Helen Keller Services

Clarifying a Complex Brand Built on Accessibility

Scope

Overview

Vital undertook a substantial website UX project for Helen Keller Services (HKS), a national organization that serves individuals who are blind, DeafBlind, have low vision, or combined hearing and vision loss. When they came to Vital, HKS operated under a complex brand architecture, encompassing three distinct brands serving diverse populations with mixed abilities and needs.

Herein lay the problem — for an organization with accessibility at its core, their website was overly complicated to navigate, even for sighted users.

In an effort to simplify the user journey and improve accessibility, Vital overhauled and streamlined the HKS website to ensure a successful and frictionless experience for all.

Three Brands, One Core Mission

HKS operates under three separate brands, each catering to different populations and locations:

Helen Keller Services (umbrella brand)
Helen Keller National Center for DeafBlind
Helen Keller Services for the Blind

The fact that each brand’s logo was featured in the website’s main navigation (with inadequate context) naturally led to confusion among users trying to determine where and how to access the services that pertained to them.

We keep accessibility top-of-mind for every website we build, and it was the number one priority for this client. To ensure compliance with accessibility standards, especially for users relying on screen readers, we needed to completely rethink the overall website’s design and structure.

Mapping It Out

To solve this problem, Vital developed distinct user journeys to guide individuals in identifying specific services based on their abilities, needs, and geographic location.

We simplified the website architecture by featuring only the main HKS logo in the navigation and providing clear, contextualized links to the other two brands in the hero section. This streamlined approach helps users quickly navigate to the appropriate sub-brand’s website as soon as they arrive on the HKS homepage.

While the branding elements remained unchanged, our content strategists worked to clarify messaging and streamline content throughout the site. This involved simplifying language, prioritizing key information, and ensuring compliance with stringent accessibility standards.

Bringing Clarity to a Complex Brand

By addressing the challenges of the complex brand architecture and focusing on user-centric design principles, Vital delivered a solution that met the HKS team’s objectives and exceeded expectations.

The resulting website puts the user experience front and center, featuring simplified navigation, enhanced accessibility, and clarified language. Every element — be it text or graphic — is optimized for screen readers, ensuring that HKS can continue to reach their target audience and make a meaningful impact for years to come.