United Way x Botella
When Queen’s students leave Kingston for the summer, the city’s population drops by nearly 20,000, taking with it a huge portion of the usual volunteer and donor base. In response, the United Way asked us to develop a fundraising event that could succeed without this student demographic.
I had five months to shape the entire experience, from brand identity to on-site navigation. We began with a clear audience and partnered with local microbreweries, wineries, distilleries, food trucks, and DJs. Tastings were free, with demonstrations on how to mix cocktails, pair flavours, and decode buzzwords like “nitro-infused.”
I approached the event as a full UX system since I was working with digital and physical spaces. I needed flexibility to scale. We gamified the rollout by having early marketing materials that were deliberately sparse, encouraging speculation and word-of-mouth.
The result was a branded world that felt immersive, playful, and grounded in place. Botella raised more than $20,000 annually for the United Way during its run, proof that well-executed design, aligned with a strong user and spatial strategy, can turn an empty season into an opportunity.
