Client McShin Foundation

Industries Non-Profit

Services Customer Experience, UX Research + Design, Brand Identity

Summary

The McShin Foundation, founded in 2004, is Virginia's leading authentic peer-to-peer Recovery Community Organization, but their 15-year-old website no longer represented the high quality care it provides today. They wanted to make it easier for substance users seeking help to find the answers and support they needed quickly, so CapTech stepped in to help McShin align their website and brand to their current support goals.

Results

CapTech rallied a team of Researchers, User Experience Analysts, Designers, Developers and Project Managers to volunteer their time to deliver an online experience that has:

  • An updated, more modern visual brand identity that also complies with today's best practices in Accessibility
  • An intuitive navigation where users can find the information they need quickly
  • A Content Management System (CMS) that allows staff update content on their own
  • Analytics tools that allow McShin to understand what content is most important to their visitors
  • Search Engine Optimization (SEO) tools that help those in need find the organization and resources easily
  • Increased McShin Foundation's ability to reach more people seeking recover support, when they need it

Quantitative results included:

  • Make a donation conversion rate increased by 50%
  • 6% increase in avg. time on page
  • 12% decrease in bounce rate
  • 17% increase in pages per user session
  • 37% increase in user session duration
  • 25% increase in contact form completions from Google search
  • 40% increase in make a donation completions from Google search

Getting to the Heart of User Needs and Organizational Goals

To gain an in-depth understanding of the of the organization’s purpose, unique service offerings, and marketing position, we performed stakeholder interviews. We also conducted a content inventory and audit that provided a detailed analysis of their existing and desired state.

Leveraging research and insights from recovery program participants and a human-centered design approach, we collaborated with McShin’s founders and staff to design and implement an intuitive, easy-to-navigate website and modern logo that better conveys the organization’s  mission and quality of services offered today. The content strategy and website overhaul provide a more simple breakdown of McShin’s offerings, and a quick, easy way for people to get in touch with someone to begin their recovery journey.

A Modern Refresh of a Meaningful Logo

The original McShin Foundation logo was hand-drawn by a recovering VCU student in 2004. Carol McDaid, one of McShin’s founders explained, “The logo’s two hearts reflect the deep and abiding love the founders have for each other and for those in (or seeking) recovery. This must always remain at the core of all that McShin does.”

Creative Director, Kevin Flores added, "Each of the elements in the original design had special purpose and meaning. While giving the logo a fresh, modern look, it was extremely important to our design team to ensure these components were not lost in the redesign process." The result was an elegant logo update that is an homage to the original design and meaning.

The logo design was so well received at McShin that one of the program participants even had it tattooed on his arm to celebrate his one-year mark of sobriety!

McShin Foundation Logo Tattoo

“With the new site we can organize content much better. Working with CapTech and their professionThe redesign was so well received at McShin that one of the program participants even had it tattooted on his arm to celebrate his one-year mark of sobriety! al, caring staff was a breeze. I am in love with the site and how fresh it looks.” 

– Honesty Liller, McShin CEO

A Streamlined Design with Concise Content

When designing the site, we kept in mind that this might be the only time someone struggling with addiction seeks help. For that reason, our design team knew the importance of creating a simple navigation with content that is easy to read and to find. The visual design matched the tone and vision that the organization desired – welcoming, helpful and professional. The wide range of content was assessed and strategically organized, edited and enhanced to ensure the story of McShin's outreach and support was clear and concise.

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