OVERVIEW
The CHAD Foundation: A non-profit website redesign
The CHAD Foundation was created when the untimely death of a 26-year-old athlete named Chad died of Sudden Cardiac Death with no previous history of heart disease. This led the foundation to provide free heart exams in various schools and organizations to prevent Sudden Cardiac death in young athletes. Arista, the mother of Chad and Founder of the CHAD foundation wanted to redesign her website in a way that would make it approachable and attract target users like young athletes, parents, and physicians.
My Role
UX Designer; I created different exploratories of fonts, colors, style elements, and stock photos. I was in charge of fleshing out the homepage as well as reskinning the subpages to create an award-winning website.
I met with the client several times to gain an understanding of the website. From our meetings, I realized that Arista, the client, wanted the website to show that the CHAD Foundation has two equal parts: Gift of Heart and Gift of Art. Gift of Heart is the gift of free heart screening exams to various schools aimed at servicing students who may not have the resources to get the exam. The Gift of Art allows for students to create and produce art that demonstrates diversity in America.
The CHAD Foundation
I worked directly with a creative director, Ralph Andre, to redesign a website that was more approachable, modern, and creative. He was mainly responsible for the visual design of this project.
The Original Website
PROBLEM STATEMENT
The current website does not illustrate the two main components of the non-profit: The Gift of Heart and the Gift of Art and the navigation has too many subpages.
How might we modernize an aging website and implement new branding to better represent the new CHAD brand?
GOALS
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Redesign the website to engage target users like young athletes, physicians, and parents
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Demonstrate the two equal parts of the CHAD Foundation: The Gift of Heart and the Gift of Art
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Create a better navigation system
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USER INSIGHTS
I connected with the founder to understand more about the users and was able to obtain three quotes.
"I credit my brother, Jonathan, with saving my life. Because of Jonno’s sudden cardiac death while exercising, I was screened revealing a nickel-sized hole in my heart without any symptoms. Following open-heart surgery to close the hole, I am able to return to running without the fear of a stroke, right ventricular failure, or death caused by the defect. I am a survivor because of cardiac screening.
– Mackenzie Gray, Athlete, survivor
"As a physician, especially one who specializes in pediatric cardiology and also as a father, it has been my privilege to participate in cardiac screening events such as those sponsored by the Chad Foundation. I feel very strongly that every young athlete should receive cardiac clearance prior to participating in competitive sports. Testing is non-invasive, results can be obtained quickly and taking these types of preventative measures can potentially save lives."
-Jared LaCorte, MD, FAAP, FACC
Staten Island Pediatric Cardiology"
[picture to be used from Google Drive is titled-- Dr. Lacorte]
"I would like to thank you for providing heart screenings for our Varsity and Junior Varsity Football Teams. Our other teams would greatly benefit from this heart screening. We would like to extend our sincere thanks to CHAD, HEALTH for Youths, and the doctors, nurses, technicians, and volunteers who were a crucial part of this event. With sincere gratitude,”
-Nancy Cena, Athletic Director
Port Richmond High School
Staten Island, New York
[picture to be used from Google Drive is titled---Nancy Cena - Athletic Director]
USER PERSONAS
The CHAD Foundation targets three groups of users: students, coaches, and parents. In order to empathize with these users I created three user personas.
HEURISTIC ANALYSIS
IDEATION PHASE
I worked along with a creative director to come up with a font, design elements, and a color scheme. We chose red because it represents the heart which is very important to the CHAD Foundation. We also chose orange because it is a warm and inviting color that gives off a trustworthy feeling.
We were trying to figure out the best way to represent the Gift of Art and the Gift of Heart. We were deciding between have both be equally split or taking away one of the sections from the homepage. We decided to go with having both be equally split since the CHAD foundation cares is about providing medical care and also creating art.
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Along with the creative director, we created a style guide. We wanted the website to give off a welcoming feeling and decided that the orange would achieve that objective. Our client, Arista, wanted the color red to represent the Gift of heart.
STYLE GUIDE
WIREFRAME
PRODUCTION READY ITERATION
Home page
For the hero image, we really wanted to find a clear image of a male within the age range that was being examined by the doctor. The primary color red was chosen because of the subject: the heart. We wanted the website to give off a welcoming feel, so we chose orange as another color because orange makes people feel welcomed. It was a bright color that made it perfect for the call-to-action buttons.
About Us Page
About Us
We wanted to reiterate the gift of art and the gift of heart so that the user can be reminded of the mission of the CHAD Foundation. We also thought that it was important for the user to watch the CHAD documentary.
Gift of Heart
In order to make the navigation easier and smoother, we added three buttons that are anchor linked to the corresponding sections within the page. This allows for more convenient navigation throughout the website.
MOBILE DESIGN
TESTIMONIALS
"As a client, I am thrilled to have Ana on the team. She exudes a creative, refreshing vision while still listening attentively and respecting to the client's viewpoint. Ana is thoroughly committed to her work and causes that make the world a better place Her design, technical prowess, and heart help to put a new face and spirit to The Chad Foundation website. Thank you, Ana!"
-Arista, Founder of The Chad Foundation for Athletes and Artists
MEASURING IMPACT
Even though the design is currently in the process of development, the measurable impact would be the increase in donations as well as an increase in volunteers.