Instead of trying to evoke pity, the foundation tries to explain in plain language that there are fewer differences between normal and “special” people than may seem. A friendly but not tear-jerking website for the foundation was created at the studio.
Websites of charitable organizations are usually constructed around one template: tragic text in the center of a page, photographs of sad children and a huge “Donate!” button. We wanted to create a website that would tell about the life of people with “special needs” without resorting to the special tragic tone.
The main page greets visitors with a friendly logo, announcements of future events and details of the past ones. Each text and announcement is illustrated with cheerful photographs. Children are smiling, volunteers are giving away presents, life is bustling!
A line that goes through the entire website connects together its main blocks and elements. The line is interactive and appears in all sections: it writes the word “us,” underlines the “Become a volunteer” button or turns into a flower or a picture of a waving hand.
We probably don’t need to explain that this isn’t just a line, but a metaphor for a guiding thread that shows the right direction in a difficult situation. It is also a graphic illustration for unity: we are all connected, children and adults, volunteers and the foundation’s wards.
Nothing can tell a better story about the foundation than the multitude of its projects, from family visits to cafés to unique experiments conducted in conjunction with the Moscow Government. Each project has its own page with an event schedule, photos and links to publications in media.
Parents have their own section with useful information, legal advice and a list of similar organizations.
The Living Stories section deserves special attention. It collects books, films and interviews with “special” people.
Here is the world’s first teacher with Down syndrome speaking about how he got his higher education, and here is a story of a Russian chef with the same condition who is looking to open his own restaurant.
Graphic elements help further decrease the pathos and add some self-irony. Leaves and flowers fly across the website and on the main page the portraits of the founders of the foundation are decorated with doodles.
We found the right words to convey the foundation’s ideas and values.
