ABOUT

 

ViviendasLeón is a non-profit organization whose mission is to eliminate rural poverty by building capacities for self-sufficiency in underdeveloped communities and educating our next generation of engaged global citizens. For more than twenty years, ViviendasLeón has involved international groups of students, educators and families in their development work in Central America, fostering cross-cultural awareness and a commitment to social justice -- while helping rural communities achieve measurable, sustainable improvements in their standards of living.

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BACKGROUND

 

I worked with MOD-Lab to redesign the ViviendasLeón website. The client wanted a clean, modern website that clearly explained their story and dual mission (Human Centered Development and Global Education) to audiences in both the United States and Central America. The design needed to be story-centric, showcasing the real people their work is impacting. 

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PROCESS

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Working from a Sketch wireframe developed by MOD-Lab with the client, I chose a color palette that was warm and calming, and also worked well with ViviendasLeón's blue brand color. To give the overall feel a more rustic, personal touch, I chose a handwritten script font for the section header texts. The home page header image features four photos of the client's different areas of work. These four images stack together to create one box, representing the local and international community involvement in the work. I also incorporated soft background photos of the communities' buildings and mountains throughout the home page. 

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It was important that the profiles of specific community members be highlighted in a different style than the other page elements because the stories and quotes are essential to impacting new visitors. For Maria Cristina's profile, I gave her photo a blue overlay that immediately draws the eye. I also added large, yellow, handwritten quote marks to her quote so that it would be attention-grabbing and clear.

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I designed the website look and assets in Sketch. Once the client approved the final designs, I provided the MOD-Lab developer team with a Sketch file of the home page, Programs landing page, Programs page, and a general page with specific font sizes and colors. I also designed a mobile version for each of these pages. The new website can be viewed here.