About the project

GOODBIDS introduced a new fundraising model where every paid bid became a donation. I worked with the team from the concept stage to create the brand and a flexible design system that different nonprofits could customize for their own auction sites.

The challenge

GOODBIDS was introducing a fundraising model most people had never encountered before. It needed to be easy to understand, trustworthy enough for established nonprofits, and engaging enough to make people want to participate. In a traditional auction, only the winner pays. With GOODBIDS, every paid bid was a donation, whether or not you eventually won. The platform also needed to work across different nonprofit organizations, each with its own audience, cause and identity.

How it started

When Seth and Jasper first reached out, GOODBIDS didn’t have a name, a brand or a product. There was an idea and a wireframe. Seth, Jasper and I had previously worked together on The Carbon Almanac, and when they began developing the new concept, they brought me in again from the beginning.

As the project developed, the team expanded across strategy, partnerships, technology, marketing and design.

Creating GOODBIDS

The identity needed to make an unfamiliar fundraising model feel approachable without looking like a traditional nonprofit platform. We developed a bright, optimistic visual language built around bold typography, playful graphics and Gibby, a character that became part of the GOODBIDS identity.

The same visual language carried across the platform and launch materials, giving the project a recognizable personality while keeping the experience simple and accessible.

One system, many nonprofits

GOODBIDS needed to support multiple organizations without designing and building a new auction site from scratch each time. I proposed a modular design system that kept the core GOODBIDS experience consistent while allowing each nonprofit to customize key elements around its own identity.

The system was deliberately simple enough for non-technical teams to create and customize their own auction sites without relying on a designer or developer for every launch. I also helped decide on a technical solution for a WordPress Multisite infrastructure, and a custom WordPress theme to support that model. We partnered with Viget, whose team handled development and worked with us to turn the system into a functioning platform.

From idea to launch

GOODBIDS launched publicly with a collection of unusual prizes and experiences connected to some very recognizable names.

The auctions included having your name appear as a character in John Grisham’s next novel, an original Fight Club poster from Edward Norton’s collection, a podcast session with Seth Godin and Simon Sinek, a signed guitar from Bob Weir, a virtual bake-along with Claire Saffitz, a Mission: Impossible crew jacket signed by Guy Kawasaki, and Taylor Swift concert tickets with flights to Amsterdam.

The auctions supported organizations including Save the Children, the Innocence Project and charity: water. During its initial test launch, GOODBIDS raised more than $70,000 for nonprofit partners across 14 auctions. The GOODBIDS website also received a Silver W3 Award.

The result

The launch brought together established nonprofits, high-profile rewards and a platform flexible enough to support different organizations from the same underlying system. GOODBIDS launched with 14 auctions and raised more than $70,000 for nonprofit partners during its initial test, proving the Positive Auction model with real organizations, real bidders and real donations.