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Human Rights Campaign (HRC)

HRC.org Redesign

  • Human Rights Campaign (HRC)

  • Challenge

    The Human Rights Campaign needed a new website that better matched its robust, crucial role as an LGBTQ rights leader, with data, news, and advocacy content that are easy to navigate and digest.

  • Solution

    A tested information architecture, with an easy-to-edit CMS, and brilliant new design to help HRC better demonstrate their commitment to making information and action accessible.

  • Results

    A fresh new hub for advocacy and action, with accessible resources for every aspect of LGBTQ life, rights, and equality from the most prominent and effective organization in the space.

Equality for all, not for some. The Human Rights Campaign is the go-to information resource for LGBTQ people and allies worldwide. Their website’s purposes are as broad as the organization’s initiatives: it’s the home base for their advocacy work, a place for updates on legislative news, and an information library for millions of people. The new site conveys this breadth of work and its unique, indisputable significance to visitors.

View the Site
An image of the HRC redesigned website on various screen types - mobile, laptop, tablet, and large monitor.

Discovering complexities

We kicked off the discovery phase by interviewing HRC staff and website users to zero in on the problems we needed to solve. Along with interviews, we audited the site information architecture and analytics, researched peer organizations, and held a workshop with the HRC team. Chief among our findings: HRC’s site content model and overstretched CMS made the organization’s many resources and updates hard to find for visitors and staff — leading to ad hoc workarounds and an abundance of one-off microsites. We also learned that only 7% of site visitors ever went to the homepage, a datapoint that helped drive the strategic direction for the site structure and homepage narrative.
Snapshots of the discovery work conducted for HRC, including heat mapping and stakeholder mapping.

Focusing on accessibility

Information accessibility isn't just a "nice to have" — it's a matter of equity, and is central to HRC's values. We took HRC’s content to a new level by applying international accessibility standards and redesigning their most popular resource types — interactive tools we called ‘data explorers’ — for digital-first usability. By converting PDF content into HTML integrated with their Salesforce database, the content is easier to maintain and more actionable for users making real-world decisions about where to work, how to seek healthcare, and whom to vote for.

Unifying design

HRC needed a website that reflects the organization as it exists today: progressive, forward-looking, and action-oriented. Our new design and messaging better mirrored the vibrancy of the LGBTQ community and the impact of HRC’s work — ensuring the most marginalized people in our communities have maximum access to resources, information, and representation. This streamlined digital ecosystem serves as a natural extension of their print-focused brand guide, while catapulting their brand identity into the future.
Screenshots from the Digital Brand Guide created for HRC
An image of the HRC homepage
An image of two mobile screenshots of HRC's new site, along with elements from their digital brand guide and a layout for article pages

Summary

We aligned the Human Rights Campaign’s digital presence with the organization’s move into a new era, reflecting their focus on making information and action accessible to the masses, to effect real change for the LGBTQ community.