The American Network of Community Options and Resources (ANCOR) is a nonprofit trade association that has worked for more than a half-century to shape policy and strengthen the ability of community-based providers to support people with intellectual and developmental disabilities (I/DD). ANCOR’s 2,000+ members help people with I/DD fully participate in their communities, but ANCOR’s two websites—for ANCOR and for the ANCOR Foundation—were stuck in the past.
Together, we created a new experience across two sites that helps ANCOR tell its story, grow its membership, and deliver community providers the resources and support they need to improve the lives of more than one million people with I/DD. While ANCOR and the ANCOR Foundation needed to remain as two separate websites, the overall structure and information architecture across the sites was very similar. So we used the primary ANCOR site as the foundation to build both sites.
One of ANCOR’s primary goals was to modernize their look-and-feel, so they could convey how current and relevant their work is to the challenges that community providers face. Teal created a crisp and modern visual design, with line animations that help to demonstrate the vibrancy of the organization and direct visitors to key calls-to-action.
Another key goal of the new site is to help the ANCOR team to grow their membership base of community providers. Teal designed an experience that makes it easy for potential members to understand the benefits of joining the ANCOR community and offers a straightforward path to sign up.
Two websites, one shared platform
ANCOR needed their c3 Foundation site to be its own free-standing website, but after our initial discovery conversations, it was clear that the Foundation site could share a similar structure and information architecture to the primary ANCOR site. So, to make sure ANCOR got the most bang for their buck, we created one foundational platform that both sites are built upon, and skinned the Foundation site with a distinct color palette and visuals.
With this approach, we launched two websites that feel distinct yet related to each other. And by building on a shared platform, we helped the ANCOR team maximize their budget while also creating a consistent user experience for visitors—regardless of which site they visit.
The ANCOR site and the ANCOR Foundation site have distinct color palettes and visuals, but are built on a shared platform with shared components, creating a consistent experience across both sites. They also have their own site-specific set of icons that fit within an overall icon design system. The sites use a shared typography system to maintain consistency and familiarity for users across the sites.
Developing leaders to strengthen communities
The ANCOR Foundation invests in leadership development opportunities for individuals who are committed to building inclusive communities that embrace people with I/DD. The ANCOR Foundation’s website helps the ANCOR team explain what the Foundation does, and makes it easy for community leaders to get involved by applying for the leadership development opportunities and programs that the Foundation funds.
The ANCOR team uses Teal’s component-based design system to highlight their impact and keep their audiences up to date on the positive change that ANCOR members are driving.
The ANCOR team honors long-standing community leaders and showcases their stories on the new website, which helps motivate the next generation of community leaders to learn more and get involved.
From start to finish, we could not have asked for a better experience working with the team at Teal. Having managed several website build-outs in the past, I know it can often be a stressful and frustrating process. But between Teal's outstanding design savvy, their patient and quick development work, and expert project management, the whole team left us wondering why we hadn’t been partnering with Teal sooner!
