Double Diamond approach, combining it with Lean UX Canvas, Design Thinking, stakeholder workshops, heuristics analysis, and user testing. The project had a tight timeline, so we ran product and development tracks in parallel, using agile rituals and Jira boards.
04.
Insights & Outcomes
Summarizing the impact of the project, highlight key learnings, and reflect on my contributions, insights that will guide future design challenges.
