UpPrize
Launching an Open Innovation Platform to Empower Social Entrepreneurs
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As creative, brand and product design lead for UpPrize, I managed the creation of both brand identity and digital platform for Pittsburgh's $1 million social entrepreneurship competition. Leading collaboration between The Forbes Funds, BNY Mellon, and internal stakeholders, I unified diverse organizational needs into a cohesive vision that made a complex competition processes accessible and engaging.
Problem
UpPrize, a purpose-driven entrepreneurial competition in Pittsburgh, needed a way to engage participants, partners, and the community while maintaining transparency and clarity throughout the competition process. Previous platforms for similar competitions often suffered from complexity, low engagement, and poor administrative tools, limiting both participation and visibility.
Solution
I designed and launched UpPrize.org, a web platform that combined a compelling brand identity with an intuitive open innovation system. Participants could easily submit ideas, track competition milestones, and interact with the community, while administrators had powerful tools to manage, feature, and communicate about each submission. The platform's structure fostered transparency, collaboration, and engagement, while the brand identity—symbolizing inclusiveness, opportunity, and social impact—reinforced the mission of "Everyone Wins."
“They really listen and their work is exceptional.”
Kate Dewey, Former President of The Forbes Funds
My Approach
I led the end-to-end creation of UpPrize's brand and platform, directing strategy, design, and development while facilitating alignment across multiple stakeholders with competing priorities. My leadership ensured that complex organizational needs translated into simple, effective user experiences.
Aligning Stakeholders Vision
Working closely with The Forbes Funds, BNY Mellon, and program administrators, I facilitated discussions that uncovered core needs across three distinct audiences: participants seeking clarity, administrators requiring control, and community members wanting transparency. I synthesized these requirements into a coherent product vision that satisfied organizational goals while prioritizing user needs. By establishing clear decision-making frameworks early, I kept the project moving efficiently through potentially contentious design choices.
Directing Brand Strategy and Identity
I recognized that the platform's success depended on establishing immediate credibility and emotional resonance with social entrepreneurs. Leading the brand strategy from naming through visual identity, I developed a design language that communicated inclusiveness and opportunity while differentiating UpPrize from traditional business competitions. The "Everyone Wins" positioning I crafted became the foundation for all communications, helping stakeholders speak to the program's unique value and giving participants a reason to get involved.
Architecting the User Experience
I designed the platform's information architecture around the Idea Card concept, recognizing that both participants and administrators needed a single source of truth for each submission. This central design decision simplified what could have been a fragmented experience across multiple tools and touchpoints. I created dynamic timelines, contextual feedback, and messaging features that kept users on track throughout the multi-month competition while giving administrators the control they needed to manage hundreds of submissions easily.
The Impact
UpPrize.org launched successfully and supported the distribution of $1 million in awards to social entrepreneurs across Pittsburgh.
Brought together The Forbes Funds, BNY Mellon, and program administrators around a unified approach that made the competition accessible to participants who might have been intimidated by a competition process.
Created a brand identity and platform that communicated something different—more inclusive, more transparent, and genuinely invested in helping social entrepreneurs succeed.
Transformed what could have been an overwhelming process into something participants could navigate confidently, with clear guidance at every step.
Gave administrators the tools they needed to manage hundreds of submissions efficiently while maintaining focus on individual stories and treating every submission with respect.
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