US National Arboretum Explorer

The old Arboretum Explorer was built on Flash. That's not a small problem, that's a ticking clock. Modern browsers were already dropping Flash support, which meant the entire system was on its way to being unusable. The redesign wasn't optional. It was urgent.

I prototyped the new interface in Adobe XD and Figma, working through multiple rounds to figure out how to make 100,000+ GIS data points browsable without overwhelming someone who just wants to find a specific tree. That's a lot of data. The answer was layered filtering and progressive disclosure. You start with a simple map view, and the detail reveals itself as you drill down. Researchers can get to the granular data they need. A family on a weekend walk can find the cherry blossoms without scrolling through a spreadsheet.

The built-in tutorials were critical. The user base ranges from botanists who live in this data to first-time visitors who've never used an interactive map. I designed step-by-step guides that teach the interface without feeling like homework. Plant locations, historical context, and self-guided tours all come through in a visual approach that feels modern and inviting.

Moving to a contemporary tech stack means the ABE app works across devices and won't hit another dead end when the next platform shift happens. It's accessible, fast, and built to last longer than the technology it replaced.