Last Project Posting!! Website

I decided not to use the same not-for-profit that I did for my poster because The Crop Walk has been done countless times before. I didn’t want to use footprints, and I wasn’t sure how else to convey my message. That’s when I started researching, and my friend Kara told me about “Manicure For A Cure,” an event that the SU Hillel will be putting on next semester. It has been done at a few universities before and has been very successful. Some universities call it “Manicures for a Cure” or “Manicures for the Cure,” but I think Hillel is taking the name: “Manicure For A Cure.” The non-for-profit that this event benefits is Sharsheret, a national organization that provides help and support for young Jewish women with breast cancer. It is such a meaningful and moving organization that is so different from a lot of the other non-for-profits you hear about which is another reason why I really wanted to work on this event for my website design.

TOP BAR
I found a breast cancer pink ribbon and decided to have that be the “A” in the logo of the event. Because it is such a well-known image, you don’t even have to say that the event supports breast cancer on every page, since that will be evident from the logo. I found the font Caliban and liked how it was script and decorative. It is also very girly, and considering that this is a girly event, it fit very well. In order to make it clear that the website is for the event at Syracuse, I added the “SU Hillel presents” in the top left corner. This font is Minion Web Pro, and is set in orange for 2 reasons: a) obviously Syracuse is all about the orange! b) the donate button on the corner of each page has a very prominent orange container or polish. It creates a kind of visual gestalt between the bottom of the page and the top of the page. [I found this image on Google Images].

Using the same font, I decided to add a little tagline to the top right corner of the bar. It is lined up with the “SU Hillel presents” and says: “lend a charitable hand. there’s a reason why you have 2.” This is a pun: “a reason why you have two hands,” and “a reason why you have to help!” I used lowercase letters to differentiate it from the rest of the font in the top bar, and also used the light pink color from the breast cancer ribbon. I found a picture from Google Images of two people holding hands, and I colored the nails of the top hand with the bright pink color used in the “Manicure For A Cure” part. I think the pink definitely stands out and the closeness of the hands really promotes the fact that this non-for-profit is all about aid, support, and love. That’s why it’s great that it is on every page of the website.

SIDEBAR
When I first decided I was doing this event, I immediately had a vision for my sidebar to have an image of dripping nail polish on the top, and then having each of the links being flooded with color when clicked. I know that I personally love all the variety of colors of nail polish, and by having a huge polish blob this is the perfect way to get that enticing aspect of painting your nails portrayed to the public.

I decided to do 5 linked pages: Home, Services, Gallery (past events), Sign Up, and Contact Us. In addition, the Sharsheret logo is on the bottom, and if you click that, you will be relocated to their website. I think this is enough information to get people to want to come to the event.

HOME
I used a very big and showy sans serif font, Spartan, to display the quote: “Pamper yourself without the guilt.” This goes across the entire top of the page, and is followed by two really enticing pictures of manicures and pedicures (which both incorporate the pink and red color scheme).

The box on the bottom is repeated on a lot of the pages in different sizes, and there is a drop shadow in order to create a 3-D effect. I wrote a little synopsis of the Sharsheret organization and tried to make it inviting. Since Sharsheret means “chain” in Hebrew, I ended the paragraph by saying “You can become a part of this everlasting chain.” This uses the sympathy factor to try to get people to participate in this event. Also, the mouse pointer is there to demonstrate that if you click on the italicized Sharsheret, it will turn blue and take you to their website. Every time there is a link on the entire website, it will turn blue. I chose the color blue because there are four blue nail polish containers in the “Donate Now” image.

SERVICES
I’m not 100% sure exactly what services the SU event will offer, so I based my information off of other campus event websites. I decided to make the “Manicures” and “Pedicures” section stand alone on the top, since the event is “MANICURE for a Cure” and these are the two services that most students will typically be getting. The other three I lined up underneath, making both the font size and pictures smaller, yet the same size as each other to create consistency.

In keeping with this consistency, I made a large picture of a girl with hair extensions. It’s the perfect picture because it also has pink streaks in the background. This emphasizes the aspect that this event supports breast cancer patients. And this service is also free!

If people want to find out more about the different procedures (what types of manicures are offered, what designs of the henna tattoos there are, etc.), they can click “more” in the bottom pink box. Also, they can read about the safety policy of the company putting this event on. It is always nice to read that equipment is constantly sterilized, etc. Again, we see the repeat of the blue live link.
*I found all the images from Google Images or from Flickr*

GALLERY
I found four past events that each have their own websites and were really successful. I pulled a picture for each one and then put the name of the school and the date. If you click on the name of the school or the picture, you will be taken to that college’s event homepage. I used the font Strayhorn because it is very slick and was also used on the Services page.

SIGN UP
I used the scripty Caliban font for the sign up page. Again, it’s very girly and appealing to the eye, and this is the most important page. If you don’t get people to sign up, there will be no event! I wanted it to be very simple: all you have to do is write your name, e-mail, cell phone number, and pick a time slot. You can pick multiple time slots too, depending on which services you want. You don’t have to decide what service you want until you get there.

This is the only page where I right justified the information in the pink box. However, the center justification looked too juvenile, while the right justification clashed with the rest of the page. It creates a bit of consistency having the left and the right justification next to one another. Again, for the information, I used the Strayhorn font.

CONTACT US
My friend Kara is one of the main event coordinators and is on the Hillel E-Board, so she let me use her contact information and picture for the website. Ellen is the Project Manager for Sharsheret, and her information is provided if people want to know more about Sharsheret (personalized rather than going to the website) or about Manicure for A Cure.

I decided to put the quote on the bottom because when I found it, it really stuck out to me. It didn’t fit so well on any of the other pages, and it’s that final push that will get you to either contact the coordinators or to get you to sign up.

CONCLUSION
In conclusion, I think the website gives an overall girly, feel good, and motivational vibe. It is pink and pretty, and is for a great cause that people would definitely want to attend. Hillel at SU is pretty big, so they could heavily promote the event and make sure a lot of people come. Also, people in sororities could send the website to their listserv and that is another huge population of people we could target.