Western Resource Advocates is a regional nonprofit organization fighting climate change and its impacts to protect the environment, economy, and people of the West. WRA works to ensure a future where vibrant Western communities run on clean energy, Western rivers are thriving, and the distinct landscapes and habitats of the West are protected, healthy, and accessible.

In late 2022, DG+ chose WRA as a 1% for the Planet beneficiary as part of its annual giving. In spring 2023, eager to further support their important work, DG+ offered WRA an in-kind donation in the form of marketing and creative services, to be applied to a suitable project of their choosing. With timely decisions about the future of the river approaching, WRA wanted to better tell the story of the Colorado River, focusing on key aspects like the new guidelines process in 2026. Through a combination of graphic and written strategies, DG+ crafted a digital storytelling experience to make this complex water policy more accessible and engaging while highlighting its crucial importance to the people of the West.

Western Resource Advocates plays a unique role in leading conversations around evolving Colorado River policy. As subject matter experts, they have a stake in guiding the 2026 renegotiations of Colorado River management guidelines, which will affect communities and wildlife for years to come. 

Recognizing this historic opportunity, WRA wanted to strengthen its storytelling around the Colorado River, focusing on key aspects like the new guidelines for managing the river, stakeholder involvement, critical dates for engagement, water allocation among basin states, and current usage patterns. Through refined messaging, they aimed to better leverage their policy expertise and establish themselves as the trusted, go-to voice for updates and policy discussions. 

When WRA approached DG+ to revamp their Colorado River page, DG+ saw an opportunity to transform a complex and urgent issue into a more accessible and compelling story. The page needed to engage decision-makers by providing clear, actionable insights while also offering a framework for WRA donors and advocates to better understand the challenges surrounding the Colorado River — and WRA’s solutions to those challenges.

• Communicating complex data to a broad audience: WRA recognized that while the previous version of the page contained a lot of useful information, readers were faced with a dense, text-heavy user experience that required excessive scrolling (and a lot of patience). Without clear page breaks, engaging subheadings, and helpful visuals,  the page was not accessible to a wide-ranging audience. Furthermore, the existing graphs were highly technical and difficult to interpret, which obscured the scale and urgency of the situation. To become a hub for news, education, and action, they needed to rework the content to make it as approachable as it is informative. 
• Creating flexibility for future updates: Static data and visuals make it difficult to keep a page current as new policies and discussions emerge. With Colorado River policy updates constantly unfolding, WRA needed a page with the flexibility to grow and adapt.
• Ensuring consistency across the site: To present essential and timely data, some existing elements were created in a hurry before WRA’s brand refresh in 2023, without fully aligning with their newly refreshed brand and messaging guidelines. As a result, DG+ needed to create a new page that better aligned with these updated brand elements and the website as a whole.

The challenge was to balance delivering decisive and actionable messaging while leaving room for ongoing evolution as policies and discussions around the Colorado River continue to develop.

DG+ enlisted its communications and design experts to develop a narrative that effectively conveys the history and cultural significance of the Colorado River, its policy intricacies, and WRA’s key recommendations for the 2026 guidelines. The goal was to elevate the page and refine the written and visual narrative to align with WRA’s brand guidelines thereby establishing cohesion with the rest of the website and creating a resource that serves both to guide decision-makers and promote public understanding.

Integrated Communications and Design:

• Mission-aligned messaging: DG+ worked closely with a variety of stakeholders at WRA to capture their informative and authentic voice. Historically, Tribes in the Colorado River Basin have been left out of the decision making processes for the river. Understanding the need to include the opinions of affected Tribes, DG+ conducted interviews and incorporated Tribal representatives’ input, ensuring authentic representation of Indigenous perspectives.
• Digital storytelling: The revised page goes beyond policy and legal frameworks to tell a more immersive story of the Colorado River — its history, its significance to communities and ecosystems, and the challenges it faces. DG+ deployed an editorial approach to break up long-form content with thoughtful, reader-friendly subheadings and subsections. An internal navigation bar was added to improve usability and new, engaging elements such as pop-ups, interactive timelines, live maps, and diagrams were included to guide readers through the history of the River. 

• Sitewide consistency: All design choices were made in alignment with WRA’s brand and website guidelines This ensured a seamless and polished user experience across the site.

By creating an engaging, informative, and adaptable resource, DG+ empowered WRA to better advocate for water policy changes, while ensuring the flexibility to adapt to future developments.