Chicago Torture Justice Center Website

Website design 
Information architecture

Create a website for a new community center providing a range of services for survivors of police torture.

The Chicago Torture Justice Center was established in 2016 after the passing of a historic Reparations Ordinance. The ordinance included the creation of a community center informed by the needs of police torture survivors, their families, and community members. The services are wide-ranging and include mental health services, counseling, case management, and community engagement.

Being the first, and at the time only community center of its kind in the country, there was little in terms of established models to follow while the center was still in development. One request from the steering committee was to begin veering away from the heavier imagery and language focused on the organization's political actions, to shift greater focus on the next steps towards healing. Beyond this, the org needed guidance in the development of their identity, as well as content for the website that could help to communicate who they are and the services they provide.

Our small design team had a fairly clean slate to develop the organization's branding and website. The organization's logo colors were used to build the identity design, with images of survivors front and center to humanize the lives behind the center's work. Websites for health and social services and other non-profits served as inspiration for information architecture, content, and messaging.
 
In addition to the visual design and creation of the website, my role also involved building the center's web presence from the ground up, including consideration of SEO strategy and establishing their various social media profiles.