Client: Watertown Community Development
Deliverables: Website - design, programming, maintenance; Branding - logo
Status: LIVE
Watertown Community Housing is the nonprofit community development corporation in Watertown, Massachusetts. Started in 1991, the CDC has been helping to secure and create affordable housing within the community. As part of its 20th anniversary, the organization decided it was time to expand its services to also include community building and economic development. The expansion came with it the need for a new name, branding and website.
I offered pro-bono services to the CDC to redevelop their website. This included the designing, programming, and training of the staff. During the development of the website, WCH (now Watertown Community Development - WCD) requested that I also come up with a new logo.
The website was developed to use the WordPress platform to make updating of the site as easy as possible. The former site (created in the 1990s) required hand editing of the HTML which the staff did not prefer. WordPress would allow them to easily update, add and remove content as they needed. The new website provides the organization with static pages as well as a news item update feature and online forum for landlords in the area to discuss current topics and issues.
The logo that was developed plays off the fact that the city is urban due to its proximity to Boston but also natural with numerous parks. The built structure of the city is a low profile with buildings less than five stories. The city’s name derives from the fact that its southern border is the Charles River. Each of these pieces were pulled into the logo and bright colors were used in connection with softer greys.
