Design Exploration

The most rewarding part of doing charitable work is to see the effects.

This is the main concept of http://www.donate-a-meal.com, a site created by an Ogilvy and Mather office in Dusseldorf, Germany.

As many as 16,000 children living in Dusseldorf, Germany are hungry, according to the site, so it asks for donations -- in a very visual and interactive way: Users simply drag food that is displayed onto a child's empty plate and repeat this for as many children as they can afford to support.

Once donors have filled a plate and therefore fed a child, they are given their own plate on which to write a greeting to the kids. With this act, the donation becomes personal.

While the site's concept is simple, the effect is powerful. The children participating in the site are actors, but they do represent needy children and their earnest faces staring right at you with their unfilled plates say it all.

If users have any questions, they can click on the Dusseldorfer Tafel tab to learn about food redistribution and the volunteers (from producers to retailers to the Tafel's staff) who hand out food products free of charge to those in need.

The site is spare-looking, with the most color coming from the food and the children's faces. This treatment keeps users focused on the objective: donating.

The site's creators -- an Ogilvy and Mather office in Dusseldorf took home a coveted Cannes Lion award at this year's Cannes Advertising Festival. The festival has long been considered one of the best of all international awards shows to recognize and reward exceptional and innovative creative advertising.