RCBA Dispute Resolution Service, Inc.
Founded in 1995, RCBA Dispute Resolution Service, Inc. (DRS) is a non-profit public benefit corporation that provides private alternative dispute resolution (ADR) services in Riverside County and surrounding areas. DRS also administers five court mediation programs funded by the Dispute Resolution Programs Act (DRPA) through Riverside County. The DRS panel is comprised of experienced attorneys who have practiced law for 10 or more years and have met other experience requirements established by the DRS Board of Directors.
In 2013, DRS wanted to make improvements to its communications initiatives and activities in order to better meet its business goals and the needs of its diverse range of audiences. The organization sought to meet the following business goals:
- Increase the volume of private arbitrations and mediations facilitated by DRS
- Reduce civil case backlog in the Riverside County Courts
- Recruit and retain competent ADR professionals to serve on the DRS panel
- Build and maintain a standard for professional excellence in the ADR field in Riverside County
- Maintain and grow two primary revenue streams in order to accomplish the business goals as outlined above
The original scope of this project included an organizational analysis that informed a Targeted Communications Plan. Guided by our findings in the Targeted Communications Plan, we designed and developed a new logo, an informational website, and several brand artifacts for DRS. We also wrote several profile articles, and templated, organized and copyedited nearly 100 panelist biographies for the DRS website.
In 2018, DRS sought to modernize the website and ensure its compliance with current industry standards and best practices. We delivered a full website re-design and added additional copy/pages that would help more effectively convey the full breadth of the organization’s programs and services (namely, its court mediation programs and private alternative dispute resolution services).
In May 2013, we conducted an organizational analysis for DRS and delivered a set of recommendations in a Targeted Communications Plan.
From there we moved onto to the creation of a new look and feel for the brand, starting with a new logo design. Two messages that appear consistently throughout the organization’s communications included: “You be the judge” and “You control the outcome.” These messages convey the benefits of using alternative dispute resolution services to settle disputes. We arrived at the gavel illustration with the acronym “DRS” underneath for the icon. The words “Dispute Resolution Service” are written in a bold serif font, with “RCBA” appearing in a thinner sans-serif font for less emphasis.
The navy blue and gold color scheme was inspired by the larger affiliate organization, the Riverside County Bar Association. It is an elegant, traditional color scheme that conveys unity, trust and stability.
Next, we produced several brand artifacts that brought consistent messaging and design across all of the communications channels, these included:
- Tri-Fold Brochure
- Business Cards
- Letterhead
- Envelopes
- Magazine Display Ads
- Event Flyers (as needed)
- Panelist Biography Template
- E-mail Blast Templates
- Informational Website
We also templated, organized and copyedited the biographies for nearly 100 DRS panelists and added their bios in a searchable directory to the informational website.
Additionally, we wrote periodic featured mediator profiles that were cross-published on the DRS website and in Riverside Lawyer Magazine in order to promote DRS and the individual panelists.
The website re-design that commenced in March 2018 involved updating the overall website design on the front-end, as well as migrating the new website to the latest version of Blue Core CMSTM on the back-end to bring it up to speed with current industry standards and best practices. There were also new pages added to the website to help communicate the organization’s value propositions, including: an informational page specifically for attorney applicants interested in joining the DRS panel; an informational page about the organization’s court mediation programs (one of the main activities of DRS that was not previously mentioned anywhere on the website); a “Why Choose DRS?” page; and an archive of past articles that have been written about DRS panelists.
- Responsive Design
- Sticky Menus
- Informational Pages
- Forms
- Catalogs
- Blue Core CMS™
- jQuery 3.x
- Bootstrap 4.x
- HTML 5
- CSS 3
- JavaScript
- Adobe Acrobat Pro
- Adobe Illustrator CC
- Adobe InDesign CC
- Adobe Photoshop CC
- Constant Contact
- Microsoft Word