Audubon Council of Illinois

Non-Profit, Website Redesign

Audubon Council of Illinois (ACI ) is an established non-profit that needed a new website redesign for a few reasons. The old site was dated in terms of colors, layout and navigation. It was built on a proprietary system that was difficult to update so the content was not as fresh as it could be. A dated site design and old content was not reflective of this important and active organization which helps unify the conservation efforts of several statewide Audubon chapters. Additionally, ACI wanted to promote its new initiative, Bird City Illinois, to local municipalities and other Audubon and Illinois conservation organizations.

I worked virtually with their team to better understand their organization, and their multiple new website needs, from marketing, business and technical perspectives. I knew Squarespace would be a great solution due to its easy-to-use backend interface, and its great modern design options. And, a new site with modern design is so much fun to promote on social media! Plus, the national Audubon organization has recommended Squarespace for its member chapters, so there’s an additional element of trust that Squarespace has been vetted by the national Audubon team.

I used existing ACI and Bird City Illinois logos, and created a natural and energetic color palette, to match the logos, using subtle animation to present the information in a dynamic way. Incorporating Bird City Illinois was a challenge as it could easily be a separate website, but for now the 2 are together, so I used a separate color for the Bird City pages to establish its own identity. Additionally, I helped ACI organize and clarify some of the Bird City content (which is fairly complex) to make it more easily understandable.

Throughout the site I used a mix of photos provided by ACI, national Audubon, and some stock photos.

As an avid birder, I enjoyed learning about ACI and its important new initiative, Bird City Illinois. It’s very rewarding to help amplify these important conservation stories!

Key strengths of the new site

• Easy and clear navigation to main topics

• Use of current events and news on the home page to engage visitors

• Lively minimal design with a blend of photos and text

• Dual integrated branding for ACI and Bird City Illinois

• Complex content is organized for better comprehension by lay audiences

• Easy to update