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Maddie's Fund Case Study

The Challenge

Maddie's Fund is a non profit organization who supports the No Kill Animal rights movement by donating millions of dollars to animal organizations nation wide.

Comet Studios designed the Maddie's Fund web site in 2000. The web site was to be used for information about how to apply for grants and to report on the projects that Maddie's Fund grants.

The large volume of information to be included on the site was the main challenge. After we did a content audit, we developed a visual diagram which laid out the tasks involved from the users perspective.

From this mental model, we developed the information architecture from a task approach. We then identified the names of navigation regions, determined the interaction, content elements, and layout.

Our design integrated Maddie's Fund stationery colors of maroon and yellow with the Maddie logo. Our front cover featured a compelling image.

We provided staff training in order for Maddie's Fund to make daily updates and over the next 2 years the site grew with 50% increase in content and additions to the third and forth navigation level.

The Solution

In 2002, Comet Studios was commissioned to re-designed Maddie's web site to accommodate the increase in content and navigation regions.

Our first priority in the re-design was to restructure the architecture and set up strict style guidelines to keep updates consistent. The interaction was best suited for javascript rollovers with a "you are here" indicator. At the secondary level of navigation the third, forth and sometimes fifth level are readily apparent, helping the user to see all the navigation possibilities.

Our second priority was to address the visual design to include a more compassionate feel to the web site without losing the main focus of the information based web site.

Our design was careful not to drastically alter the overall design since we had established the branding strategy in the launch of the 2000 web site. We also did not want the users to perceive drastic changes to the web site, as it could send conflicting messages. The existing colors remained, the logo was relocated to the conventional left top corner, and we created the collages of dogs and cats for each top level section of the web site which added the "warm and fuzzy" quality. On the front page, we added the image of Maddie, the real dog, who was the inspiration for the founding of the company.

Adding a frequently updated news area to the front page tied into the marketing strategy.

The Results

Maddie's Fund has gained critical acclaim as the leader in animal rights welfare across the country.

In the December 2, 2002 issue of Business Week, Maddie's Fund founders Dave and Cheryl Duffield were ranked 14th in the magazine's list of the 50 most generous philanthropists.

Dave and Cheryl's lifesaving generosity is also praised in Matthew Scully's new book, Dominion: "Across America, many thousands of rescued animals can likewise bear witness, just by being alive, to the goodness of a man named David Duffield and his wife Cheryl."

Maddie's Fund web site has increased traffic by 50% and has funded 50% more projects since 2000.

The real results is that thousands of animals lives have been spared.

Comet Studios is proud to contribute our services to such a worthy cause.

www.maddies.org