Magnolia Women's Recovery ProgramIn Web Design and Strategy/ User Personas / Content Writing

Magnolia Website Screenshots

news page of Magnolia Women's Recovery Program website
Magnolia Women's Recovery Program-testimonials page
Magnolia Women's Recovery Program-links page
Magnolia Women's Recovery Program-treatments page

Magnolia Brochure and Content Writing

Brochure Outer page Magnolia Women's Recovery Program
Brochure Inner page Magnolia Women's Recovery Program
Article on FASD for MWRP
Article on Relapse for MWRP

Branding for a Non-Profit

I first became involved with Magnolia Women's Recovery Program (MWRP) through a charity portal that matched designers with non-profits of a cause the designer cared about. I started with a pre-created logo--a magnolia flower done in soft pastel tones, and fleshed out what and how I thought that logo represented MWRP--an in-patient drug and alcohol recovery program for women with small children. My intention during the iteration of the first website and the second was first, to offer an attractive, interesting interface that would provide quality information for women in need; and second, to bring in investors and donation money by presenting a well-architected, professional website that clearly delineated the need for facilities such as this, what specifically was needed--blankets, cribs, etc., and a call to action to become involved with such a worthy operation.

After working with MWRP for a few years on a pro-bono basis, they hired me to create a more complex, responsive design that included a blog and monthly articles of interest to both health professionals and women suffering in the throes of addiction and seeking a way out. My overall intent was to create a brand for MWRP that represented the gentle healing the facility itself provided, and to offer fresh content on a regular basis to bring people back to the website in order to learn new things about the science of addiction and its affect on women's bodies, and to be compelled to offer any financial or other assistance to this non-profit.

  • Client: Dr. Linda Stewart and MWRP Board of Founders
  • Technology: Responsive Web Design, Graphics (Photoshop and Illustrator), and Original Content Writing

Article Downloads and Graphics ScreenshotsPlease right-click on any of the following PDFs to download the article.

image Article: About Relapse
image Article: Breast Cancer
image Article: Diabetes
image Article: FASD
image Article: Staying Sober During Holidays
image Brochure: Outer Page
image Brochure: Inner Page
image Web Page: Blog
image Web Page: News

My Process for MWRP

  • Interview Director to determine her priorities for the website, what style and what content should be included.
  • Decide upon an hourly rate to do the work and write up a contract.
  • Create a mockup of the home page; when approved, create a working version (Javascript included for slideshow and menu motion).
  • Continue, page by page, to add graphics, content and some motion effects for visual interest.
  • Begin researching and writing monthly articles in the Health section of the website.
  • Work closely with Director and finish the website, personally host it for a number of months.

What the Client Had to Say...

"Vickie R. is a detailed orientated worker. She designed an outstanding website for our organization that has resulted in positive feedback from all of our supporters.

Vickie...is thorough, organized and efficient. She has a very pleasant attitude a provides excellent customer service and a great eye for design.

Dr. Linda Stewart
Director,
Magnolia Women's Recovery Program

What I Learned From This Project

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Writing Content at a Level That a Wide Range of Users Will Understand
Content Writing and Marketing

This website would have users with vastly different needs, and different levels of reading comprehension. The content articles about health that I wrote had to fall somewhere in the middle when it came to comprehensibility. It was very important that I communicate the health risks of addiction and pregnancy to people who were currently using, and I had to keep the interest of potential donors and investors. And again, no one type of user was any more important than another.

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Designing for Different Devices
Responsive Web Design

Responsive Web Design (RWD) had recently been introduced by Ethan Marcotte, and I thought this site would be a perfect candidate for being viewed at different screen sizes and under different conditions; maybe someone would want to read the articles while on a commute to work on a handheld device. At other times a full-desktop version would be used. I was very excited to jump onto the RWD bandwagon and this was one of the first sites which I developed with that philosophy in mind.

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Don't Switch from Pro-Bono Work to Paid (if Possible) Communication

I had what I thought was a very good relationship with MWRP for many years while I worked for them on a volunteer basis. Things changed drastically as soon as I began to be paid for my work. I began to receive criticism from parties outside the direct line of communication I was used to, that I shouldn't be charging for my work at all. There were issues of payments being made weeks and even months late. The professional relationship turned unprofessional when a paycheck was involved. I know this case is probably an outlier, but it left a bad taste in my mouth for working from volunteer to paid status.