Sometimes a school arrives at WhippleHill with a vision, but struggles to articulate it. Other times, pushing the boundaries of Podium’s capabilities requires more discussion between the Creative Services team and the client in order to find the best possible solution. When these challenges are met with enthusiasm and passion on both sides, a site as fresh and dynamic as Suffield Academy can be the result.

The Suffield, Connecticut, school already had a site built on Podium’s predecessor, the Backroom, and even an initial redesign on Podium. But the redesigned site needed more pizazz to attract prospects and didn’t reflect the school colors in a way alumni expected.

Meetings with an initial WhippleHill Creative Services team and designs created based on those meetings prompted the school team to realize they had more research they needed to do to figure out who they were and what they wanted. They spent nine months researching their constituents' needs and expectations, and came back to WhippleHill charged with ideas about how to articulate who they were.

“We wanted our site to be young and hip. We wanted it to be interactive and interesting,” says Stephanie Greco, the school’s director of marketing and communications. “We threw a lot of challenges at the Creative team, and they always came up with a solution.”

“They were their own biggest advocate,” Project Lead Abby Chau recalls of the Suffield team. “They had a clear sense of themselves, and we were able to have the conversations to help them achieve the idea they were looking for in a design they loved. They were willing to do the work needed to achieve the vision they wanted, even if it meant it would take more time. And any project that takes a lot of our time takes a lot of the school’s time. It was more work for them, but they dove right in.”

Suffield’s communication happens on the public side of the site, which is self-managed by the school and constantly updated. The admissions team reports that it hears a steady stream of compliments about the site’s ease of use and how it has made prospective families excited to come visit.

“We came to WhippleHill with our dream of a Web site, and they figured out how to do it,” Greco says. “They worked so hard to deliver what we asked for, and they were just as excited and passionate as we were. I don’t think you find that very often.”