Casa Sheila– part 1: client rebrand

Capstone | Website Redesign | Branding | UX & UI

Feb-March 2024 (6 Weeks)

November 2024 - June 2025

Brief

Create a cohesive brand for marketing and a website redesign on a new builder platform for a nonprofit organization that aligns with the organization's mission and values

See live site here

Role & Skills

UX Research

UX & UI Design

Rebrand

Wire frames

Website Diagram


UX Research

UX & UI Design

Rebrand

Wire frames

Website Diagram


Team

Catherine Huynh

Robyn Wight

Catherine Huynh

Robyn Wight

Casa Sheila– part 1: client rebrand

Capstone | Website Redesign | Branding | UX & UI

Feb-March 2024 (6 Weeks)

November 2024 - June 2025

Brief

Create a cohesive brand for marketing and a website redesign on a new builder platform for a nonprofit organization that aligns with the organization's mission and values

See live site here

Role & Skills

UX Research , UX & UI Design, Rebrand, Prototyping

Team

Catherine Huynh, Cindy Te, Irina Nelecpcu, Amy Cai

Project Breakdown

Problem

Casa Sheila Animal Welfare is a nonprofit organization in San Jose Del Cabo that does not have an active brand, marketing materials, or website that attracts donors and volunteers

Goal

Create a cohesive brand with an engaging, responsive website that is user-friendly to attract American donors, volunteers, and adoptions

Project Breakdown

Problem

Casa Sheila Animal Welfare is a nonprofit organization in San Jose Del Cabo that does not have an active brand, marketing materials, or website that attracts donors and volunteers

Goal

Create a cohesive brand with an engaging, responsive website that is user-friendly to attract American donors, volunteers, and adoptions

Client Rebrand

Rebrand using exsisting logo

  • Consistent branding

  • Updated copywrite, images, and design

  • New pages

  • Translator widget

Client Rebrand

Rebrand using exsisting logo

  • Consistent branding

  • Updated copywrite, images, and design

  • New pages

  • Translator widget

Ground zero

Original site

  • Nonexistent branding

  • Both Spanish & English translations on the same page

  • Inconsistent text, spacing, and overall design

Ground zero

Original site

  • Nonexistent branding

  • Both Spanish & English translations on the same page

  • Inconsistent text, spacing, and overall design

Final website design

User Journey

This user journey tracks the experience of a user when they first become aware of Casa Sheila, to engaging in the organization activities through the website, then sharing their experience with others or returning again on the site to attend more events

Website Diagram

The breakdown of each tab on the website and the contents that make up the tab, with a focus on educating and engaging users on the organization's mission

Applying the Designs

Taking the organization's original logo, we created a style guide leaning on the green of the Mexican flag, we built the first draft of the website

User Research

After completing our initial website drafts, we conducted user research with potential donors and supporters of the organization. Using methods such as usability testing, interviews, click tracking, and the fly-on-the-wall technique, we assessed the effectiveness of our design and identified opportunities to improve the user experience

User Feedback

Throughout the project, we conducted research that helped ground us back to the core values and purpose of the organization, which was connecting humans and animals together so that change could happen in the community. The insights from participants allowed us to bring life and personality into our brand and site to better connect with potential donors, volunteers, and adopters through the design and copy write

  • “More dog pictures, this just looks like a bunch of humans standing.”

  • “Too professional... Lost the ‘soul’ feeling”

  • “The original site used power words.”
    Ex. “Moments of hope”

Conclusion

Call outs + Next Steps

Working in real time with a client that has ongoing programs meant we had to work based on their schedule and goals. Designing a rebrand with a logo that already exists and can not be altered, along with client goals and expectations, created some limitations for us. However, with the limitations, we were still able to create a consistent, well-organized, branded, and responsive site on Framer, a new platform we had to learn.

Before we were able to work with the client, their website had text translated into two languages on the same page, now, there is a widget that allows the each page to be toggled to switch from English to Spanish. This allows users to easier digest the information on each page. Overall, there is more information regarding the organization and what they do to help educate and build trust with American users. Creating trust through education and transparency were important points we uncovered while doing user research for the website.

Next for us in this project is to gather analytics and do follow ups with our client on our website redesign to see the growth in engagement throughout the organization.

Reflection

I learned so much about the impact of branding, user interface, experience, and design research from this project and especially for nonprofits. Being able to create an identity to help empower an organization that does good for not only animals, but also the community, was extremely rewarding. Visual design and user experience matter when trying to spread awareness and action to donate.

Conclusion

Call outs + Next Steps

Working in real time with a client that has ongoing programs meant we had to work based on their schedule and goals. Designing a rebrand with a logo that already exists and can not be altered, along with client goals and expectations, created some limitations for us. However, with the limitations, we were still able to create a consistent, well-organized, branded, and responsive site on Framer, a new platform we had to learn.

Before we were able to work with the client, their website had text translated into two languages on the same page, now, there is a widget that allows the each page to be toggled to switch from English to Spanish. This allows users to easier digest the information on each page. Overall, there is more information regarding the organization and what they do to help educate and build trust with American users. Creating trust through education and transparency were important points we uncovered while doing user research for the website.

Next for us in this project is to gather analytics and do follow ups with our client on our website redesign to see the growth in engagement throughout the organization.

Reflection

I learned so much about the impact of branding, user interface, experience, and design research from this project and especially for nonprofits. Being able to create an identity to help empower an organization that does good for not only animals, but also the community, was extremely rewarding. Visual design and user experience matter when trying to spread awareness and action to donate.

More Projects

More Projects

More Projects

Empowered by passion. Guided by the internal spark

Empowered by passion. Guided by the internal spark

Empowered by passion. Guided by the internal spark