The Problem

There are three main problems with natural disaster relief. Despite the frequency of natural disasters around the world, there still exists a considerable lag time between the disaster and the first expenditure towards relief efforts. The average in the US is around 2 years.

Additionally, a lot of bureaucratic processes surrounding fund allocation in the government delay efforts further. Funding from the government may not even be guaranteed! Finally, many people are not sure which charities to trust and donate to.

The Solution

Oasis Relief Fund is a webapp that allows users to donate Ethereum to a pool of funds. Oasis can detect disasters that happen in real time using PredictHQ’s API. When a disaster is detected, a percentage of the fund pool will be autonomously sent to a partner Non-Profit Organization (NPO) in that area. This system allows Oasis to be faster and simpler to use compared to other crowdfunding sources, basing donations on instantaneous real-life information.

Research and Ideation

My team and I started the process through researching the problem and brainstorming rough ideas for the product. Although we did not have time to conduct user interviews due to the time constraints of the hackathon, we supported our problem statement with substantial secondary research. We also conducted research as to what the current available solutions are.

After some research, we sketched a rough idea for the product. Due to the limited time, we almost immediately jumped into the hi-fidelity wireframing process.

✦ Whiteboarding and Lo-Fi wireframe

Visual Design

To supplement our product, we created a comprehensive brand to guide the messaging and UI of our product. We chose blue as our main color to reflect confidence, security, and loyalty, which are some of the values we want to evoke when consumers view our product. A mostly monochromatic design also allows for uncluttered visual design, allowing viewers to focus on the product. As a result of these considerations, we came up with the following brand.

Development of the MVP

Afterward, we started developing the Minimum Viable Product for the product. This included important features such as: the ability to connect a wallet, the ability to donate, view total collected funds, and view partner non-profits. You can try out the webapp for yourself by clicking here.

Submission

Finally, we submitted the product to Chainlink for judging. You can check out our devpost post by clicking here and our final landing page by clicking on this link. You can also check out our pitch deck here.