Project Healing Waters
EXPANDING THE REACH OF A NONPROFIT CREATING A COMMUNITY OF SUPPORT FOR VETERANS THROUGH USER-CENTERED DESIGN
TO HELP MORE PEOPLE, BUILD A BIGGER BRAND
Client
PROJECT HEALING WATERS
Year
2023
Role
BRAND, UX, UI, DESIGN
PLATFORM
WORDPRESS
INDUSTRY
NONPROFIT
OPPORTUNITY
AFTER SUCCESSFULLY SERVING A GENERATION OF VIETNAM WAR VETERANS, PHW NEEDED TO EVOLVE IN ORDER TO CONTINUE ITS MISSION
SOLUTION
A REDESIGNED BRAND AND WEBSITE THAT EXPANDED PHW’S REACH AND POSITIONED THEM TO SERVE THE NEEDS OF 21ST CENTURY VETERANS
A NONPROFIT ON A MISSION
Project Healing Waters is a nonprofit that helps veterans heal after trauma through camaraderie, connectedness – and time spent fly fishing. The organization has served thousands of U.S. military personnel since its founding in 2006. By 2022, PHW realized it needed a change to continue its mission. At the time, it was mostly serving Vietnam War veterans. Given the future needs of today’s military, the organization must speak to women, people of color, and younger veterans of the conflicts in Afghanistan and Iraq to stay relevant.
ANSWERING THE CALL
Elva began work with PHW in 2023, providing its brand design, web design, and content strategy services pro bono.
We wanted PHW’s “journey of healing” to come through in the use of gentle colors, soft edges, and a soothing brand voice. At the same time, we respected the organization’s military background with orderly, disciplined design and impactful type.
Accessibility was also a key factor, to ensure the site was usable by anyone with auditory, visual, or motor impairments. UX work on the PHW website focused on separate user journeys with clear, actionable paths for the organization’s target audiences of participants, volunteers, and donors.
THE POWER OF DOING GOOD WORK
PHW represents our first annual “Elva for Good” client – an agency commitment to provide extensive pro bono support to a nonprofit doing meaningful work. We’re especially proud that our volunteer work allowed PHW to divert design funds toward a national suicide prevention hotline for veterans in crisis. We’d also like to give a shout to CMPSE, our developer partners on this project. “They handled every challenge we threw at them,” says Kelly Quesnel, Elva design director. “They were adamant about getting it right.”
