‘Leading with Our Values’ Website Design and Development
Web Design and Development, Brand Strategy
Leading with Our Values is a brand new lobbying firm based in New York City looking to redefine lobbying by working in pursuit of justice. The goal of this project was to create a website for the new business that communicates who they are, what they do, and how they differ from traditional lobbying to potential clients, investors, and organizers.
A goal of the client was to ensure the website was easy to maintain after publication. The client asked for the site to be ready within one week, as they were focused on getting their website published in time for an upcoming news story.
Starting with a blank slate
Leading with Our Values, LoV, needed a website to promote their new business to clients and investors. The website needed to clearly outline LoV’s mission and what differentiates them from traditional lobbying firms. It also needed to clearly list offered services and allow users to easily contact them.
The primary users of this site will be social impact investors, political candidates, businesses looking for PR guidance and consultation, and grassroots organizations. The information architecture, design, and content of this site are aimed at providing these audiences with a clear picture of what Leading with Our Values does and how to contact them.
The team consisted of the client, a part-time project manager, and me. As a part of the process, I took time to understand the clients needs and worked with the client to outline the primary users of the site. I also worked to develop a brand identity and a logo for the client. Once that was established, I wrote the content for, designed, and developed the website.
Creating the site content
I learned about the business through discussion with the client and reading all available information on their mission and services. It was clear from our discussions he wanted to present a professional, modern site that worked well on desktop and mobile devices. He wanted to make it clear Leading with Our Values is different and that they fight for justice with clear ethical standards previously lacking in the field.
Before developing any designs, we outlined the content that the site would need to include. This content was organized into four distinct pages and a link to a GoFundMe donation page to support the business. Home would provide a landing page for new and returning visitors, giving an overview of what the business does and what information is available on the site. Who We Are provides the mission, principles the business was founded on, about the staff, and thank you message for supporters. Services would list their fairly extensive list of services and Contact would be a page with direct contact information and a contact form.
By separating information into four pages, no one page was too long. This also ensured that all content on each page was directly relevant to that page, making the content easier to navigate for the user. To meet the deadline and other client requirements, Squarespace was used to develop the site.
Presenting users with calls to action
To further assist movement through the site, the full navigation was included in a footer. A call to action was also included at the bottom of each page that redirects users to more information about LoV without them having to take action right away. Contact options are available throughout the site, but with the primary purpose of the site being to provide users with information on the business, the Who We Are and Services pages are more prominently featured.
One example of a call to action on the Leading with Our Values website. This one is from the bottom of the “Who We Are” page directing users to the “Services” page.
Developing a brand identity
After the information architecture, layout, and content were complete, the visual elements of the site were applied. The client and I selected the primary brand colors of blue, black, and white. These represented his brand of a progressive, modern, and professional business.
To continue this theme, I selected Poppins as the font used throughout the site. To provide some contrast to this sans serif, I used Playfair Display SC for the logo to give a more traditional, professional feel to the brand. Together these fonts and colors present a brand that takes lobbying, a longstanding profession in the United States, and brings it into the 21st century with a modern and progressive feel.
The final product
We published the site in the required time frame and have been making small adjustments as needed since then. The final site met all the needs of the client. Leading with Our Values received positive feedback about the site from new clients who have partnered with LoV since the launch of the website.
During this process, I learned how to create an identity for a brand new business. I learned how to convey a passionate message with a professional aesthetic. I also developed skills in creating a website that would appeal to new users and attract them to the business. In the future, if there were fewer time and budget constraints, it would be beneficial to test the site with users. With that testing, there would be information on how to make positive changes to the site’s experience. Testing would better validate our assumptions that the site is clear and easy to use.
