Botanical Garden Volunteer page
The Volunteer Director at the San Antonio Botanical Garden promoted her program through their website. But missing images, malformed links and a lack of structure made an unappealing invitation. The real catch: She was limited to one web page and existing materials.
My role
The director hired me to create a more compelling online pitch starting with a content evaluation and finishing with custom HTML and graphics. I created a page style, edited and formatted text, invented calls to action and ensured the new page would work with the client’s CMS.
Organization
After our first meeting, I audited the existing content. The content review revealed a critical omission: There was no “call to action” that invited people to sign up. Visitors had no clear way to volunteer. We also saw the job descriptions could be organized into three categories of three to five jobs each.
The director also provided photos of real volunteers at work. With this information, I began to rearrange the content.
Layout
I set up a test page based on the site’s working space. Sketches lead to a six-column layout, later simplified to three. The first draft didn’t allow for expansion, so we experimented with hypothetical amounts of text and graphics.
Visuals
How do we appeal to new volunteers and keep site’s overall look? I started with a color palette based on images found throughout the site. The colors drew attention to strategic information such as the titles and calls to action.
Effective calls to action are vital. More than eye-grabbing, they need to imply clickability and offer incentive to act. Using brand colors, I built three calls that asked people to download the application form, learn more about the Gardens and sign up for the mailing list.
The result
The new design allows for expansion, works with the existing CMS and visually fits with the overall site — but uses size, position, color and a deliberate top-to-bottom flow.