Designed a AI-Powered Ecological

Surveying Platform

Collaborating with ecological experts to design an AI-powered surveying platform that transforms complex regulatory workflows into intuitive, policy-aligned tools.

Role

Lead Product Designer

Timeline

16 weeks to MVP

Team

3-8 members

Year

2022

The Challenge

A biodiversity market is emerging, driven by new legislation that increases demand for biodiversity reporting. Traditional ecological surveys are slow, expensive, and inconsistent across different surveyors.

Time-Intensive Process

Manual surveys require experts to visit sites and collect data in person

Inconsistent Accuracy

Results vary significantly across different surveyors and methodologies

Regulatory Pressure

New UK legislation increases demand for biodiversity reporting

The Solution

AI-powered platform using satellite imagery to deliver accurate insights with unprecedented speed. The platform serves multiple user groups with compliance-ready reports.

Real Estate Developers

Comply with biodiversity regulations efficiently with automated reporting and analysis

Urban Landowners

Evaluate potential for green roofs and urban planning with comprehensive habitat assessment

Municipalities

Effectively manage green infrastructure at scale with data-driven insights

Design Process

16-week journey from concept to MVP, working with ecologists, AI specialists, and domain experts.

I led the project kickoff and facilitated strategy workshops with a multidisciplinary team including ecologists, AI specialists, remote sensing experts, CTO, and engineers. This process allowed us to identify critical jobs-to-be-done and technical requirements.

Research & Strategy

• Stakeholder workshops

• Regulatory requirement analysis

• User journey mapping

• Technical feasibility assessment

Design & Validation

• Visual system development

• Dashboard interface design

• Accessibility testing

• User feedback integration

Implementation

• Mapbox style integration

• Component development

• Design system documentation

• Engineering support

Color System

z

Pattern System

Most mapped data was in the Grassland category, requiring multiple greens and a scalable expansion system. We added patterns to improve habitat distinction, meet accessibility standards, and differentiate similar color classes.

Same Categories

Use density variations to distinguish habitat within the same category

Distinct Categories

Use different patterns to separate different ecological categories

User Flow

The platform workflow guides users through a streamlined process from project setup to final reports. The AI-powered system automates complex biodiversity analysis while maintaining regulatory compliance and expert-level accuracy.

User Interface Design

The UI enables multi-site habitat measurement, management and compliance reporting. Users can customize visual representations for different audiences while maintaining regulatory standards.

Interactive Habitat Map

Customers can customize visual representations for different audiences while maintaining regulatory standards.

Visual Editing

Adjust fill color, stroke, and pattern to correct classifications or tailor for different audiences while maintaining data integrity

Multi-Site Management

View and edit habitat data across multiple project sites from a single interface, enabling efficient project portfolio management

Regulatory Compliance

Default labels align to UKHab standards for faster compliance reporting and automated export for regulatory submissions

Habitat Overview & Restoration Planning

Helps landowners understand current habitat quality and potential value of ecological improvements.

Restoration Value

Estimated market value from restoration (e.g., nature credits, ESG impact) to help property investors make informed decisions.

Site Score

Biodiversity score reflects ecological distinctiveness and resilience.

Estimated time to reach restoration or biodiversity net gain (BNG) targets.

Years

Estimated time to reach restoration or biodiversity net gain (BNG) targets.

GIS & Cartography

Built Mapbox Studio Styles Aligned to Custom Visual System

Custom Mapbox Map Style

  • Integrated Gentian’s client habitat data across multiple UK sites.
  • Designed a Mapbox style matching Gentian’s taxonomy and color standards.
  • Delivered a ready-to-deploy JS map style, making execution fast and frictionless

Workflow

Created a streamlined workflow that supports drawing, uploading, and editing of geographic boundaries.

Home screen — View saved maps and start new projects easily.

Select between habitat for natural land cover or urban to identify green roofs and spaces.

Define boundaries of analysis by uploading a file or drawing a custom polygon on the map.

Key Outcomes

  • Delivered MVP —  from scoping to build in 4 months
  • Developed a scalable data visualization color system that allowed team to go from 9 initial habitats to 30+ habitat types quickly and effectively.
  • Designed for colorblind accessibility
  • Team has raised in funding and is a leading nature-tech platform in UK compliance

Designed a AI-Powered Ecological

Surveying Platform

Collaborating with ecological experts to design an AI-powered surveying platform that transforms complex regulatory workflows into intuitive, policy-aligned tools.

Role

Lead Product Designer

Timeline

16 weeks to MVP

Team

3-8 members

Year

2022

The Challenge

A biodiversity market is emerging, driven by new legislation that increases demand for biodiversity reporting. Traditional ecological surveys are slow, expensive, and inconsistent across different surveyors.

Time-Intensive Process

Manual surveys require experts to visit sites and collect data in person

Inconsistent Accuracy

Results vary significantly across different surveyors and

methodologies

Regulatory Pressure

New UK legislation increases demand for biodiversity reporting

The Solution

AI-powered platform using satellite imagery to deliver accurate insights with unprecedented speed. The platform serves multiple user groups with compliance-ready reports.

Real Estate Developers

Comply with biodiversity regulations efficiently with automated reporting and analysis

Urban Landowners

Evaluate potential for green roofs and urban planning with comprehensive habitat assessment

Municipalities

Effectively manage green infrastructure at scale with data-driven insights

Design Process

16-week journey from concept to MVP, working with ecologists, AI specialists, and domain experts.

I led the project kickoff and facilitated strategy workshops with a multidisciplinary team including ecologists, AI specialists, remote sensing

experts, CTO, and engineers. This process allowed us to identify critical jobs-to-be-done and technical requirements.

Research & Strategy

• Stakeholder workshops

• Regulatory requirement analysis

• User journey mapping

• Technical feasibility assessment

Design & Validation

• Visual system development

• Dashboard interface design

• Accessibility testing

• User feedback integration

Implementation

• Mapbox style integration

• Component development

• Design system documentation

• Engineering support

Color System

z

Pattern System

Most mapped data was in the Grassland category, requiring multiple greens and a scalable expansion system. We added patterns to improve habitat distinction, meet accessibility standards, and differentiate similar color classes.

Same Categories

Use density variations to distinguish habitat within the same category

Distinct Categories

Use different patterns to separate different ecological categories

User Flow

The platform workflow guides users through a streamlined process from project setup to final reports. The AI-powered system automates complex biodiversity analysis while maintaining regulatory compliance and expert-level accuracy.

User Interface Design

The UI enables multi-site habitat measurement, management and compliance reporting. Users can customize visual representations for different audiences while maintaining regulatory standards.

Interactive Habitat Map

Customers can customize visual representations for different audiences while maintaining regulatory standards.

Visual Editing

Adjust fill color, stroke, and pattern to correct classifications or tailor for different audiences while maintaining data integrity

Multi-Site Management

View and edit habitat data across multiple project sites from a single interface, enabling efficient project portfolio management

Regulatory Compliance

Default labels align to UKHab standards for faster compliance reporting and automated export for regulatory submissions

Habitat Overview & Restoration Planning

Helps landowners understand current habitat quality and potential value of ecological improvements.

Restoration Value

Estimated market value from restoration (e.g., nature credits, ESG impact) to help property investors make informed decisions.

Site Score

Biodiversity score reflects ecological distinctiveness and resilience.

Estimated time to reach restoration or biodiversity net gain (BNG) targets.

Years

Estimated time to reach restoration or biodiversity net gain (BNG) targets.

GIS & Cartography

Built Mapbox Studio Styles Aligned to Custom Visual System

Custom Mapbox Map Style

  • Integrated Gentian’s client habitat data across multiple UK sites.
  • Designed a Mapbox style matching Gentian’s taxonomy and color standards.
  • Delivered a ready-to-deploy JS map style, making execution fast and frictionless

Workflow

Created a streamlined workflow that supports drawing, uploading, and editing of geographic boundaries.

Home screen — View saved maps and start new projects easily.

Select between habitat for natural land cover or urban to identify green roofs and spaces.

Define boundaries of analysis by uploading a file or drawing a custom polygon on the map.

Key Outcomes

  • Delivered MVP —  from scoping to build in 4 months
  • Developed a scalable data visualization color system that allowed team to go from 9 initial habitats to 30+ habitat types quickly and effectively.
  • Designed for colorblind accessibility
  • Team has raised in funding and is a leading nature-tech platform in UK compliance

Designed a AI-Powered Ecological

Surveying Platform

Collaborating with ecological experts to design an AI-powered surveying platform that transforms complex regulatory workflows into intuitive, policy-aligned tools.

Role

Lead Product Designer

Timeline

16 weeks to MVP

Team

3-8 members

Year

2022

The Challenge

A biodiversity market is emerging, driven by new legislation that increases demand for biodiversity reporting. Traditional ecological surveys are slow, expensive, and inconsistent across different surveyors.

Time-Intensive Process

Manual surveys require experts to visit sites and collect data in person

Inconsistent Accuracy

Results vary significantly across different surveyors and

methodologies

Regulatory Pressure

New UK legislation increases demand for biodiversity reporting

The Solution

AI-powered platform using satellite imagery to deliver accurate insights with unprecedented speed. The platform serves multiple user groups with compliance-ready reports.

Real Estate Developers

Comply with biodiversity regulations efficiently with automated reporting and analysis

Urban Landowners

Evaluate potential for green roofs and urban planning with comprehensive habitat assessment

Municipalities

Effectively manage green infrastructure at scale with data-driven insights

Design Process

16-week journey from concept to MVP, working with ecologists, AI specialists, and domain experts.

I led the project kickoff and facilitated strategy workshops with a multidisciplinary team including ecologists, AI specialists, remote sensing

experts, CTO, and engineers. This process allowed us to identify critical jobs-to-be-done and technical requirements.

Research & Strategy

• Stakeholder workshops

• Regulatory requirement analysis

• User journey mapping

• Technical feasibility assessment

Design & Validation

• Visual system development

• Dashboard interface design

• Accessibility testing

• User feedback integration

Implementation

• Mapbox style integration

• Component development

• Design system documentation

• Engineering support

Color System

z

Pattern System

Most mapped data was in the Grassland category, requiring multiple greens and a scalable expansion system. We added patterns to improve habitat distinction, meet accessibility standards, and differentiate similar color classes.

Same Categories

Use density variations to distinguish habitat within the same category

Distinct Categories

Use different patterns to separate different ecological categories

User Flow

The platform workflow guides users through a streamlined process from project setup to final reports. The AI-powered system automates complex biodiversity analysis while maintaining regulatory compliance and expert-level accuracy.

User Interface Design

The UI enables multi-site habitat measurement, management and compliance reporting. Users can customize visual representations for different audiences while maintaining regulatory standards.

Interactive Habitat Map

Customers can customize visual representations for different audiences while maintaining regulatory standards.

Visual Editing

Adjust fill color, stroke, and pattern to correct classifications or tailor for different audiences while maintaining data integrity

Multi-Site Management

View and edit habitat data across multiple project sites from a single interface, enabling efficient project portfolio management

Regulatory Compliance

Default labels align to UKHab standards for faster compliance reporting and automated export for regulatory submissions

Habitat Overview & Restoration Planning

Helps landowners understand current habitat quality and potential value of ecological improvements.

Restoration Value

Estimated market value from restoration (e.g., nature credits, ESG impact) to help property investors make informed decisions.

Site Score

Biodiversity score reflects ecological distinctiveness and resilience.

Estimated time to reach restoration or biodiversity net gain (BNG) targets.

Years

Estimated time to reach restoration or biodiversity net gain (BNG) targets.

GIS & Cartography

Built Mapbox Studio Styles Aligned to Custom Visual System

Custom Mapbox Map Style

  • Integrated Gentian’s client habitat data across multiple UK sites.
  • Designed a Mapbox style matching Gentian’s taxonomy and color standards.
  • Delivered a ready-to-deploy JS map style, making execution fast and frictionless

Workflow

Created a streamlined workflow that supports drawing, uploading, and editing of geographic boundaries.

Home screen — View saved maps and start new projects easily.

Select between habitat for natural land cover or urban to identify green roofs and spaces.

Define boundaries of analysis by uploading a file or drawing a custom polygon on the map.

Key Outcomes

  • Delivered MVP —  from scoping to build in 4 months
  • Developed a scalable data visualization color system that allowed team to go from 9 initial habitats to 30+ habitat types quickly and effectively.
  • Designed for colorblind accessibility
  • Team has raised in funding and is a leading nature-tech platform in UK compliance