Introduction

Andrea and Diana, the founders, have successfully led community-building and immigrant integration projects and collaborated with other organizations. Their strong values drive a passion for systemic change and community well-being, and they choose to work with teams that share this vision.

They wanted to emphasize their values through the website without the bells and whistles that contemporary designers use on the websites. They wanted authenticity which would ultimately filter out the projects and organizations which did not align with their goals and values.

How Might We…

How might we communicate the values and services of the organization to the potential partners so that we attract the partnerships who align with our mission of building communities and learning spaces?

Website Audit

One of the first things I noticed about their website was that the services section was vague, and 'Ongoing Project Opportunities' didn’t quite serve its purpose. Instead, it provided an overview of past projects, which they did not necessarily plan to continue in the future.

Previous 'SERVICES' Section

The hero section featured an impressive tagline that conveyed their values; however, it used an abstract design instead of an image, which made the section feel impersonal and distant. Additionally, most images on the website were stock photos, which felt generic and didn’t add much uniqueness to the site.

Previous 'HERO' Section

Furthermore, the entire website was heavy on text and did not capture the essence of the work that Andrea and Diana have been working all these years. Some of the information was outdated and overwhelmingly too much to absorb.

The Design Process

For me, the ideation phase was the most exciting part of this project. I had several meetings with Andrea and Diana to understand their needs, recommend the best solutions, and then implement those ideas. It was an interactive process, and I encountered challenges that required creative solutions.

Common challenges included:

Services Redefined

As a first step, I helped Andrea and Diana define their services clearly. After hours of brain storming and weeks of sitting on it, we were proud to have clear set of services and offerings.

Impact Numbers

Most non profit organizations mention their impact numbers on their website which I feel are very powerful testimony to quantify their impact. However, my clients were not very keen on marketing their achievements like that. They wanted something simple yet impactful. Hence, we decided to include micro testimonials throughout the website.

Showcasing Past Work

Flow Society has done a lot of impactful work and I wanted to find a simple way to capture that. Since Andrea and Diana has an academic background, I came up with an idea to call their past projects as case studies. They were delighted! I created a template which could be used for the projects that they wanted to highlight.

Sketches

After a few reiteration rounds, we finalized the sketches which clearly captured the soul of Flow Society.

Design

The updated design is clean and practical, similar to the previous website, but with the functionality that users can appreciate and which aligns to Andrea and Diana’s taste. The homepage provides a snapshot of their services, values, partners and through the images, the work they have done in the past. The idea was to look at the homepage and exactly understand what is it that they are doing.

In addition to this, I felt that a separate “about us” page highlighting their values would be beneficial for the first time users. Similarly, the language around “our team” was careful crafted as the organization is all about partnerships.

Key Learnings

Communication is the key

While it’s important to understand what the clients want, it’s equally important to offer your recommendations and make the process as interactive as possible.

Consistency

Next time, I might aim for greater consistency across the different pages on the website.