Dove Youth Development

Overview

Role: Web Developer

Focus/Skills: Website Redesign, User Experience Design, User Interface Design

Technology: WIX, White Boards, Expo Markers

Problem Statement & Purpose:

One of Elon University Interactive Media Program’s key signature experiences is the Interactive Project for the Public Good, where students work in a team environment with a non-profit organization to create an interactive media project.

The iMedia Class of 2022 had the opportunity to travel to Puerto Plata, Dominican Republic for approximately one week to work with our client, Dove Youth Development (DYD), to gather content for their website redesign, marketing materials and social media platforms.

Roles & Responsibilities

As the web developer, my roles and responsibilities included:

Working with our team and client to determine feasibility & accessibility of site map.
Deciding on what hosting site to use, and designing the site from the content collected by the team.
Researching and discovering how the site can be both in Spanish & English.
Testing the site’s usability.
Creating an instruction manual for the client so they can update the site in the future.

In addition to my role, I assisted the videography team in Puerto Plata with conducting 17 interviews and capturing b-roll during the production phase.

Preparation

Abby Lachance | @photos.by.abbylachance

Before touching down in the Dominican Republic, we held weekly team meetings with our client and advisor in order to build the team dynamic and outline how to achieve the goals of the project.

Sitemaps

In conjunction with our information architect, photographer and videography team, we outlined a new sitemap with details of what will be on each page of the site to include videos, pictures and updated information about DYD.

Wireframes

After finalizing the sitemap, general outlines and placeholders for content using expo markers and white boards were created. It was later reflected on the WIX website, where the final project was developed. Above are the layouts for the Home, Our Team, and Dove News pages.

Secondary Role: Videography Team

Abby Lachance | @photos.by.abbylachance

With limited access to the internet while in the DR, I volunteered to assist the videography team with capturing footage of the #DoveLove experience through interviews and b-roll.

Final Product & Presentation

The redesigned WIX website can be accessed here*! Please visit the site to see the finished product of our team’s hard work.

Check out our final team presentation and article about our experience working with DYD and our time in Puerto Plata!

*As this is an ongoing operating non-profit organization, changes are being made periodically.

Awards

1st Place AEJMC in Web Category: Best of Web/Best of Digital 2023
2nd Place BEA Festival of Media Arts: Graduate Interactive Media & Emerging Technologies

Acknowledgements

I would like to thank Elon University, the School of Communications, the Interactive Media Program, Dove Youth Development and our team, Silver Doves, for the support, feedback, and guidance throughout the duration of this project!