​​​​​​​Objective

The objective for this site was to engage donors (typically age 50+ who are already involved in civic activity in Chicago and actively donating to the arts) and to serve as a tool for our fundraisers on staff. This site also needed to provide a home for updates and related materials. We had no budget for this outside of staff time and were limited to two months for concept, design, content, and build, so we wanted to use as much existing content as possible.

I reviewed high performing campaign sites and developed a rough map of content and structure and key examples to share with my team. I lead a kickoff with the marketing leadership team. We reviewed examples that came out of my competitive analysis and brainstormed a rough structure for our site. Then we identified content we had versus content we wanted. Based on the feedback from this session, I developed a content prioritization list with contributors and began building a site map and wireframes. Once I had socialized the final map and wires with the team, I presented these to the fundraising team for final approval. I collaborated with our engineering team and a visual designer to bring the site to life.

My priorities for the site design were to keep it visual and limit copy at the surface level. The site was designed to be content-first. Most of our users were expected to interact with this on desktop, so we prioritized a rich desktop experience that seamlessly transitions to mobile. The home page acts as an overall site narrative and guides the user through each section of the site. Users never need to leave the first page, unless they want to learn more. Access to giving is persistent and stands out from the variety of colorful images. Bold and dramatic imagery connects to stories that support the case for supporting the arts through a financial contribution.