Arizona Humane Society (AHS) Website
Art Direction
Web Redesign
OBJECTIVE
Redesign the WordPress site to reflect the rebrand and enhance the user experience in preparation for the new medical center’s opening in fall 2021. The goal was to improve site performance, streamline content structure, and align with both user needs and organizational objectives.
Volunteer – Interior Page
Design System
A small sample of the full design system—from column grids to buttons, typography to tabs—distilled into a shared visual language for consistent, fast-moving collaboration between design and development. Accessibility was built in from the start, with careful attention to color contrast, readable type sizing, and touch-friendly tap targets throughout.
OUR PROCESS
DESIGN & DEVELOPMENT
Brand & Design Audit: Conducted an audit of the brand’s color palette and typography to ensure alignment with the new visual identity.
Design System, Module Library & Accessibility: Developed a comprehensive design system and module library to ensure consistency and enable rapid, flexible updates across the site. Accessibility was factored into every component, from the ground up.
Responsive Design: Employed responsive design principles to ensure optimal performance across devices and browsers.
Speed Optimization: Implemented lazy loading and image compression techniques to improve site speed and user experience.
Sitemap & Taxonomy: Reorganized content into a simplified and more intuitive sitemap that improved navigation and access to critical information.
Quality Assurance (QA): Conducted thorough QA throughout the design and development phases, ensuring compatibility across multiple browsers and devices.
Client Training: Facilitated a training session for the client’s team on the CMS backend and module library usage to ensure ongoing content management efficiency.
User Research: Conducted six user interviews focusing on volunteer, fostering, and adoption processes to identify pain points and unmet needs in the current website.
Heuristic Analysis: Performed a thorough audit of the existing site, identifying key issues such as slow load times, a cluttered sitemap (400+ pages), duplicated content, and ADA compliance gaps.
Information Architecture (IA): Using insights from user research and stakeholder feedback, documented the current state of IA and developed a new, streamlined structure that reduced the site from 400+ pages to under 150, eliminating redundancies and improving content discoverability.
Donation – Interior Page
SOLUTION
As the Art Director, I played a key role not only in the creative direction but also in overseeing the strategic execution of the project. My responsibilities extended beyond the initial design phase to include reviewing and refining the design and layout throughout the development process. I worked closely with the design lead, Tierra Nelson, to ensure that each component—whether content structure, visual elements, or interactive features—met high-quality standards and aligned with the overall brand identity.
Homepage
Lazy loading significantly improved page performance, while warm tones and subtle micro-animations created a playful, emotionally engaging experience that elevated the overall user journey.
In collaboration with the account team, I ensured that project timelines, resource allocation, and client goals were balanced effectively. I recommended design enhancements at each stage, ensuring that the user interface was both visually appealing and highly functional. My leadership helped ensure consistency in design while maintaining flexibility for future updates.
The modular design system developed allowed for efficient scalability and easy updates, ensuring a seamless experience across all devices. I also facilitated detailed design reviews, providing feedback on layout, typography, and visual hierarchy to further optimize the user experience. This collaborative, iterative process resulted in a user-friendly, ADA-compliant website that exceeded client expectations.
ACCOMPLISHMENTS
+19.5% increase in donation gifts.
+12% increase in pet lives saved through enhanced adoption search and wishlist functionality.
+188% improvement in site responsiveness, with page performance scores improving from 34 to 98.
Adoption – Interior Page
Role: Art Director
Client: Ideas Collide
Year: 2020-2021
Programs: Adobe XD, Miro, Trello
The following work samples were created while working with Ideas Collide for the Arizona Humane Society. All rights of the designs are property of both parties and can be removed from display in my portfolio at any time.