News Tag: animals

My House Rabbit Responsive Website Reboot

Role: Web Designer / Web Developer

My House Rabbit, an educational website providing tips on pet rabbit care and behavior, got an under-the-hood makeover.  While the look of the desktop version of the site looks fairly similar to the previous version, the site was completely redeveloped by Brown Bear Creative.

My House Rabbit Website Design

The new site runs on the WordPress platform. This means all the content is maintained via an easy-to-use online admin panel.  Adding new articles and photos is a quick, streamlined process.  Because all the content is housed in a database, a new search function at the top of every page allows visitors to access any information in the site in an efficient manner.

In addition, the new site has a responsive design. A responsive design allows the website’s layout to adjust to different screen sizes. In this way, visitors using smart phones or tablets see a version of the site optimized for that specific size. Everything is still accessible to those visitors, but they don’t have to zoom in or do any side scrolling to access the information. The text is already readable when they load the site.

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Animal Fact Guide Website Redesign

Role: Web Designer / Web Developer / Illustrator

Awards: American Library Association Great Website for Kids

Animal Fact Guide Website RedesignAnimal Fact Guide, an educational website about animals, had expanded its offerings since its launch in 2008. Brown Bear Creative revamped the site by giving it a modern facelift and streamlining user experience.

The new site carries forward the fun feel of the original website, retaining the cute animal illustrations and bright color palette. But the new layout has a more open, less “boxed-in” design. Sleek details like gradients, drop shadows, and rounded corners were coded using the latest technology (HTML5 and CSS3) to enhance the design on modern browsers.

Using an approach called responsive web design, the site gracefully accommodates a wide ranges of screen sizes. This translates to an improved experience on tablets and smart phones.

Several improvements were made to how the site functions on both the front and back end. Brown Bear added a better search feature so visitors can easily locate animal fact articles, blog posts, and printable activity sheets. The site is also completely search-engine optimized, coming up on the first page of Google for keywords like “animal facts.” On the back end, the whole site is powered by WordPress, which simplifies the process of adding articles and blog posts.

The site was recognized by the American Library Association as a Great Web Site for Kids. According to Karen Lemmons, co-chair of the Great Web Sites for Kids committee, “Great Web Sites for Kids are those considered the best web sites for ages birth to 14, outstanding in both content and conception.”

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CT Pet Guide Website Redesign

CT Pet Guide Website RedsignRole: Graphic Designer / Web Designer / Web Developer

CT Pet Guide is a website that features information about pet-related businesses, animal rescues, and adoptable pets throughout Connecticut. It helps Connecticut residents shop locally and find nearby animal rescues.

It was first launched in 2006 with a password-protected members area where people could update their shelter or featured business pages themselves.  Animal rescues could also post details and photos of their available animals.  However, this setup was prone to user-error and outdated information.

Brown Bear Creative revamped the website by updating the logo and design as well as streamlining the user experience.

Instead of having shelter volunteers post their animals directly on CT Pet Guide, Brown Bear used data from Petfinder’s vast database of homeless pets. This eliminated the need for rescue workers to duplicate their posts and ensured the information stayed current and comprehensive.

Similar to the previous design, Brown Bear randomly showcased a Connecticut animal rescue on the site’s homepage.  To make the organizations easier to find, Brown Bear added a function to narrow down the rescues by the type of animal they take in.

Brown Bear also improved the business directory. Listings can by filtered by category as well as by keyword.  Each entry can display contact information, social media links, a photo/logo, a description, and a map of their location.  Submissions to the directory are free.

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Nursery Art: Animals Playing Sports

Role: Illustrator

A capybara glides around the ice rink; a fox lifts her body into a handstand; a turtle dives for the football; and a bear slides into second base.  These are just some of the playful  scenes illustrated by Abi of Brown Bear as a baby shower gift for parents-to-be Sara and Colleen.

To create the artwork, Abi drew the scenes in Adobe Illustrator and digitally colored the backgrounds.  Printing the illustrations onto watercolor paper, Abi then hand-colored the animals with colored pencils to create a more textured look.

Nursery art: Animals playing sports

Website of Dr. Stephanie Torlone, DVM, CVA

Website of Dr. Stephanie TorloneRole: Web Designer / Web Developer

Dr. Stephanie Torlone, a licensed veterinarian in Niantic, needed a website to showcase her specialized skills. Certified in veterinary acupuncture with a special interest in geriatrics, Dr. Torlone manages chronic pain in companion animals.

Brown Bear worked with the theme of ancient Chinese traditions to create the graphics and calming color scheme of the website. Developed upon the WordPress platform, the website is fully editable using an easy-to-use administrator interface.

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The Great Animal Rescue Chase Identity Materials

Role: Graphic Designer / Web Designer

The Great Animal Rescue Chase is focused on bringing together a worldwide community of animal rescuers, sharing rescue stories, and inspiring more people to get involved in animal welfare.

Founder Laura Simpson approached Brown Bear Creative to design logos, business cards, and a website for the Great Animal Rescue Chase and its charity partner, the Harmony Fund. All the materials feature bright, vivid colors and inspirational animal imagery.

The Great Animal Rescue Chase Identity Materials

Although most of the website development was handled by Inorikunimi.com and Can 9 Software, Brown Bear contributed to the front-end HTML/CSS template development for the site.

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Goodfriends Veterinary Clinic Website

Goodfriends Veterinary Clinic WebsiteRole: Web Designer / Web Developer

Goodfriends Veterinary Clinic of East Lyme, CT approached Brown Bear Creative to develop a new website that reflected the caring, dedicated mentality of their practice.

To achieve a friendly, yet professional look, Brown Bear incorporated a strong, consistent color palette, friendly, pet-related graphics, and multiple photos of pets, staff, and their facilities. In this way, prospective clients viewing the site would be introduced to all aspects of the clinic and would have the opportunity to get to know the veterinarian, vet technicians, and receptionists before ever stepping into the clinic.

For existing clients, the website serves as an invaluable veterinary resource. Clients can log in to Pet Portal, a personalized pet health site that lists their pet’s vaccination history, medications, and upcoming appointments. They can also access Goodfriends Veterinary Clinic’s online pharmacy, emergency contact information, and a comprehensive database of animal health information.

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Wildcat Stamp Series

Role: Illustrator

Awards: Merit Award in the 1st Annual PCom /CreativeShake Awards Show

The aim of the project was to produce a series of stamps based around a central theme. Using wildcats as a focus, broad areas of color illustrate each cat so when the image is reduced down to the size of a stamp, it maintains its integrity.

Brown Bear Creative was presented with a Merit Award in the 1st Annual PCom /CreativeShake Awards Show for this design piece.

Wildcat Stamp Series