Impact Areas
Services
- Brand Website
- Information Architecture
- Content Development
- Website Design
- Website Development
- Brand Support
- Advisory Services
- Report and Book Design
- Illustration
- Copywriting
- Website Maintenance
826 National leads a nationwide movement to introduce students to the power and joy of writing. In 2002, they began with a Pirate Supply Store in San Francisco. Today, the 826 Network includes nine immersive creative writing centers across the country, serving more than 900,000 students each year.
Our conversation began with the 826 National website. Over the years, it had become a maze of dead links, dead ends, and outdated content. And, despite the organization’s focus on student authors, their work was conspicuously absent from the digital experience.
We started our engagement with a deep-dive into organizational strategy. Because 826 National had gone through so much growth and change over the years, we needed a shared vision for their audience, narrative, and ideal user experience. Armed with an approved roadmap, we began the web design process.
We brought 826 National’s vibrant brand identity to life with bold headlines, conversational copy, and a simplified sitemap organized around primary user actions. An interactive student writing feature—imagined as a digital bookshelf—put young authors front and center.
Following a successful website launch, our partnership has expanded to include two annual reports and ongoing marketing support, helping 826 National show up with clarity and charisma at every touchpoint.
826 National's leadership described their dream site as a choose-your-own-adventure experience. Every page is designed with a clear next step, so it’s easy to explore, but impossible to get lost.
826 National's old website talked about student writing. The new one shows it.
An interactive homepage feature lets visitors browse student work by genre and topic—turning the site into a living library for young authors.
The plot thickens. Our partnership extended into a pair of annual reports, each built around an original theme.
Composing Creativity drew on the familiarity of a composition book, using sticker illustrations and student voices to celebrate a year of creative breakthroughs.
Each copy of Composing Creativity came with a sticker sheet so recipients could customize their own composition books.
Centering Student Voices put young writers at the literal center of the story, pairing a piece focused on organizational impact with a standalone student publication designed to be read on its own.
