SilverNail NW
SilverNail NW was started by Michelle Silbernagel in 2018 with the mission of increasing opportunities for choice and access to Professional Behavior Services outside of the Portland, Salem, Eugene corridor. They provide services to counties that traditionally struggle to access behavior services and mentoring other small business owners who work in the Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities field. In order to help accomplish this mission Michelle sought a site that was easy to use and explained her expertise. She was also ready to re-design her logo to start building a focused brand and wanted a letterhead that fit within the branding guidelines.
Design Requirements
- NAll type must be in Helvetica or Arial due to their accessibility
- NUse existing color scheme of blue and orange
- NBreak up large quantities of text into different small sections
- NLogo must be easily resizable
- NWant it to look and feel approachable
- NMust be "easy for the average Joe"
- NMust include the "We Welcome ___" statement that's on the inclusion posters
Design Strategy
Website
A contact button located in the header of each page ensures users are able to easily ask questions or request information. The font, Arial is commonly chosen for its accessibility and the size difference between headers and body text makes the site easy to scan for specific information. The majority of the text is either black on a white background or whit on a very dark background which further lends to visual the accessibility of the site. The use of curved graphics and shapes lead the audience throughout the site and helps to breakup large sections of text. The persistent Menu at the top of the site ensures easy navigation throughout. Michelle and I have continued our relationship since the launch of the site, through website maintenance and hosting services.
Logo Redesign & Letterhead
The logo of a silver nail helps to illustrate and remind clients of Michelle’s last name (Silbernagel vs Silver nail). While the direction of the nail, primarily shown horizontally evokes a feeling of forward motion and progress. There are two versions of the letterhead for versatility. The letterhead depicted below on the left is used primairly for one page documents. It shows a dynamic relationship between the nail and the company name while helping to draw the eye down to the contact ifnormation below. The second letterhead, used for longer technical documents, provides ample space for content and shows a more literal representation of the logo. The nail form in the logo is repeted below, highlighting the contact information.
