A first website for New Zealand's new animal law organisation

A one-person charity that needed to look established

Animalia Law is a specialist animal law and policy charity, founded by a New Zealand lawyer with more than 15 years of experience. She applied to Violet Studios’ creative support programme for animal advocacy organisations, and my part of the project was the website, the place where everyone’s work came together.

Two directions, one choice

Before designing any layouts, I created two moodboards to explore where the site could go. Direction A was darker and more documentary. Direction B was brighter and more hopeful, with clean layouts and close-up animal portraits. The founder chose B and offered her own wildlife photos to go with it.

Two brand colours, two ramps

The client provided a blue and an amber. I built a ramp from each one, so there was a shade ready for every part of the site: text, backgrounds, buttons and highlights.

A serif that feels trustworthy, a sans that’s easy to read

I tested three heading and three body typefaces alongside the logo. Literata felt serious without being cold, which suited a legal organisation. Inter keeps longer texts comfortable to read. Montserrat felt overused, and Playfair Display too decorative for a law charity.

The client’s photos set the direction

Bianka’s own photos of New Zealand wildlife set the tone for the site: natural light, close framing and native animals. Where a page needed more, I sourced royalty-free photos with the same look and agreed each one with her.

Built for every screen

The site speaks to very different audiences, from the public to policymakers, lawyers and funders. To keep it clear for all of them, every page follows the same rhythm: a short introduction, sections that alternate text and images, and one clear next step. Starting on desktop was a deliberate choice: Squarespace turns a desktop layout into its mobile version remarkably well, so tuning each page for phones took very little time.

What the client said

Looking back

This project taught me to design within limits: a brand I didn’t create, copy that was already written and a platform the client had to manage on her own. Instead of adding more, I focused on giving each piece room, keeping a clear rhythm across pages and making every section easy to edit. It reminded me that a website’s life starts at launch.