Case Study: Fresh Aire Samaritan
Problem
IN 2021, Fresh Aire Samaritan Counseling Center was looking for a way to update its website to better recruit new therapists and connect patients with counseling services. The organization also wanted to ensure that current patients could more easily find office locations and schedule appointments with their therapists. Their existing website was difficult to navigate and challenging for staff to manage.
Fresh Aire reached out to a member of their organization who had previous experience working with Cardinal Solutions. Based on that recommendation, the organization contacted the program to explore how students might help redesign the website and improve the overall user experience for both therapists and patients.
The Logo and Brand Style was designed by Ruby Lee Hotelling, SVSU Graphic Design Major, and Cardinal Solutions Specialist.
The new site was designed by Cardinal Solutions Specialist Haley Smathers. The site test, sitemap, and usability studies were provided by Cardinal Solutions Specialist Maria Bertoia.
Team
After meeting with Cardinal Solutions, Fresh Aire worked closely with students and faculty
advisors to create material. Professor Blake Johnson and Dr. Brad Herzog facilitated meetings and helped students with website design and supporting text.
Students Maria Bertoia, technical writer, and Haley Smathers, web designer, worked closely with the team at Fresh Aire to develop the new website using Wix. Bertoia conducted a usability
study on the website to ensure that patients at Fresh Aire would be able to navigate the new site. She says, “Usability is an important factor when designing a new website. It creates a positive experience for users.”
Ruby Hotelling, graphic designer, was responsible for creating a new logo for the website and designed mockups for Fresh Aire to use on multiple marketing materials. This logo can be seen on the new website and has been updated on all printed material for the organization.
Solution
Cardinal Solutions was able to help Fresh Aire improve their digital presence and create a
positive web experience for new and current patients. Renee Deroche, Executive Director at
Fresh Aire, says, “I can’t thank the team at Cardinal Solutions enough for the work they’ve done. It’s incredible to see where we’ve started and how our organization looks now with this new website.”
Fresh Aire was provided with the new website and logo, as well as a brand manual. They were given instructions on how to use the new hosting site to ensure that the organization would be able to maintain and update the website easily.
Photos were taken by Cardinal Solutions Specialists Mandy Brown and Ruby Lee Hotelling.
Result
Fresh Aire experienced positive results from the new materials, with website traffic increasing every month. Cardinal Solutions helped improve the visibility of Fresh Aire on platforms such as Google and have made it easier for patients to find the organization. With the instructions provided by Cardinal Solutions, the team has started their own blog posts and have received positive feedback from their readers. ■
