Whatcom Waves Splash! Down

Summary

The design of the branding (excluding the logo) and a website landing page for a non-profit committed to climate, racial, and social justice through sports. The full website design is currently in progress. The landing page is for a soccer tournament fundraiser for the women's soccer team.

Challenge

Whatcom Waves is on it's 3rd year as a non-profit and they outgrew the old DIY website. Suneeta Eusenberg, visionary behind the Waves, asked me to help get the Waves on the map as a non-profit in Bellingham, WA. The first order of business was to make sure the community fundraiser women's soccer tournament made a splash! So we scheduled the soccer tournament landing page to come first, and the full website design is currently underway. The challenge was to make it easy and fun for soccer teams and attendees to sign up and attend, while educating the viewer on the purpose behind the Whatcom Waves and the event.

Research

We began with defining the "how", "what", "why", "mission", and "vision" of the organization. From there we examined how the purpose of the organization connects to the ideal player, sponsor, and the community of Bellingham. Our goal was to use words that spoke directly to the audiences feelings, wants, and needs. Next, we went through 10 comparable entities to see what aspects of their web presence was working, and not working. Using that knowledge, we mapped out the website user journey based on our 3 target audiences.

Design

Pulling from the target audience and the feeling behind the words used in the mission and vision, a visual identity that is bold and vibrant emerged. The colors, font, and button styles are all meant to infuse energy and action into the page. For the landing page, the concept of having a fixed position ticket on the right hand side of the screen made sense to highlight the primary call to action - buy a ticket. The flow of the content gives the user a clear sense of who the Waves are and what to expect at the event.

Result

View the website here. The event will take place in mid-March, and ticket sales will be posted here.