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Collaboration and Clear Communication Bring Great Projects to Life

Periodically, we like to take a moment to highlight a project that made an impact on one of our team members and give you a behind-the-scenes look at what it’s like to work with our team. Today’s project highlight comes by way of Cross & Crown Project Manager, Shelly Wolff.

Shelly is well known and trusted by our clients to manage project details and keep the creative process on schedule. In her role as project manager, she has the opportunity to really get to know the clients we serve and ensure that the products we create are meeting their needs. She also gets a firsthand look into the mission and vision that drives the clients we serve.

We have the privilege of working with many nonprofit organizations and take great pride in the work we do to help them communicate important messages in memorable ways. Over the last five years, the Global Immersion Project stands out as particularly memorable for Shelly, and we asked her to share more about that with our readers.

The Global Immersion Project

The Global Immersion Project is training people of faith to engage our divided world in restorative ways.

Question

Can you tell us about one of your favorite client projects?

Answer

My favorite project over the past five years would definitely be the new website for The Global Immersion Project—a San Diego based nonprofit working to train people of faith to engage our divided world in restorative ways. They came to us in mid-2017 in need of a little bit of help with their logo and a lot of help with a new website that launched in January 2018. They are a non-profit organization whose mission is to train people of faith in how to be peacemakers in our world. They stay in my mind because as a project manager, the collaboration and communication on this project was one of the best I’ve had a pleasure of being a part of and it was extra special to have that experience with a team whose mission I was 1,000% behind.

Question

Why was working on this particular project so memorable for you?

Answer

First of all, working with this client was a dream! They were competent, knowledgeable, open, honest, and kind as we worked together to navigate all the various details on their project which made the entire process flow smoothly. The best projects require the highest possible level of collaboration to achieve excellence and their team was wonderful to work with. I was in communication with our two main contacts at The Global Immersion Project at least once a week, and with our internal team multiple times a week. During the design phase, especially, I was either scheduling meetings to review, sending designs to review, or checking in on a design/design change in process.

Question

How did this project make an impact on the world and on you?

Answer

The Global Immersion Project is all about equipping people to become peacemakers in the world. Have we ever needed peacemakers more? I wish I could shout about this nonprofit from the rooftops because I think what they are doing is SO important and relevant.

I knew my chance to help was by doing everything I could to help them get a website that was excellent in every way.

From a project management perspective, I would say this project is where I really found my sweet spot in collaboration with our Creative Director, Joel Davis. After our kick-off meetings, we had been meeting to discuss and plan sitemaps and this is one of the first times I recall feeling very proud of my suggestions and feedback.

The final product is designed in a way that really captures the heart behind the work. I really love how we organized all of the information on the site. I think to this day the messaging and navigation are clear and easy to understand.

Question

Why do you think this project flowed so smoothly?

Answer

The project really hummed along because we prioritized timely and frequent communications on both the client and creative sides. When working with clients I always strive to emphasize the importance of consistent communications. This can be tricky because we are all so busy, but when we are talking consistently we are far more likely to understand each other more clearly, catch any discrepancies, and keep the project moving forward in a timely fashion.

I also encourage my clients to be confident in their content but trust us with the design as much as they can—every time I’ve seen this happen it leads to the best possible product, and The Global Immersion Project website is a great example of what can happen when we let the designers do what they do best!

Question

What fuels your creativity and passion for this line of work?

Answer

Creativity looks a little different for me as a project manager because it is more organizationally-based. I majored in Business Communication in college because I felt that it met my combination of extremely organized and creative and I knew I wanted a career that would do the same.

My position as project manager gives me a unique opportunity to use my organizational skills constantly while also honing my communication skills with clients on a daily basis. I love showing people how much I care for them both in communication and in excellent work.

Beyond that, my inspiration comes from practicality and ease of use. I am constantly trying to put myself into website visitor’s shoes, thinking about how this information would feel as a first- time visitor.

Question

What do you love most about your job?

Answer

The consistency, variety, and level of sociability. Our process is the same for every project, but not every client is the same, and I thrive on that combination of consistency and variety. The people (both internal and external) can be my biggest source of frustration but they are also my greatest reward! I am called to love my neighbors and I get the chance to do that every single day, so many times a day!

 

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Thank you Shelly for sharing your enthusiasm for The Global Immersion Project! We love hearing your unique perspective on this client and the important work they are doing to make our world a more peaceful place. It’s always our joy to partner with passionate people who are making a difference in the world. Please let us know how we can work with you to bring your next create project to life!