From Websites to Logos
My mother was a graphic designer for General Mills in Minneapolis, MN. I used to go to work with her often, and was inspired by all of the creative designers in my mother's office - people who created the backs of cereal boxes, characters such as the Trix rabbit, and a slew of Prismacolors in the supply closet just begging for a kid to play with. I might have been used in a focus group for GoGurt's first release, and I appreciated watching a team of artists collaborate over things like typography, flavor, and color. It was fantastic.
As an adult, I try to utilize breathability and pops of color where I can. While I'm still learning and have limited training under my belt.
As an adult, I try to utilize breathability and pops of color where I can. While I'm still learning and have limited training under my belt.
Town of Wendell Website Redesign
The last Town website, formerly www.townofwendell.com, was last designed in 2013 and was innovative for its time. Since then, with technology changes and feature upgrades in design capabilities, it had become dated and non-responsive to larger and smaller screens. The whole website needed a refresh.
The 2013 website also didn’t have adjustable accessibility features, which would be an asset attuned to supporting the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). With the Town’s ADA Transition Plan that was rolled out in 2022, the Town wanted to incorporate accessibility upgrades in its communications and technology efforts, as well.
A Request for Proposals (RFP) was released asking website design companies to submit proposals to the IT Manager with a detailed packet of how each company planned to meet the needs of the Town’s new website. After 28 submissions, staff decided to go with the company, Revize.
A timeline for a collaborative scope of work on the project was created, including the following phases:
Now, the Town’s website can be translated into 80 different languages. It also has new accessibility features for navigation aids, such as contrast adjustment, link highlights, bigger text, increased text spacing, a pause button for animations, a “hide images” feature, dyslexia friendly font, different cursor options, line height adjustments, text alignment adjustments, and saturation adjustability.
Additionally, Revize built the site according to 2.2 AA principles, otherwise known as the AA WCAG 2.2 Accessibility Standard. This ensures that the website is operable and all users, including those with disabilities, are able to interact and navigate the interface.
A Request for Proposals (RFP) was released asking website design companies to submit proposals to the IT Manager with a detailed packet of how each company planned to meet the needs of the Town’s new website. After 28 submissions, staff decided to go with the company, Revize.
A timeline for a collaborative scope of work on the project was created, including the following phases:
- Initial Setup & Designer Selection: In this phase, the Communications and IT Manager compiled photos, examples of iconic websites, and information on the new website’s vision along with previous analytics. A graphic/web designer was also assigned to the project.
- Discovery & Design Approval: Mock-ups were provided for the homepage of the site. Communications reviewed and provided feedback on the design. This process was repeated with each type of page design and second and third drafts were created with the adjustments. Fonts and brand colors were decided upon, and the final approval was made once the design was completed.
- HTML Development: Revize worked on making each page on the site clickable and resizable, so that it is compatible with different operating systems (iPad, Laptop, mobile, etc.)
- CMS Enabling & Custom Development: Revize added its Content Management System (CMS) and Modules to the new Wendell site. This allows the editing of pages and keeps an inventory of uploaded content that is posted to the website. We like to think of the CMS as the “backstage” of the website. Where the content is edited before it goes out to reach the community once published.
- Sitemap Development & Content Migration: This could be considered the “Table of Contents” of how the website and its pages are structured and organized. Both new and old pages were organized using a word document and categories such as parent pages, submenus, quick links, and children pages (those that “live” under the parent pages). Content was then migrated from the old site to the new site on a page-by-page basis by Revize’s data loading team, and the Communications Manager. Additional content clean-up and updates were conducted by the Communications Manager once the sitemap and migration period were completed.
- Quality Assurance & Accessibility: All custom development needs were executed during this phase, including the implementation of accessibility tools to ensure that the website conforms as closely as possible to industry standards.
- Training & Beta Site Review: Revize trained staff on how to use the CMS (editing software) for the website so that the page could be maintained and updated by the appropriate departments. A content editor and content approver were chosen for each department of the Town, so that each department could monitor and update its pages as needed. After training, the Communications and IT Manager conducted additional site reviews and adjustments as needed before going live.
- Going Live: In this phase, the IT Manager works with Revize to change where the old URL was (townofwendell.com) and redirect it to the new location (www.townofwendellnc.gov) The Town changed its domain name to be a .gov website to increase security and to coincide with what most governments have their site listed as.
Now, the Town’s website can be translated into 80 different languages. It also has new accessibility features for navigation aids, such as contrast adjustment, link highlights, bigger text, increased text spacing, a pause button for animations, a “hide images” feature, dyslexia friendly font, different cursor options, line height adjustments, text alignment adjustments, and saturation adjustability.
Additionally, Revize built the site according to 2.2 AA principles, otherwise known as the AA WCAG 2.2 Accessibility Standard. This ensures that the website is operable and all users, including those with disabilities, are able to interact and navigate the interface.