Dark-themed homepage with aerial facility view.

Exodus Place Website Redesign

Result: Implemented the website in 2 weeks, handled a 173% traffic surge during an $835K fundraising campaign.

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Technology

Figma, Inkscape, Krita, GRCMC custom platform

Service

Web Design, User Experience, Branding, SEO

Exodus Place, a non-profit organization providing transitional housing for homeless people in Grand Rapids, Michigan, needed redesigning their website. The redesign is a collaboration with the Exodus Place marketing team and GRCMC, focused on enhancing aesthetics, usability, and branding.

Project Overview

Exodus Place is a non-profit organization based in Grand Rapids, Michigan, dedicated to assisting men in their transition out of homelessness. Building on experience from designing the Reentry Reimagined website, we leveraged established non-profit design patterns while tailoring the solution to Exodus Place's specific needs.

The organization's existing website was too simple, lacking in aesthetics, content structure, and might confuse the user.

Objectives:

As the designer, my role encompassed:

  1. Redesigning the website on GRCMC's custom website hosting platform
  2. Assisting transferring the domain name to the new platform
  3. Enhancing design aesthetics and branding that effectively communicates the organization's mission and services

Old Website Analysis

Analysis of the original website revealed several key issues:

  1. Basic, text-heavy design lacking visual hierarchy and engagement
  2. Disconnected content presentation
  3. Confusing grouping of navigation bar items
Dated layout with cluttered navigation. Dated layout with small text.

The Website Before Redesign

Reference interface with bold hero photography.

Liberty in North Korea Site (Credit: Liberty in North Korea)

Research and Discovery

Stakeholder Input

  • Direct feedback from Exodus Place CEO and executive team
  • Indirect user feedback collected through staff interactions with:
    • Donors and volunteers
    • Community partners accessing services
    • Resident members using the website

Target Audience Analysis

We identified key user groups:

  • Potential donors and community supporters
  • Men seeking housing and support services
  • Partner organizations and service providers
  • Community volunteers
  • General public interested in homeless advocacy

Competitive Analysis

Building on previous non-profit experience for Reentry Reimagined Website from non-profit sector informed key design patterns:

  • Clear, mission-focused messaging
  • Impactful imagery and testimonials
  • Prominent calls-to-action
  • Accessible navigation patterns
  • Mobile-optimized layouts
Reference interface with diverse imagery.

American Heart Association Site (Credit: American Heart Association)

Design

Dark-themed homepage with aerial facility view.

Mission-Focused Homepage

• Clear "hand up, not handout" messaging

• Direct paths to key actions (donate)

• Mobile-optimized navigation

Visual Communication

• Clear typography hierarchy

• Balanced white space

• Video looping in the hero section background, enhancing engagement

Homepage variation: 'Roof Sit' banner.

Hero Section if important events ongoing, providing easy access for users

Homepage variation: standard video background.

Normal Hero Section

Photos of building exterior, food preparation, and medical care.

Structured service categories

Desktop dropdown menu.
Mobile menu drawer.

Improved grouping for navigation bar items

Toolbar with contrast, font size, and pause toggles.

Accessibility Options: Resize font, High contract, pause video autoplay (provided by GRCMC)

Mobile Housing UI: Text list.
Mobile Housing UI: Large touch-friendly buttons.

Mobile Page is provided with additional buttons easier for users to click

Montserrat font weights and green color swatches.

Brand Guidelines

Results and Impact

  1. Redesigned and implemented exodusplace.org in 2 weeks to support a 173% traffic surge during an $835K fundraising campaign.
Desktop view of the homepage highlighting the event announcement section.

Home Page - Desktop

Desktop view of the Events page listing upcoming community activities.

Events Page - Desktop

Exodus Place branded delivery van featuring a bright green and white vehicle wrap.

Meals Page - Desktop