In October 2010 First Book – a literacy nonprofit in Washington, D.C. – engaged Visceral to redesign the organization’s website, including a complete overhaul of the organization’s approach to content. In close concert with a dedicated First Book project team, Visceral planned, designed and built a new site in the Joomla! CMS.

Our collective goal was to better engage visitors on an emotional level, and draw them deeply into the organization’s focused mission and brand experience. We achieved this goal via a robust information architecture and content strategy, and a design/development approach that integrated seamlessly with third-party donation tools (Convio) and online form tools (Wufoo). To highlight First Book’s robust social media presence, we integrated feeds from the organization’s blog and Twitter accounts in order to keep content fresh and engaging.

The end result, www.firstbook.org, re-launched on February 4, 2011. With a visually powerful homepage and clear conversion pathways, the revised First Book site compels audiences to participate – to act not only in support of First Book’s mission – but in the greater societal goal of promoting ending illiteracy.

The new site presents an impactful statement about First Book’s mission to end illiteracy, while focusing specific user groups on engaging with the organization quickly and easily online.