Designer: Amber Jones

Like most businesses today, the West Metro Fire Rescue (WMFR) is using the internet to reach out to the community in Lakewood, Colo., in which it serves. Community media-relations specialist and public information officer Michelle French feels that WMFR’s current site is too limited to adequately connect with its audience.

French says, “I like our site, but I am limited on what can be changed and updated. I’d like to add more concepts like podcasting, vidcastings, blogs … and make it more interactive, easy-to-navigate” as both young and old will be visitors to the site. The internet—and WMFR’s site in particular—has become a voice that has to speak to all ages and educational backgrounds.

“I wanted to keep the design simple,” says Amber Jones, who created the redesigned site. “This is a site that people in the community are using, so it can’t be complicated or confusing to follow.” Using the information currently posted at the WMFR site and intranet, Jones generated a hot new design that’s colorful and eye-catching, incorporating photos taken by French. The photos are strong representations of the department and can be used throughout the site.

“I like going against what is commonly used in current designs, and using rich colors to make an impact. It’s not terribly common nowadays to see a dark background with a light text color,” says Jones.

Jones maintained the existing top-tab navigation, but separated the tabs into boxes so they’ll stand out more easily. She also carried the new layout and grid from the public site over to WMFR’s intranet. The links on the right-hand side of the home page in the new design can easily be updated to add features, such as a blog.

West Metro’s existing logo was changed to grayscale in the new design. Fonts used in the redesigned logo are Gill Sans and Caflisch Script. Text in the site is set in Verdana for easy readability on-screen.

1. Original sites
Exisiting site designs for West Metro Fire Rescue’s public site and intranet do not match up. There’s a definite disconnect between the two. Says public information officer Michelle French, “Our intranet is awful and useless.”

2. Redesign
Designer Amber Jones’ goal for the sites’ redesign was to create a consistent look and feel that is user-friendly, easy-to-update and inviting.

3. Fonts
Gill Sans and Caflisch Script are used in the group’s logo. The text throughout the site redesigns is set in Verdana.

4. Color
A rich, warm palette is used for both site redesigns. A burning red is used on the main site, while a brighter (yet just as fiery) yellow is used on the group’s intranet.

5. Tab navigation
Jones placed easy-to-read and easy-to-find tabs atop the pages. These are similar to the existing site, but are blocked off in red for clearer delineation.

6. Clear sections
Space is left between sections to keep them separate. As you can see in the original site, the boxes sit right on top of each other. Using color to distinguish individual boxes (in the redesign), Jones also gives each much-needed breathing room.

7. Photos
French has taken numerous photos of the WMFR in action. Her stunning shots of the team putting out fires, as well as interacting with the community, are amazing images. They draw in visitors to the site. The WMFR is fortunate to be able to use these images on their site, rather than paying and searching for stock images. The banner at top can be created in Flash with a variety of French’s images rotating on the site and in subsequent pages.