Center on the Developing Child at Harvard University

 came to VIA with a big request - they needed a website developed before a fast-approaching deadline that would allow them to share resources and information with parents and doctors. They had the designs, the resources, and materials, with just the means of execution missing.

Find concise, high-quality information that allows pediatric healthcare providers and families to bring the science of early childhood into their day-to-day.

With multiple teams involved, multiple stakeholders, another agency, and a looming deadline, the overall challenge had more to do with management than the actual product. 

The website design and resource material came from an internal team at the Center, the icons and graphics were created by an affiliated agency, and actual decision-making came from a team made up of cross-departmental doctors within the Center.

Our team took all the provided pieces and packaged them into a website before Thanksgiving, allowing doctors to test the website before a December launch. 

The VIA team is no stranger to working with dozens of stakeholders for a project. At times, the involvement of many stakeholders often leads to conflicting ideas. VIA had to be flexible and willing to work in this fluid environment to solve the goals of the project. 

The original goal of the website was more of an extension of an existing website, just leveraged from a content perspective. However, as we began to work on the project, we identified that the website would benefit from a shift into its own space, as opposed to leveraging an existing website for content.

We added a resource library with filtering, various data types, and resource previews. Everything on the website uses this as a base and expands upon it.

With the input of those closest to the website, doctors, — we began to pivot and move away from resources as the focal point and move towards highlighting featured topics that lead to those resources.

We created the website to be flexible, so this change did not result in having the project stalled to go back and re-engineer. While pivoting and going through various iterations isn't always ideal — it's something our team expects and is always prepared to navigate. 

 that met both Harvard's and the doctors' standards — not to mention one that met the goal of creating an experience that allowed for "concise, high-quality information that allows pediatric healthcare providers and families to bring the science of early childhood into their day-to-day".

Behind the scenes, it uses WordPress, Advance Custom Fields, SearchWP, and a flexible theme developed by VIA to create the full experience. 

Center on the Developing Child at Harvard University website page design.

Center on the Developing Child at Harvard University Webpage

Developing a resourceful website for a child development center within one of the most reputable universities in the country.