Brand and Online Product for Non-Profit Startup

The Well Project

New to the interactive space, The Well Project (TWP) came to Matter looking for a partner that would guide and educate them through the process of building their organization on and offline. They brought a well-defined idea and understanding of the type of site they wanted to create but very little understanding of how to make that happen. The site concept had to be researched, developed, validated and then tailored to TWPs primary audiences.

Promises had been made to healthcare partners expecting visibility into site statistics and membership data, meaning that the initial release had to be built on a robust technology and content management foundation. And it had to be live by August of 2003, which was four months away.

The Well Project is the foremost information and community resource for HIV+ women, their families, service providers and caregivers, and their physicians. Additionally, the TWP site provides detailed user data to its partners in the healthcare industry, thereby informing meaningful research and development efforts towards the marginalized female HIV+ population.

Our research confirmed TWP’s assertion that woman-specific information and resources for HIV+ women and their support communities are scarce and often out-of-date. While significant resources exist for other HIV+ populations, almost nothing has been targeted towards women. Women repeatedly voiced their need for information that was specific to them - How do the medications affect women? Does HIV affect the normal menopause cycle? How can an HIV+ woman have a safe pregnancy? People in the HIV community wear many hats. They may be HIV+, but they are also peer counselors, moms, RNs, friends and more.

Through research and a deeply collaborative dialogue with TWP, we were able to really understand the issues facing these women and create an experience that is educational, community-focused, and empowering. It was critical to solidify TWP’s brand presence with an identity that upheld the mission and values of the organization.

The concept model for the site ensured brand integrity by offering an emotionally rewarding experience based on timely, relevant content and integrated community tools. The realization of the ideas was made possible through use of a robust Documentum content management system. The integrated Matter capabilities of strategy, user research and interactive design provided a one-stop-shop for managing TWP’s goals and needs from insight through implementation.

Matter helped realize TWP’s initial start-up goals and branding. This freed TWP management to focus and re-define the strengths and future direction of the organization, ultimately moving firmly into the non-profit space as an advocate and lobby for HIV+ women, a major shift in the TWP business model.