At Aegis, we know that transformative design must begin from an understanding of the client’s worldview and expertise. So before we could create a landing page for the York School’s fundraising efforts to build a new playground, we needed to understand why the playground was important to a child’s development.

The school knew an updated playground, featuring contemporary design, wasn’t a luxury or a distraction from the development of their students. Indeed, an updated playground was integral. They were armed with both theory and evidence to prove that play is vital to supporting kids’ development. For starters, it helps them become creative risk takers and confident leaders.

The challenge then became to help parents consider making a donation—above the tuition and other contributions they already make. The answer would be to create a strong emotional connection to the school’s need for playground funding. So we designed a page where parents could see that the school’s values and their own commitment to their children were the one and the same.

We distilled the school’s well-supported, pedagogical arguments into a simple emotion: the joy of play. We brought reimagined joyful possibilities to life with an interactive virtual experience that featured hand-drawn animations. This communicated that the fundamental importance of playfulness is a shared priority of both parents and the school. And therefore it is a common goal. Donations flooded in. ⬤