Category Archives: Featured Project

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Alpha Kappa Psi

Complex content organized through thoughtful design…and it looks good too! Continue reading →

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Complex content organized through thoughtful design...and it looks good too! Continue reading →

The Project Up Close:

The Challenge

Alpha Kappa Psi experienced a myriad of struggles with their old website, from a confusing navigation scheme that made it difficult for members to find relevant information, to an inconsistent style across the site. Upon approaching Guide Creative, it was quickly determined that the focus of the new site needed to be content. AKPsi has chapters across the entire United States, as well as in Canada and the United Kingdom.

The Approach

In order to be seen as a hub of information and to appeal to those various markets, Guide Creative focused first on making the new design as editable as possible and then paired that content with an new, intuitive navigation structure. The visual design was created to not only reinforce Alpha Kappa Psi’s brand, but also to guide the eye towards relevent content, featured callouts, and the navigation.

The Results

Upon launch of their new site, Alpha Kappa Psi began to receive feedback from members that the new site was a “breath of fresh air”, allowing for easy navigation while estbalishing a bold new look for the fraternity. Before the re-design, information was buried beneath level upon level of navigation.

After Guide Creative’s assistance, important information was found within one or two clicks. Since launch, Alpha Kappa Psi has continued to work with Guide Creative to build a new eStore, as well as to plan a new interactive chapter map to display Alpha Kappa Psi chapters across the world.

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Museum of Glass

A successful balance of compelling imagery, education and content, combining creativity and interactivity Continue reading →

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A successful balance of compelling imagery, education and content, combining creativity and interactivity Continue reading →

The Project Up Close:

Get your glass down here.

Museum of Glass needed their site to be more easily interactive.

The Challenge

The Museum of Glass in Tacoma, WA, provides a dynamic learning environment to appreciate the medium of glass through creative experiences, collections and exhibitions. Their old website was outdated, and did not provide adequate tools to interact with their audience. They wanted their new website to be more engaging, allow for more user interaction and showcase a new visual “look”, all with the ability for their staff to make more frequent updates to allow the site to feel more relevant.

The Approach

Guide Creative took these requirements and designed a site with a new modern look, engaging imagery, and an interactive piece on the homepage where users can interact and discover different aspects of the Museum of Glass.

The Results

As a result of their new design, The Museum of Glass website has received praise from all of their major audience groups on the new interactive and community features, and has increased overall interest in the museum by increased visibility on the web. More people than ever are discovering the Museum of Glass due largely to their new engaging website, and they have seen an increase in overall museum visitors and memberships.

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Dian Fossey
Gorilla Fund

Helping People. Saving Gorillas. Not just a tagline. Not just a mission. Compelling content that tells their story. Continue reading →

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Helping People. Saving Gorillas. Not just a tagline. Not just a mission. Compelling content that tells their story. Continue reading →

The Project Up Close:

The Challenge

When Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund approached Guide Creative and Blackbaud Interactive for a redesign of their site, they had two major goals in mind – 1) As the direct legacy of Dian Fossey, Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund wanted the message of “who they are” to be clear on the new site, and 2) wanted to increase giving through improved donor engagement. As part of this mission, Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund wanted to emphasis their strong photography throughout the site to help communicate their mission and dedication to working to preserve gorillas 365 days a year.

The Approach

A Multimedia Gallery, utilizing Slideshow Pro Director, was implemented to serve up the variety of images and videos Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund had available in a user friendly format.

The Results

In the first quarter after going live, Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund International saw immediate results from the redesign of their site and SEO consulting. $45,000 more was raised in the 1st quarter of the year compared to the year before, direct traffic went up by 45%, bounce rates dropped by 5%, average page views went up by 18%, and average time on the site per user increased by 26%.

In addition, as a result of the strong style guide and SEO best practices that were delivered to Dian Fossey as part of the Design Cycle process, the content on their site has remained fresh in the months following their go-live.

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Ronald McDonald House Philadelphia 4th Annual Plane Pull

Telling a Fundraising Story Visually Inspires Connection and Action Continue reading →

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Telling a Fundraising Story Visually Inspires Connection and Action Continue reading →

The Project Up Close:

The Challenge

Ronald McDonald House Philadelphia (RMHP) approached Guide Creative with the need to create a new fundraising design for their 4th Annual Plane Pull event utilizing Friends Asking Friends. Beyond a basic branding guide that defined colors and logo treatments, RMHP left many of the creative decisions to Guide Creative designers. They had the idea of a plane-based giving thermometer moving down a runaway, and corresponding imagery, but were not sure how to approach it. Finally, RMHP had a very aggressive timeline to meet, and appreciated any extra effort to enable them to go live as soon as possible.

The Approach

Following an extensive discovery process in which all these requirements were communicated to a designer, it was left to Guide Creative to interpret these requirements into a robust design that would be easy to manage and visually striking, while pulling in the “plane” theme so heavily utilized in their marketing efforts around the event.

The Results

Ronald McDonald House Philadelphia was pleased enough with their Friends Asking Friends design that they reached out directly to Guide Creative’s management team to rave about how great their experience was, and how satisfied they were with their design.

They were especially thrilled with how the airplane thermometer tastefully incorporated their theme, with the plane graphic being pulled steadily across the runway. With ties into Facebook and Twitter, it only took a month to raise almost half the Plane Pull event goal for 2012.

Amy McIntyre helped expedite our timeline and completed the design in a very timely manner.”

Jennifer Shipman
Special Events & Communications Manager
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A Safe Haven RUN! to End Homelessness

Consistency in Branding for Online Events Extends Your Reach and Gives Clarity to the Message Continue reading →

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Consistency in Branding for Online Events Extends Your Reach and Gives Clarity to the Message Continue reading →

The Project Up Close:

The Challenge

A Safe Haven helps people aspire, transform, and sustain their lives from homelessness to self-sufficiency with pride and purpose. For their annual RUN! to End Homelessness event website, they wanted to integrate the colors and overall modern style from their newly rebranded website, while showcasing their supporters from previous RUN! to End Homelessness events.

They also needed a quick turn-around, as they were already taking registrations for the event offline and losing valuable online fundraising opportunities. Finally, A Safe Haven needed to emphasize their supporters by featuring compelling photography of past events highlighting their volunteer involvement and communicating the excitement of the RUN! to End Homelessness through the imagery on the site.

The Results

Because supporters are so vital to A Safe Haven’s success, we found a way to include photographs of past participants within their design and, knowing they were in a hurry, we were able to get them up and running within about two weeks of receiving the assignment.

They are thrilled that Friends Asking Friends allows them to capture the spirit of their organization within the design of their event site, making it an extremely effective tool in recruiting runners and raising funds to end homelessness. Using the new site, A Safe Haven raised over $16,000 towards their goal in the first month live.

“I ran the first annual RUN! to End Homelessness … and had an absolute blast! The entertainment after the race was great too! Homelessness is also a problem here in Los Angeles, and I think the race would be a very popular event here also!”

Liam Dumenjich
Avid Runner and LA resident
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Bill of Rights Institute

Combining history and tradition with technology and progressive thinking is not only possible, but beautiful! Continue reading →

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Combining history and tradition with technology and progressive thinking is not only possible, but beautiful! Continue reading →

The Project Up Close:

When a New Design Steeped in History is Needed…

Bill of Rights Institute approached Guide Creative to design a new web presence that would engage their target audiences through a compelling design and fresh content.

The Challenge

While Bill of Rights was already using the Blackbaud Netcommunity CMS, they had never fully leveraged the content management system;s ability to allow for easy content upadates and targeted content based on the user’s needs. Bill of Rights Institute sought to invoke a sense of history and tradition, while also apprearing cutting-edge with feature throught the site that engages the user, something Bill of Rights Institute felt their previous site had failed to do.

The Approach

With this challenge in mind, and a content structure defined thorugh onsite strategy sessions, Guide Creative set out to develop a design that would establish the Bill of Rights Institute as the definitive national non-partisan sources for information on the Founding documents for students, teachers and the general public.

The Results

Upon launching the new Bill of Rights Institute website, the visual results were apparent and well-received. The design is steeped in history, but incorproates powerful technology, interactivity and social media thorought, creating a successful balance of history, tradition and a tone of progression.

Content is clearly outlined, allowing the users easily navigate through the site for the information they seek. Interactive elements, social media and online fundraising are incorporated in an intuitive way, allowing user to no only find research materials, but also have the opportunity to engage and share their findings.

While demonstrating the desired tone, voice and brand that the Institute needed to portray, they were able to organize content to easily provide the Founding documents their constituents need to access, while integrating new technology, and keeping content fresh and relevant for their audiences.

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Easter Seals DuPage and the Fox Valley Region

A design revolving around easy content management. Continue reading →

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A design revolving around easy content management. Continue reading →

The Project Up Close:

The Challenge

Easter Seals DuPage and the Fox Vallery Region’s (Easter Seals) main goal with their redesign through Guide Creative was to
differentiate themselves from their national office through a unique visual design. It was difficult for families seeking help for their special needs child or for professionals looking for potential sources for rehabilitation services. Easter Seals’s old web site also did not convey excellence, and did not reflect the outstanding qualities that make their centers unique. All content control and donor engagement was controlled by the National Office, thus leaving their site confusing, often outdated, and static.

The Approach

By moving to a new design managed in the Blackbaud NetCommunity CMS, Easter Seals was able to gain complete control over their content and message. The new design revolved around easy content management, allowing for team members with little web editing experience to create fresh and exciting content.

The Results

The design process for Easter Seals DuPage and the Fox Valley Region (Easter Seals) went through several phases as Guide Creative worked to achieve their goals. Upon completion Easter Seals, was a site design that Easter Seals was thrilled with the results and excited to see implemented as quickly as possible.

The new organization of information on the home page allowed Easter Seals to still present both national and regional information, but in a manner that does not overwhelm the user. The simplified navigation structure met their need for information to be easily found and accessed.

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Frost Valley YMCA

A unique design that balances the needs of a spectacular camp with the guidelines of a parent organization. Continue reading →

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A unique design that balances the needs of a spectacular camp with the guidelines of a parent organization. Continue reading →

The Project Up Close:

The Challenge

When people think of YMCAs, they typically picture a gym or fitness complex.  In reality, YMCAs like Frost Valley actually serve their community in many other ways.

Frost Valley runs a 6,000 acre camping and educational nature center in the Catskill Mountains.  They wanted to share their impact with the community through a highly interactive and social site.  This desire had to be balanced with the requirement of being 100% compliant with the brand guidelines of YMCA of the USA, while still conveying the uniqueness of the Frost Vallery YMCA.

Frost Valley partnered with GUIDE Creative to help realize their marketing, social and communication goals.

The Approach

By studying the YMCA of the USA brand manual, Guide Creative was able to use the manual as a tool rather than as a constraint. YMCA of the USA empowers their camps to live their individual brand and portray their uniqueness while providing guidelines that prevent diluting the greater YMCA of the USA brand.

Guide Creative devised a clever approach to navigation that blended nature textures and actual woodcut fonts that met the brand guidelines for natural materials and textures while still giving a unique look to the Frost Valley site. The need for social integration was met by offering the ability for a user to share their entire interaction with the Frost Valley site, from donations to photos to camper registrations. Frost Valley’s Friends Asking Friends fundraising site was also updated and brought into the social fold to create a comprehensive solution that engages Frost Valley’s users along multiple channels.

The Results

The resulting design for Frost Valley YMCA is not only 100% compliant with YMCA of the USA’s guidelines, but  also delivers on the promise of allowing a user to share their journey through the Frost Valley site via multiple social networks. Users can not only perform tasks, they can also share every task they perform on social media to expand Frost Valley’s reach.  Crowd-sourcing the website experience is accompanied by a robust blogging strategy that allows Frost Valley YMCA to push information out along several different unique blogs, adding to the dynamic feel of the site. Frost Valley YMCA has been extremely happy with the visual design, and have greatly appreciated Guide Creative’s willingness to work with them closely to solve challenges in bringing the design to the web and still delivering a easy to use site for both the end user and Frost Valley staff. Frost Valley YMCA is currently looking forward to starting a phase two of the project in 2013, and Guide Creative is just excited to continue to grow a very productive relationship!

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