Web design

Society of Hope + Providence Living

2023-08-08T10:36:38-07:00

Society of Hope + Providence Living

The Project

  • Rebrand Society of Hope
    • Logo redesign, brand guidelines
  • Sub-brand design – Providence Living
  • Web development for Providence Living, the market-facing site for available rental housing
  • Strategic redesign of Society of Hope web site for use by current tenants and society business
  • Google grant ads setup and management driving traffic to affordable housing options

“The Society of Hope was looking to change our demographic of applicants to better fit our mix of affordable housing units. Our housing stock was a 50/50 combination of deeply subsidized units and market rental affordable units. Previous to our rebranding, 95% of our applicants were only for the deeply subsidized units. This created a challenge to rent the other half of our Market units. We were looking for a way to attract the affordable market unit applicants while directing the deeply subsidized applicants to the Provincial Housing Registry.

We had determined that we did not want to change the Society of Hope name and goodwill it has garnered in public realms. Therefore, we made the decision to develop a sub-brand called Providence Living to act as our rental division to attract market applicants. Spryberry worked with us to develop new logos and marketing artwork, build a website for our rental division, rebuild our outdated Society of Hope website, and connect these all together to provide a platform where we could reach the demographics we were targeting while continuing to assist people find affordable housing.

Spryberry worked collaboratively with our staff to ensure content, look, and functionality were what we wanted and that we received the results we were aiming for. Our staff that were working on this project had very full plates to begin with, and Spryberry worked at their pace and at a level our staff needed. Spryberry took the time to gain knowledge of not only our organization, but also our industry of affordable housing. This allowed them to fully understand our needs and unique challenges. Spryberry was gracious in dealing with our lack of technical knowledge and helped us through things when we didn’t even know what we didn’t know.

Spryberry created two new websites that dovetail very well and provide a huge number of tools for the Society of Hope to continue and grow well into the future. They guided us through, provided training, and we now can keep our web presence up to date. We now have exactly what we were looking for regarding targeting our needed demographics, providing resources for our tenants, and providing direction for the many thousands of people looking for affordable housing. This project has been a complete success!

I would recommend Spryberry time and time again to anyone looking for web design, redesign, or new builds. They are not only very good at what they do, they are passionate about it. Through the entire project it felt like Spryberry was our partner rather than a contractor doing a project for us. Spryberry is our new “go to” in the industry. Thanks Dana and Team!”

Warren Postnikoff, Property Portfolio Manager, Society of Hope and Providence Living

WMBeck Insurance Services

2022-01-27T00:11:41-08:00

WMBeck Insurance Services

WMBeck Insurance Services is a family owned brokerage with a team of over 150 in cities across Western Canada. With a focus on creating exactly the right insurance packages for their clients, they depend on having access to the most current products at their fingertips as well as access to their colleagues who bring industry-specific expertise. WMB places high value on their company culture and received the 2021 award for Top Insurance Employer for their efforts by Insurance Business Canada.

Challenge

WMBeck’s internal communications were the same as many organizations — a mix of email, newsletters, and shared drives. With eight locations and increased team growth, it was becoming harder to keep important internal information in the forefront and provide an easy way to access other communications. WMB was keen to create a vibrant online area to connect and unify staff for all manner of communication.

A team of WMBeck staff from a few locations was tasked with finding a solution. Their IT department started setting up an intranet site but there was a gap in expertise in organizing information to create user flows that would make the site user-friendly as a hub of internal activity. A site strategy and web design were needed.

Approach

After in-depth discussion with the WMBeck team, we created an inventory of internal communications and data that needed to be connected in one place. We mapped user flows to ensure easy access to information from various starting points — whether from a search on the site, navigation, or another section of the site.

After confirmation of user flows and the creation of the site map, we created several homepage wireframes. These were presented to the WMB team and the user flow was checked a final time, leading to the selection of the best homepage wireframe.

Wireframes were turned into design pages and the functionality was implemented, creating a development site ready for content loading. WMB has an extensive library of documents including education, branding, marketplace, and resources that needed to be moved to the intranet, each requiring tagging for searching and sorting. We developed a process for their team to upload, categorize, and tag these documents so that they are in full control of managing their online library.

WMBeck has taken a staged approach to rolling out the intranet to their locations.

Result

The intranet is considered a great success and is functioning in all locations as a way to unite employees and create a collaborative space for their work. Analytics are enabling the team to understand what areas have the highest usage and where content can be improved. The site is expandable with the option to develop a social media styled space for purely social interactions.

“Our team had been internally working on the idea of an Intranet for a few months, when we eventually realized that it wasn’t something we were able to build on our own. That’s when we got connected with Spryberry, and we instantly felt like we were in the right hands.

From our first meeting, they understood that we had an idea of where we wanted to go in terms of design, but that we also weren’t sure on how we were going to get there. They took all our ideas and input and were able to produce a road map. Over the course of about eight months, we worked with their team to create our final phase one product. This process included meeting with different members of their team to help us finalize our ideas, both from a design perspective (colours and layout) and user experience.

The Spryberry team helped us distill our ideas into usable concepts and helped make our imagined experience into a reality. In the end, we were able to launch our initial intranet to our team in mid-October. This tool now gives our teams a centralized location to find information, as well as ways to connect with other team members across the organization. It also provides a consolidated space where our people can find important company updates. One of our goals was to reduce the number of emails that our team members receive daily. The intranet is a space to display many of the details that were previously sent in company-wide emails (important event information, industry updates, etc.) instead of taking up space in our inboxes.

The Spryberry team did a great job of guiding us through the process from start to finish. They maintained a great balance of listening to our ideas and providing their input. We very much feel like the end project is what we envisioned; Spryberry helped us bring that to life.

We have plans to grow and expand the intranet in the future and look forward to working with Spryberry again through that next phase of the project.

We would absolutely recommend Spryberry. Their team is fantastic. Every person on their team works hard, communicates well, and is a pleasure to work with.”

Robyn Wilson, MBA, Vice President

Kamloops Gastroenterology

2023-01-09T10:14:51-08:00

Kamloops Gastroenterology

The Kamloops Gastroenterology group approached us to develop a professional website to serve as a resource space for referring physicians and their patients. As the main public source of information related to services, patients can access and download forms and meet online with their doctor. The team wanted to put a friendly, professional face on the site through the use of team photos and biographies.

Our first task was to develop a logo for the group that would be used on the site and forms. After presenting several options, we refined the design to a final logo.

Moving to the web project, we gathered the content that they needed for the site, organized it, edited, and wrote missing copy optimized for SEO. We developed user flows to map how the two audiences enter and exit various paths through information. Building on the user flow, a sitemap was created to capture all the content and organize it into logical streams.

After designing the site, we trained the doctor responsible for the upkeep of the site.

NIFSC

2023-01-09T10:14:16-08:00

Aboriginal Firefighters Association of Canada (AFAC) and National Indigenous Fire Safety Council (NIFSC) Brand, Marketing Materials, and Web

Client

AFAC operates as a consortium of regional First Nations emergency and fire service. They are currently leading the NIFSC project focused on improving fire safety in all First Nations communities across Canada to protect and enhance quality of life, health, and safety.

Challenge

Phase 1

AFAC had a website that didn’t accurately explain their focus and programming. It was difficult to navigate and manage. The dual-language toggle on the site limited the user to choosing French or English at an initial landing page. AFAC also had a separate website for its key program, the Indigenous Fire Marshal Office, that also had problematic structure and design. The separate sites were unnecessarily splitting their audience and causing confusion around the actual organization and program structures.

AFAC and IFMO also needed a brand refresh to better align with their goals that focus greatly on fire safety and downplay firefighting. Their newsletters and information packages were disjointed and needed to be brought in line with a new brand direction.

Phase 2

In 2020, IFMO was renamed the National Indigenous Fire Safety Council project to better align with the direction of the project. A completely new brand was undertaken to focus on the project itself. With the project gaining speed and complexity, there is an ongoing need to communicate the purpose and status of the project, and securing support from stakeholders.

Solution

Phase 1

  • Comprehensive digital strategy that included SEO research, content strategy, and site mapping to bring the two sites into one and establish the best approach for future development
  • Implementation of a robust language toggle allowing users to switch languages on any page
  • Responsive design and fast load speed to serve communities with limited internet and cell service
  • Brand standard manual and execution across all mediums

Phase 2

  • New brand developed for the renamed organization
  • Digital strategy for the development of NIFSC website focused on the project. Plan for pushing traffic to new site
  • Social media awareness campaigns, and campaigns for lead generation and events

Result

Phase 1

A reliable single site that is easy to manage. SEO for the site has improved dramatically since launch, showing better reach and engagement with the site. The brand has been implemented on several print pieces and used across Canada at conferences and meetings.

The new site launch has given the IFMO/AFAC site a new position for 25 key search terms (we started with 0, and it’s growing every week). The new ranked keywords increased monthly search impressions by 816%.

There has been a 1943% (20x) increase in organic search traffic since the new site launched, a change from fewer than a dozen visitors a month to over 300.

Phase 2

  • Rebranded site for NIFSC. Increased followers and mailing list by 30%.
  • Ongoing social media management on 4 channels.
  • Promoted and organized regional stakeholder information sessions — online forum for learning about the project and creating dialogue.

The branding project

This branding project was scheduled over a four month period to align with meetings of the governing advisory board. The advisory board was comprised of industry professionals from 9 different Indigenous communities representing all regions of Canada. The board was needed to provide direction and vision for the brand. It was Spryberry’s role to find the common ideas that spanned all Peoples and regions as well as representing the purpose of the NIFSC.

We facilitated two branding sessions with the board. Each of the board members provided their insight into their vision of the brand and logo. This was a roundtable discussion with the Elders in the group providing guidance. The ideas put forward reflected the individual’s place on the land, cultural history and stories. Some were similar and others were quite varied.

The board asked us to use an independent Indigenous artist to create the icon for the logo. We selected and then collaborated with the artist in creating five concepts that covered the board’s vision. These were presented to the NIFSC executive director who provided initial feedback.

Four of the concepts were presented to the board. We provided a story for each concept to help align what they were seeing with their vision. The board provided feedback with a request to refine one of the concepts. We worked with the artist to refine the icon and presented a final concept to the board along with a story/explanation of the icon and layouts for the full logo. The final concept was approved unanimously.

Finally, we worked with the artist to create a series of backgrounds and graphic elements to further build out the brand story to ensure all regions of Canada were reflected in the brand.

Spryberry put all the elements together into the brand standards and is responsible for ensuring the brand is used consistently throughout the organization. We’ve created numerous templates, the website, and printed materials using the brand.

We enjoyed the opportunity to collaborate and listen to the ideas from the different regions. This was a challenging and fulfilling exercise in getting to know a number Indigenous Peoples and the common threads running through their cultural stories.

Other Services

  • Communications planning
  • Social media strategy and management
  • Production of all content in English/French
  • Quarterly newsletter writing, design, production, distribution
  • Graphic design for print and web
  • Media relations and monitoring
  • Management of information updates
  • Communications support to IFMO project team
  • Reporting on activities and communications

“My organization was looking for a communications partner for the Aboriginal Firefighters Association of Canada Indigenous Fire Marshal Office Project. The project needed a bi-lingual website, as well as print and digital communications with an updated design theme that better reflected our aspirations.

Spryberry helped us define what existing content was superfluous and what we should keep and created consistent language across all mediums. We also asked Spryberry to create brand standards that retained our crests as the centre element. They created brochures, flyers, and designed a beautiful, easy to navigate website that is visually appealing but low-bandwidth friendly.

Spryberry is an amazingly responsive team! They were really good at asking us the right questions and quickly ‘got’ us. We’re delighted with the finished products and we are getting great feedback from our members and beyond. We’ve already recommended Spryberry to others and will continue to do so.”

Emma Wiggins, Founder, Triumph BSA

Simon Fraser University, The Morris J. Wosk Centre For Dialogue

2022-01-27T10:15:32-08:00

Simon Fraser University, The Morris J. Wosk Centre For Dialogue

Founded in 2000, The Morris J. Wosk Centre for Dialogue at Simon Fraser University is located in Vancouver, BC. The Centre uses dialogue and engagement to create solutions, exchange knowledge, support community-engaged learning, and build capacity in the knowledge and practice of dialogue.

Problem

The Centre for Dialogue had a huge legacy site with too much data. The previous site lacked organization and contained an abundance of content that had been added without a strategy in mind.

Approach

The Spryberry team undertook a digital analysis, created new site maps, and developed a strategic refocus for different users, while using the existing SFU content management tool. The client worked with the content, with help from Spryberry with writing and editing. The process of loading the content was split between Spryberry and the client so that the client can manage their site going forward. Templates, along with guidelines and how-tos for using them from a brand perspective, were created.

Result

The goal of this project was to create a site with better organization and an improved user experience. The client has a lightweight site that cross-promotes their content and purpose in a more integrated way. The new site explores the complexity of the Centre for Dialogue in an easy to understand way.

Previous Website

Burns Lake Community Forest

2020-11-19T15:26:48-08:00

Burns Lake Community Forest

The Burns Lake Community Forest covers an area of more than 92,000 hectares in Burns Lake, BC. This unique area has tremendous cultural, environmental, and economic significance to the area and strives to create and maintain beneficial relationships for recreation, education, First Nations partnerships, and communities.

Problem

The Burns Lake Community Forest was looking for a way to drive traffic to the website. They needed an attention-grabbing way to showcase the uniqueness of the community forest and tell the story of why it is so special and why it’s good for the community.

Approach

Information was pulled from a report to create a series of Q & A sets, which were turned into animations, similar to pop-up videos. Spryberry also took the lead in arranging the voice over and animation work. These animations will be used on their website and a local cinema will run them in a trailer before movies.

Gummy Geek

2020-11-19T15:20:17-08:00

Gummy Geek

Gummy geek, based out of California, is a newcomer to the gummy vitamin business. As a new company, the client needed the full suite of services: brand strategy, story voice, logo development, packaging, product animation, social media, social and search marketing campaigns, digital website strategy, and positioning in the marketplace. We also assisted in setting up an ecommerce store and, as they plan to sell primarily on Amazon, we worked with an Amazon specialist to align their strategy accordingly.

Ayont

2020-11-19T14:53:34-08:00

Ayont

Ayont Cloud Services delivers cloud-based business IT solutions. The team of technology and business professionals at Ayont provide consultation, design, testing, and implementation services including cloud migration, data management, and cloud finance management.

Problem

The client needed to get a simple site up quickly that they can build on in the future. Content needed to be loaded and organized on the site.

Approach

Spryberry created a clean and simple site for the client. The client provided their own content and Spryberry did a bit of editing.

Result

The goal of this project was to get the site up and functioning within a short timeframe. The team at Spryberry met this challenge head-on and got the site up in 2 weeks. The client can now promote their services and get funding. Search analytics are being gathered to inform future adjustments to the site.

KIDS – Kamloops Interior Dragons

2020-11-19T14:44:37-08:00

KIDS – Kamloops Interior Dragons

Kamloops Interior Dragons is a recreational dragon boat club for individuals 55 or older in Kamloops, BC. This volunteer-run team is lead by experienced coaches and paddlers and practices on the South and North Thompson rivers

Problem

The former website for the Kamloops Interior Dragons was old, outdated, and difficult to update.

Approach

The team at Spryberry helped to redesign the content and improve the layout. Assistance was also provided for rewriting site content and in the use of better tools.

Result

The newly redesigned KIDS site allows the club to showcase events, including member-specific events and inter-club races. A blog was added to the site so that the club can provide members with timely updates and news.

Previous Website

College of Dietitians of British Columbia

2023-06-14T10:42:10-07:00

College of Dietitians of British Columbia

Founded in 2002, the College of Dietitians of British Columbia establishes, monitors, and enforces competent, safe, and ethical dietetic practice. Charged with developing and enforcing standards of practice and the code of ethics, the College approves education programs, assesses internationally educated dietitians, sets the requirement for continuing competence, and investigates complaints and concerns.

Problem

The original site contained an abundance of old content and was poorly organized. Much of the information on the site was outdated; for instance, staffing changes had not been updated. The site was loaded with PDFs for users to download but was not searchable or user-friendly.

Approach

To determine the baseline of the current site, the Spryberry team conduced a SEO analysis of the and tracked user flows. This allowed new users to be identified. It was also discovered that many people search for “what is a dietician?” and “how do I find a dietician?” While this is not their purpose, it is important that they are the leading voice on the topic and appear in those searches. Therefore, content was added to make the site visible for these users.  A simplified site map was created to improve user flows. The client did the work on their own content with direction from Spryberry on how to edit it for themselves. Spryberry also redesigned the site to give it an authoritative but friendly look.

Result

The new site is more streamlined and concise. Extra information was removed, and the remaining information was organized in a logical and useable manner. Visually, the site is clean and professional looking. SEO reporting will be conducted down the road.

Previous Website

Spryberry made the overwhelming  task of revamping our website a breeze. The team efficiently organized a plan to get our new website up and running much quicker than originally estimated to fit our new timeline. They were flexible and presented the technical information very clearly. CDBC felt very supported  throughout the whole process.  Thank you for our new website!

Sabrina Lauser, M.Ed., RD, College of Dietitians of BC