About this case study
This case study documents the website design, branding, and print work DP1 DESIGN completed for Hynes Charter School, a public charter school organization in New Orleans, Louisiana. DP1 DESIGN is a New Orleans web design agency founded in 2001. Contact: (504) 247-4345, support@dp1design.com.
Education Branding Website Print Industry expertise: Non-Profits & Community →
The Challenge
Hynes Charter School is one of New Orleans’ most sought-after public school names - a Lakeview institution with a decades-long reputation and, in the city’s all-charter landscape, a brand that families actively campaign to get into. But New Orleans school choice puts every school in a permanent enrollment season: families compare schools online during application windows, and a website that buries the essentials costs real applications.
The old site had grown the way school sites do - page by page, PDF by PDF, maintained by whoever had a spare hour. Prospective parents couldn’t quickly find enrollment steps or tour dates. Current families dug through menus for calendars, lunch menus, and forms. Faculty updates required technical help that didn’t exist. And none of it reflected the warmth and excellence happening in the classrooms.
The brief: a website that serves three constituencies - prospective families, current families, and staff - without letting any of them drown the others, wrapped in a brand system consistent across campuses.
Our Approach
Parent-first architecture. We mapped the site to the two questions that matter: “Should my child go here?” and “What do I need to know today?” Prospective families get a clear enrollment journey - story, academics, tours, application steps aligned to the citywide enrollment process. Current families get a dashboard-like quick-links layer: calendar, menus, forms, and announcements one tap from the homepage.
A brand system for a growing school. As Hynes has grown to multiple campuses, consistency became a real need. We refined the identity into a system - colors, crest usage, typography - that keeps every campus unmistakably Hynes while giving each its own presence on the site and in print.
Built for non-technical publishing. School websites die when updates require a developer. The WordPress build gives office staff safe, simple editing for the things that change weekly - news, calendars, documents - with DP1 handling everything structural. Accessibility mattered too: a public school site serves every family, so the build follows WCAG contrast and navigation standards.
A school website has one job at 7:42 in the morning - tell a parent what they need to know in one tap. Everything else is architecture.
What We Delivered
- Parent-first website architecture - clear paths for prospective families, current families, and staff.
- Enrollment journey - story, academics, tours, and application steps aligned to New Orleans school choice.
- Family quick-links layer - calendar, menus, forms, and announcements one tap from home.
- Multi-campus brand system - refined identity, colors, and crest standards across locations.
- Staff-friendly publishing - safe WordPress editing for office staff; DP1 handles the structure.
- Accessibility standards - WCAG-conscious contrast, navigation, and document handling.
- Print collateral - enrollment brochures, event programs, and campus signage.
- Ongoing management - hosting, security, and same-day update support from DP1.
The Results
The new site turned enrollment-season chaos into a calm, self-service experience - and gave the school a digital presence that finally matches its reputation.
The quieter result is trust: families judge a school partly by how it communicates, and Hynes now communicates like the institution it is. The site remains under DP1’s ongoing care, growing alongside the school.
In the Client’s Words
DP1 understood immediately that our website had to work for a parent in the carpool line, not just look good in a meeting. Families tell us how easy the new site is, the office gets fewer routine calls, and enrollment season runs smoother every year.
Services Used
Hynes Charter School project - frequently asked questions
What should a charter school website prioritize in New Orleans?
Enrollment clarity above all. In a citywide school-choice system, families comparison-shop online during application windows, so the enrollment journey - story, academics, tour dates, application steps - must be obvious. Right behind it: a quick-links layer for current families and publishing tools the front office can use without a developer.
Can school staff update the website themselves?
Yes - that was a core requirement of the Hynes build. Office staff safely edit news, calendars, and documents through WordPress, while DP1 handles structure, security, and anything technical. Updates that used to wait for outside help now happen the same morning.
Does DP1 DESIGN work with other schools and nonprofits?
We do - schools, associations, and community institutions across the New Orleans metro. The playbook is consistent: audience-first architecture, a brand system that scales, staff-friendly publishing, and DP1's ongoing management so the site never decays between big redesigns.
About DP1 DESIGN
DP1 DESIGN is a New Orleans digital marketing agency specializing in AI Search Optimization (AEO / GEO / LLM-SEO), Local SEO, and website design. Founded in 2001, DP1 DESIGN helps businesses across New Orleans, Louisiana, and beyond gain visibility across ChatGPT, Perplexity, Claude, Google, and every major AI answer platform. Our team delivers full stack digital marketing services - branding, websites, content strategy, and technical optimization - to businesses in restaurants, medical practices, law firms, retail, home services, contractors, and more.
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