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RESPONSIVE WEBSITE

HELENE FOUNDATION

The Helene Foundation was looking for a few updates to their current website, but after some review and a proposal, we ended up creating a whole new branding and responsive website that better reflects who they are as a foundation and what they are doing every day for the lives of mothers undergoing cancer treatments in the North Carolina Triangle area.

VISIT THE SITE
BRAND GUIDE

PREVIOUS WEBSITE

NEW WEBSITE

THE PROBLEM

The board of the Helene Foundation felt that their website did not accurately reflect who they are as a foundation or attract the volunteers and donations that are essential to the function of the foundation. The website was also difficult to update and resulted in issues with both the aesthetics and functionality of the website.

Client

Helene Foundation

DURATION

October 2020 – January 2022

ROLE

  • Research and understanding
  • Flow and functionality
  • Wireframes
  • Mock-ups and prototype
  • Iterating on designs
  • Building the site in Squarespace

DELIVERABLES

  • Brand guide with logos, color palette, images, and fonts
  • Fully functional website

THE GOAL

Create a functional and appealing website that educates the public about what the foundation does, attracts volunteers and donors, and gives health care workers the information they need to recommend mothers in need.

EMPATHY

RESEARCH

While I wasn’t able to do interviews with users for the site for this project, I did work closely with the client to understand the organization’s goals and personality as well as who the users of the website include and what their goals and painpoints are. 

PAIN POINTS

1

TRUST

Potential donors did not feel confident that they knew where their money was going and how it would be used. The donors need to be able to trust the website and the organization and that their money is safely going to a reputable organization.

2

PRIDE

Many of us have trouble accepting help when we need it. For the moms undergoing cancer treatments, they wanted the website to feel more inviting and have confidence that their pride and privacy is still intact.

3

Knowledge

The healthcare workers who nominate the mothers and the donors who provide the funding wanted more information and to understand exactly who the foundation helps, what they provide, how they do it and what the process looks like.

4

Awareness

The Helene Foundation needed the website to encourage volunteers and financial contributions to spread the word and drive more volunteers and donors back to the website so that they can continue to provide critical services. 

PERSONAS

AMELIA

the donor

“My little sister, the mother of three beautiful children, died of cancer last year and I’ve been looking for a local organization where my contributions can have a meaningful impact on the lives of women going through what my sister experienced.”

Amelia has a sister who died of cancer and is in a place where she could contribute somewhere financially but she needs to feel confident about where she is donating.

AGE

42

FAMILY

Married,
2 children

PRONOUNS

She/Her

OCCUPATION

Stay at Home Mom

EDUCATION

BA in English

HOMETOWN

Chapel Hill, NC

GOALS

  • Directly impact the lives of mothers with cancer

  • An organization that she trusts and feels good about

FRUSTRATIONS

  • She is not sure that her contribution is making an impact

  • Cannot find something local, authentic, and personal

APRIL

the volunteer

“I’m not in a place where I can donate money, so I’m looking for an organization where I can volunteer my time and actually make a difference in the community.”

GOALS
  • She wants to help people, and preferably work with kids
  • She wants to feel like the time she puts in is worth it
FRUSTRATIONS
  • Showing up to volunteer with 20 other people and then walk out feeling like you just stood around for three hours

Imani

the mom

“When I was diagnosed with cancer, my boyfriend left. I can’t work while undergoing the treatments. How am I going to keep the power on and keep my 3-year old warm tonight?”

GOALS

  • To make sure that the organization is the kind of place she wants to expose her child to and be sure she will not be taken advantage of

FRUSTRATIONS

  • Everything about cancer feels so clinical and cold, she wants something that feels like it has heart and personality

Cari

the healthcare provider

“These moms don’t need the bureaucracy of a big organization. they need help today.they need help getting to the clinic, getting childcare while they are there, and food.”

GOALS

  • Concrete relief for her patients who are struggling with everyday necessities

  • To give patients some hope
FRUSTRATIONS

  • Most of the relief organizations take months or longer to provide relief, but these moms need help now

ARCHITECTURE

Establishing an architecture that is intuitive and easy to navigate was an integral part of the process from the beginning.  By first determining all of the components that users were looking for in the site, we could categorize them and decide how to organize our pages and our site menu.

 

WIREFRAMES

When starting the wireframes, I kept in mind the users and their journeys in order to ensure that I created a hierarchy that is logical and easy to follow.  The wireframes are built like outlines for the page to give the stakeholders an understanding of the order of the contents and ensure that the information is organized appropriately.

THE OUTLINE FORMAT

The wireframes for this project were designed in illustrator with the sections outlined and described so that stakeholders can understand what information is being presented.

THE SOLUTION

GIVING THE FOUNDATION A PERSONALITY

To achieve the goals of attracting more volunteers and donors, it was essential that we inspire empathy in our users by giving the foundation a cohesive voice and personality that rallies behind Helene, the mother that inspired the foundation.

The Our Story page tells the how the foundation got started and why it is so important. On the Meet the Moms page, we give faces and stories to the moms whose lives are changed as a result of the work the foundation is doing.

ESTABLISHING TRUST

In order for the website to help the foundation achieve its mission, the website needs to establish trust between the foundation and all of its users including the moms, healthcare providers, volunteers, donors and partners.  To achieve this, we included facts and figures about what the foundation has accomplished and walk through exactly how the foundation selects mothers, and how they receive the help they desperately need.  For Partners, Volunteers and Donor pages, we provide compelling stories and information so that they feel comfortable with partnering with the foundation to do something good.

INSPIRE ACTION

After we gave the foundation a personality and established trust, it is time to inspire action and achieve the goals of the website to attract more donations.  This page is designed to make users feel good about donating to help these amazing women, and give them the information they need to feel confident that their money is being used responsibly.  We also broke down amounts so users understand how much their money can do for the women so they can make a more informed decision about how much to donate.

MAKE IT EASY

One of the painpoints of the previous website was understanding the process and requirements to make a referral.  Friends and family members and healthcare professionals are able to refer mothers who are receiving cancer treatments in the Triangle area, but knowing how to apply and who exactly is eligible was difficult to find.  The new page lays out the exact information they need so they can feel confident about making a referral.

IMPACT

“In updating with our new logo, I am so happy with your design.  You really took the time to get to know our organization, our clients, and our donors and it shows… It has a uniform feel that is so warm and comforting.  On top of that, the website is the bomb-diggity.  I love how it shows up on cell phones too.  Thank you for taking the time and putting all the effort into our branding and update.  I have received so many compliments on everything and always give you full credit.  Thank you!”

-Susan, Helene Foundation