Big Sur Arts Initiative

www.bigsurarts.org

The Big Sur Arts Initiative is a nonprofit in Big Sur, dedicated to serving local youth and families through community arts programming, and to promoting and supporting local artists. In 2007, the organization went through a substantial transition, hiring all new staff after the retiring of the founders.

It was time to re-design the website in a way that would preserve the integrity and tradition of the organization, while bringing it a new and fresh face. The look of the site had an additional challenge: the organization must be represented very professionally, yet retain the local flavor with an artsy and "homespun" feel.

Birdwing Designs met this by designing a site that conforms to professional design standards and is easy to navigate, while integrating bright colors and tactile-feeling textures. In addition, the site was enhanced to include:

• Integration with an e-mail list service, growing the organization's e-mail list more than 200% in six months;
• The ability to accept online donations;
• A dynamic, drop-down sub-menu, organizing more content, photos and information;
• An online gallery that artists can easily update themselves with no software or expertise;
• Search engine optimization of the site; and
• The capacity for the staff to easily keep content up-to-date.