Jane Addams Resource Corporation

CLIENT

Jane Addams Resource Corporation (JARC) was founded in 1985 as a not-for-profit community development organization. By promoting strong communities, businesses and households, JARC strives to ensure that people who work do not live in poverty and that businesses remain competitive in the industrial landscape.

BACKGROUND

JARC wanted to rework their website to make it a more usable tool where people could find more information on the company's purpose and offerings. In our initial discussions with JARC, it became clear to us that not only were they in need of a website redesign, but they could also benefit from a new logo, tagline and collateral design. This overhaul would give the company a completely updated and professional presence.

A unique challenge we faced was ensuring that the new design spoke to all the various communities that JARC serves such as low-income workers, manufacturing business owners looking to train their employees, as well as to people who wanted donate and support JARC's efforts.

THE SOLUTION
New Logo Design and Tagline

We created the new look and feel featuring the acronym JARC in custom lettering which strikes an effective balance - simple enough to interest the individuals and students JARC serves, and polished enough to attract the attention of their business clientele and potential donors. In addition, we proposed a new tagline of "Building success that lasts in work, life and community" to clearly illustrate the scope of JARC's work in a simple sentence.

Website Redesign

15 letters created a new organizational structure for the site to ensure the navigation would be more intuitive so visitors could easily find their way around the site and quickly arrive at the information they needed. We selected bright colors to capture the spirit of the organization and to organize the content in a simple and attractive way.

Content Optimization

As part of the website redesign, we revised the copy for better readability and search engine optimization. While keeping the tone of the entire site consistent, we made certain that the language in the separate sections was written specifically for the type of visitors viewing those pages (i.e. potential students vs. potential business clientele).

Custom CMS Solution

Another key piece of the new website was a content management system which allowed JARC staff members to update and edit the News & Events section instantly in order to keep the content fresh and timely.