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Under the Hood: Hearthstone

Founded in 1993, Hearthstone Management, Inc. is one of the nation’s premier operators of assisted living communities for older adults. Headquartered in Houston, Texas, Hearthstone manages 37 communities throughout the United States, all designed to meet the needs of the growing population of seniors who require assisted living services.

Despite having built a strong reputation for themselves in the industry, upper management realized that their website and marketing approach had grown stale, and felt it was time for a change. Due to my previous work and ongoing partnership with Senior Service Match, I was invited to participate in the redesign of Hearthstone’s website.

Initial Discovery Meeting

For our first meeting, company executives were flown in from around the country to share their input and valuable perspective on the goals for the redesign. It was clear that the staff and leadership of Hearthstone do not fit into the negative stereotypes of “nursing home” workers, but rather exude an upbeat confidence, high energy, and a genuine passion for fostering a high degree of independence for their residents, as well as a holistic approach to their health and general well-being. The tone of this first meeting was fun and upbeat.

Across the board, the leaders of Hearthstone made it clear that they were ready to shed the antiquated image of their current website (shown at right), in favor of a more modern, clean, and decidedly “not senior” look and feel.

Throughout the meeting, I took copious notes, carefully jotting down keywords, adjectives, and key phrases that would later inform the design phase. I asked specific questions about the unique abilities and strengths of Hearthstone versus her competitors, and was blown away by the level of passion with which these folks began to respond.

They told stories of individuals who had left the company, only to return a few months later, as they realized that this work was truly their life’s ambition. The depth of experience represented by the Hearthstone staff is a clear indication of their unique love for their work.

As a result of this line of conversation, we arrived at a new tagline for the company which was eagerly adopted on the spot. The new tagline, “Our Heart is in It.” has already made its way into other elements of the marketing plan, and will soon make its way into corporate training and new employee orientation materials.

Mood Board Development

Because the new design objectives represented such a dramatic departure from the current website, I proposed that we develop a series of “mood boards” to explore new colors, textures, and typography before diving into the actual site mockups. This step turned out to be critical to the success of the project, and I plan to incorporate it into all future design projects of this scale.

(Thanks to Amy Lamp at the venerable Forty Agency in Phoenix, AZ, for this inspiration!)

Mood Board v1.0

The first mood board suggested a very fresh and modern color palette, contemporary textures, and vibrant imagery that would clearly differentiate Hearthstone from her competition.

Since the individuals responsible for reviewing the mood boards were scattered all around the country, the mood boards were posted online, using a fabulous tool called GetSignOff.com. The initial feedback to the first mood board was positive, but a completely new set of adjectives now entered the equation. Turns out what they really wanted was not modern, contemporary, clean, or fresh. Rather, they now communicated that they wanted a look and feel that was “warm, home-like, classic, and transitional.”

A completely new mood board was created and posted for review, exploring this new design direction, along with specific colors and imagery that were now being requested. Deeper, warmer, colors, more traditional typography, and more classic photos and imagery were brought into this design.

Mood Board v2.0

At this stage, the client was still not happy. They really liked the “swoop” from the first mood board, and requested a third mood board consisting of a “blend” of warm, classic, and contemporary elements. Because we would be shooting custom photography for the site, we agreed to simplify the final mood board by dropping the photos and imagery from the mood board, moving forward with a simple color palette, on which the client happily signed off.

Color Palette v4.0

With the color palette finally approved, and new parameters for the design direction, I was eager to get started on the actual mockups for the site. Thankfully, we were crystal-clear on the content for the home page, as well as the action points we should feature. Three mockups were requested: the home page, an inside page, and then a sample landing page for each of the 37 “micro-sites” to be developed for the individual communities themselves, featuring content specific to each location.

Home Page Mockup

Inside Page Mockup

Microsite Page Mockup

These mockups represent a nice blend of warm colors, modern typography and layout, subtle gradients which add a “home-like” texture to the site, and simple, easy-to-understand calls to action. The layout is instantly intuitive, and the client feels it is perfectly suited to their target demographic, which is made up primarily of “baby boomer” women.

The client approved the mockups with only the most minor of revisions, thanks in large part to the ground covered during the mood board phase. Without that critical step, we would have no doubt made countless revisions to the site mockups, which is considerably more time-consuming.

Custom Photo and Video Shoot

In addition to the website redesign, we were also asked to shoot custom photography in the studio and on-location. To further leverage this time, we also shot video testimonials, which will be edited and used throughout the site. Paul and Marcus Cook, of Bellus Images in Houston, TX, shot both the still photography and the video testimonials, over just two days. The resulting images are stellar, and will definitely help to further distinguish Hearthstone.

The site designs are now being converted to a WordPress template, after which the new site content will be built. Stay tuned for the site launch and more details!

Hope you enjoyed this inside peek into my design process. If you’ve got any questions or feedback, feel free to post it in the comments below. I look forward to hearing what you think!