Athens Chautauqua Society
Type: Brand Identity and Website
Timeframe: February 2020 - Present
Description: The Athens Chautauqua Society (ACS) is a nonprofit based in Athens, GA, with the mission of bringing historical storytelling to local venues. ACS began operations during the pandemic, which made its digital presence even more important. I served as a pro bono web designer and consultant throughout the first year of operation. The brand identity and website remain foundational to ACS’s operations.
It was important for the ACS brand to have logos that could represent the fun, engaging aspect of historical retellings while also standing alone as a prestigious resource.
LEARNING OPPORTUNITIES
DESIGNING FOR ACCESSIBILITY
When considering design aspects for ACS, I had to do basic research on best practices for senior demographics. A large population of Chautauqua attendees are older adults. This audience required more prominent text/graphic elements and additional text prompts. The homepage was the most critical design of this project; it had to give enough information to new users to invite them to click around while providing returning users a quick journey to their intended information. To balance these two user needs, there is a compelling events summary at the top of the page, and core information is highlighted through the three large buttons in the middle section of the page.
A core part of the home page experience is finding essential information about ACS and its operations. These elements needed to stand out on the site - to ensure older users would easily identify these items.
DESIGNING WITH FUNCTION
For the organization, a priority of the site was the ability to donate. The website would serve as a donation page during events, so navigating online payments was a priority. The solution was a large, standout “Make a Gift” button. By keeping this potential action in the navigation bar, users can quickly return to a donation option, regardless of where they land.
