2024 | WEB DESIGN AND
COMMUNICATIONS SUPPORT
Website: Burnaby Community Assembly
The Objective
To create an informative and engaging website for Burnaby residents from all backgrounds to gain more information about the Burnaby Community Assembly.
The Burnaby Community Assembly is a community engagement opportunity led by the SFU Morris J. Wosk Centre for Dialogue to help Burnaby residents answer the question: How should Burnaby grow and change by 2050 to create a city where everyone can thrive?
As the Communications lead on this initiative, my primary task was to create this website from conceptualization to finish, along with the supporting tasks of creating newsletter and social media templates for further communications in the later stages.
The Process
Prior to this, I had no experience in creating a website “from scratch” before, but I was so excited to embark on this new learning opportunity. In the initial stages, I was provided a detailed, comprehensive document from the program lead for this project. This document served as the guiding reference for the website. My initial step was to first distill the information into digestible sections that would translate onto a website.
After the site map was reviewed for appropriate language and information hierarchy, I then started on detailed wireframes using Figma. The wireframes were a great visual tool in displaying the information architecture and were used as a guide for the final product.
Some important considerations during the process:
- Making the language clear from the beginning: Originally named the Burnaby Citizens’ Assembly, this was later changed to the Burnaby Community Assembly, as an effort to use plain language and make the initiative more inclusive, as this is open to all residents of Burnaby. It was brought to our attention that permanent residents could potentially be confused about their eligibility for participating, seeing as they are not Canadian citizens.
- Prioritizing inclusive and accessible communications: With Burnaby’s diverse, multicultural population in mind, we aimed to attract participants who reflected the full breadth of the community. I prioritized plain-language content, minimizing technical jargon and ensuring the website was translated into more than 10 languages to reduce language barriers and make participation more accessible.
- Creating an engaging digital experience: Despite the volume of information participants needed to navigate, I wanted the website to be approachable, visually engaging and easy to digest. I incorporated a strong visual approach, using imagery and visual elements to break up text-heavy sections, improve readability and encourage visitors to explore the initiative and learn how to get involved.
This project also required collaborating on a strategic communications plan and implementing a multi-channel promotional strategy within a tight budget. The development and implementation of a strategic communications plan involved analyzing our audiences, crafting key messages, and creating informational materials to respond to inquiries and information requests from the public and media, in addition to providing tactics for issues management
The Outcome
With lots of revision, collaboration, and teamwork, I was able to deliver a captivating website with full capabilities (unique domain and email address, contact forms, subscription capabilities) in a timely manner, with enough time for multiple rounds of revision before the press-release and launch of the 27,000 invitations to the residents of Burnaby.
Why This Project was Significant to Me
Having spent a large portion of my youth as a Burnaby resident, and with multiple family members that are currently Burnaby residents, I am so excited for this initiative to bring together communities to help shape the future of the City of Burnaby.
This project was also my first time using Wix and also my first time creating a website, I really enjoyed this challenge and am really happy with the results. Creating the Burnaby Assembly website is what inspired and empowered me to create my own website.
The City of Burnaby is embarking on the development of a new Official Community Plan called “Burnaby 2050”, and I am really looking forward to Burnaby residents having a say in how they want their future and for future generations of Burnaby residents to live, learn and thrive in this growing city. In addition, I am hoping that this project will help strengthen the relationships between neighbours, communities, advance accessibility and inclusion, and support the City’s commitments to Truth and Reconciliation.
