Portfolio
Projects
Four ways I used design, research, and technology to make information more useful.
All projects
SideQuest · LightOff
LightOff
Designed and built by Adiba Islam
The Problem
Around 80% of people on Earth can no longer see the Milky Way from home. In big cities like New York, excessive and misdirected artificial light gets treated as normal instead of as pollution.
What I Built
LightOff—a website that explains light pollution, then gives people a quiz to see how much they personally contribute and a guide they can actually use to reduce it.
My Role
Visual direction, homepage visuals and UX, quiz content, and progressive content building session by session rather than waiting for one perfect final version.
Working Principle
“Consistency is key!”
What I Learned
I was surprised by everything I learned about light pollution along the way. EcoPower motivated me to go further into this research than I ever had before.
What’s Next
I might keep it up and work on it more. LightOff is intentionally framed as ongoing: something to revisit, refine, and grow beyond the program.
Civic Project · EcoPower '26
Emergency Readiness Awareness
Awareness can change what happens before the water rises.
The Problem
The communities hit hardest by emergencies are not always the ones who ignored warnings. Often, information reached them in the wrong language, at the wrong reading level, or through a format they could not use.
Film as Research
We watched Thrash and studied it as a case of community unpreparedness: who was under-informed, which warning systems failed, and what made the effects of flooding worse.
Adiba’s Perspective
“We watched Thrash and saw how unprepared people were when the flood happened. It made us realize how serious flooding can become when people don't have the right resources or don't take warnings seriously.”
What I Contributed
I co-led the research, helped develop flood preparedness awareness materials for Flats residents, and participated in field-canvassing preparation by testing outreach scripts for the Community Resilience Hub survey.
Impact
The work fed into the live Flats Rising Communication Strategy and community pact network being developed by Brooklyn Level Up with Ground3D, NYC Emergency Management, and COAD.
Field Work
Additional Work
Conducted soil quality testing in East Flatbush and connected the findings to environmental justice.
Attended the Good Energy Collaborative trip to Philadelphia.
Built and deployed the Spanish version of Brooklyn Level Up's first Community Resilience Hub survey.
Connected NYC climate maps, community air-quality monitoring, Esri StoryMaps, and community land trust models to real advocacy.
Helped audit emergency communications across languages, generations, learning styles, and access needs.
Contributed Green Book research identifying local businesses and institutions that could become emergency resources.
Developed and tested plain-language community outreach scripts before field canvassing.