New Roots Refugee Services

Why it looks this way.

Typography

Albert Sans for headings: round, open and calm, and nothing like the type on the UNHCR forms many of these families have been filling in for years. Body text is Atkinson Hyperlegible at 18px, drawn by the Braille Institute so that I, l and 1 never look alike. For someone reading English as a third language, that is a real kindness.

• Albert Sans headlines
• Atkinson Hyperlegible body text

Color

Plum and apricot come from the Boise foothills at dusk, the view from the apartment complexes on the Bench where most New Roots families live. The apricot also matches the wax-print fabric many Congolese families wear on Sundays. Plum carries buttons and links; apricot is kept for highlights so it never has to carry text on its own.

• Page #F4F0F1
• Cards #FFFFFF
• Text #24192A
• Brand #6B2D66
• Accent #EE9455

Layout

A floating dock at the bottom of the screen, with an icon on every item. Most of our families use the site on a phone, sometimes before they can read much English, and a row of pictures where the thumb already rests is easier than a menu hidden behind three lines. The French switch is at the top of every page.

Pages: Home, Just arrived, English, Work, Help out, Talk to us

Hero

A search box that asks, in English and French, what you need help with today. It understands both languages, so 'école' and 'school' find the same answer. Every result says when and where in one line, because the second question after 'can you help' is always 'when'.

Calls to action

For newcomers the main action is 'Book a caseworker', a real appointment with a person who speaks your language. For neighbors it is concrete: 'Set up an apartment', 'Fund a welcome kit', 'Save a seat in class'. We avoided words like 'support' and 'make a difference' because they don't tell anyone what happens next.

Photography

Families, classrooms and soccer fields in daylight, with people looking at the camera as equals. No camps, no tents, no crying children: the families we serve have seen enough of those pictures of themselves. Every photograph shows people a year or more after landing, at work, at school, on the field.

Accessibility

Every line of the site is available in French, the shared language of most of our Central African families, and the language table shows where interpreters are available for everyone else. Body text is above 10:1 contrast in light mode, tap targets are at least 44px, and the search works with a keyboard and a screen reader.