Work
UWSEM is one of many regional branches of United Way, an international nonprofit organization that seeks to improve lives by mobilizing the caring power of communities around the world. Every year, UWSEM mobilizes a network of hundreds of partners and thousands of donors, advocates and volunteers to advance equitable communities where households are stable and children thrive in Southeastern Michigan.
They reached out to Teal looking for a strategic thought partner to help them streamline the site so that both community members in need and community members looking to help could more easily understand the vast range of services they offer.
To make things a bit more complicated, the United Way National was in the middle of a big brand overhaul, and UWSEM needed the look-and-feel of their new site to reflect that rebrand. However, they also wanted to have their own unique flavor, and weren’t confined to using the national United Way design system.
We collaborated to develop our own unique interpretation of the national brand, highlighting series of concentric circles to bring life and movement to the site and represent the ripple effect of UWSEM’s local work.
Our main challenge was to create multiple easy-to-use pathways so that new users didn’t feel overwhelmed by the sheer number of services UWSEM provides. Clear options and plain language were critical. We started with a friendly “How can we help you” greeting in the homepage hero, elevating the most-used pages of their old site. We streamlined the main navigation to its most basic actions – Get Involved, Get Help, and Get to Know Us.
Just as there are many different avenues for United Way to help the community, there are many different ways for community members to get involved and give back through United Way. After user-testing three different layouts for the Get Involved page, we developed a simple, three-step quiz for volunteers to identify opportunities in their neighborhood that align with their interests and availability, making it easy to jump right in.
We've been thrilled with the entire process, including the design, the attention to detail on the site, the regular updates and interactions we've had with the entire team through meetings, messages and BugHerd, and more.”
The impact UWSEM has on the local community is tremendous, and couldn’t be contained on a single “Our Impact” page. We scattered masonry grids full of dynamically-populated, relevant impact statistics and real stories throughout the entire site, featuring the names and faces of real community members who have benefitted from United Way. We also made it fun, scattering impact stats and even small multiple-choice questions to test users’ knowledge of the needs of the local community in key locations on the site. Donors, volunteers and help-seekers alike can feel the incredible impact of United Way on every corner of the site.
Being a resident of Southeast Michigan, I have personally witnessed the impact that our local United Way has had in the community. A highlight of this project was thinking of unique ways to simplify and connect to their volunteer hub making it faster to find additional ways for anyone to support and take part in their mission.
A brand that inspires the creative leaders of tomorrow to make their mark.
The part where we ask you to cough up your email. So we can discuss all the amazing things we’re gonna do together. No pressure. Really.