CNY Adaptive Sports Rebrand
Completely overhauled the branding for a registered non-profit organization in a 48-hour design sprint. Collaborated with teammates, industry professional coaches, and a Webflow developer to redesign and develop a fully functional and accessible website for our client.
Scope: UX Research, User Interface Design, Logo Design
Deliverables: Userflows, Sitemap, Low-fidelity wireframes, High-fidelity mockups and Prototypes, Website
Tools: Figma, Webflow, Adobe Photoshop and Illustrator
Overview
Reimagining Accessibility Through Design
Every year, Syracuse University’s S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications hosts a weekend-long design sprint called Pixels & Print. In 2023, I had the opportunity to work on the UX team and contribute to the rebrand of Central New York Adaptive Sports, formerly known as MoveAlong Inc. My team and I worked on revamping the organization’s digital presence through a website redesign. In the end, we came together with the print and motion teams to present our final pitch to the client.
Our goal is to create a new web experience to support them in their organizational growth allowing them to develop the opportunities and experiences they offer and encouraging expanded community involvement.
Challenge
How can we completely overhaul the digital branding of a non-profit organization in 48 hours?
Solution
We used a user-centered design approach to quickly assess needs, develop a cohesive brand strategy, and create an intuitive, redesigned website.
Branding
Logo Design
We began the workshop by dividing up into our teams to brainstorm: the Print Team to focus on the creation of a new brand identity, the UI/UX team came together to develop CNY Adaptive Sports’ online presence, and the Motion Team created a promo video to live on the prospective new website. Each participant came with a rough logo idea to share with the Print Team.
Insights from our Client Q&A inspired my original logo design for MoveAlong, which highlights accessible services for athletes of all ages. I represented this inclusivity by incorporating large and small wheelchair-bound figures, using color to suggest age progression—from yellow for the younger figure to orange for the older one.
With the organization rebranded as Central New York Adaptive Sports to stand out from competitors, I designed the figures in the logo to subtly form the initials 'CNY.' The wheel of the wheelchair represents the 'C,' the bent legs form the 'N,' and the outstretched arms symbolize the 'Y,' visually reinforcing the organization’s identity." This motif ultimately carried through to the final and current logo.
Design Thinking Framework
Who, What, Wow
From our initial client meeting and a heuristic evaluation of the original site, my UI/UX team and I identified that the site was clunky, outdated, and difficult to navigate, undermining the organization’s mission and its ability to serve its audience effectively.
The team and I used IBM’s 'Who, What, Wow' design thinking framework and organized our ideas with sticky notes on a Figma FigJam board to identify the website's potential users and their needs.
- Who: users who would be accessing the website
- What: the specific needs and challenges that these users might face
- Wow: brainstormed solutions to help these users navigate the website more easily and effectively
Who
Understanding Our Users
To identify the site’s users—and just as importantly, who they wouldn’t be—we analyzed stories shared by our client and examined the features of the existing site. This process helped us define the primary user groups:
- Funding providers
- Volunteers
- Parents and caretakers
- Young adults seeking services
- People with a range of abilities
- Athletes
These insights shaped the site’s language and information architecture, ensuring that critical features, such as the ability to donate, were immediately clear and prominently emphasized.
What
From Insights to Implementation
The main challenge was identifying and addressing the needs of CNY Adaptive Sports’ users. We translated these needs into project goals:
- Enable visitors to quickly understand what CNY Adaptive Sports offers.
- Enable donors understand the scope of CNY Adaptive Sports and help connect them to someone inside the organization.
- Create an easy way for people to be updated about events they are interested in.
- Visualize when & where events are happening.
- Create access to information about resources and obtaining equipment
With these goals in mind, each team member developed individual sitemaps and low-fidelity wireframes, which we voted on and combined into a unified design.
One of my key contributions was redesigning the site’s events calendar. I focused on making it more intuitive and visually engaging, which received positive feedback from both the client and stakeholders. This design was ultimately prioritized and became a key feature in the final implementation.
Second version of the low-fi wireframe, created collaboratively with my team.
Final Solution
A Finished Design for Good
Every year, Pixels & Print’s ethos, "Design for Good," guides the selection of a nonprofit organization, often one with little to no branding. This provides workshop participants the opportunity to expand their skill sets while helping the organization better achieve its mission. This year, it was a gratifying experience working with CNY Adaptive Sports.
I found the workshop to be incredibly informative. Working alongside other creatives, I gained valuable interpersonal experience and refined both my creative and technical skills. I also learned a great deal about producing a product with a quick turnaround and received valuable insights from industry professionals on the iteration process and achieving a successful final result.
View the live site here!
Problems Solved
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Overhauled the digital branding for CNY Adaptive Sports, including logo redesign and website development, within a 48-hour sprint.
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Improved user experience by identifying and addressing key usability issues on the original website, such as outdated design and difficult navigation.
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Enhanced site navigation by defining user groups and needs, leading to a more intuitive information architecture and clearer site language.
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Streamlined communication for donors by creating a design that clearly presents the organization’s scope.
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Incorporated a cohesive brand strategy that reflects the organization’s mission of inclusivity and adaptive sports for all ages and abilities.
Industry Coaches: Sarah Alread, Travis Burkstrand, Chase Walker, Kevin Camelo
Site Developer: Seth Gitner
Team Leads: Natalia Deng Yuan, Emily Baird, Matthew Brodsky, Zoe Durham, Bridgette Sanok, Catie Haugen, Gisele Gosset, Amanda Smith
Team Members: David Scharton, Elliot Rosenberg-Rappin, Gianna Corrente, Yiwei He, Rongpeng Zhang, Alex Levy, Estelle Liu, and Alex Hodge (myself)