Have you ever had something really important to say, and you keep saying it, but it feels like no one is listening? But it’s really important, so you keep repeating it, not knowing what else to do. You reach out for help and someone says let’s try this a different way. Maybe this hasn’t happened to you. But it did happen to Water Smart Broward, a drowning prevention initiative operating under the Florida Department of Health, in Broward County. We were that someone.
The Problem Water Smart Broward is Working on Solving
It’s no secret that water is everywhere in Florida. The ocean, private and community pools, canals, rivers, springs, retention ponds, fountains… even Florida puddles can be pretty deep after a good summer rain. We have the country’s worst statistics when it comes to drownings. This task force is on a mission to spread the word about water safety, swim lessons, and ways to avoid becoming a statistic. And they have their work cut out for them.
The Problem with the Old Water Smart Broward Website
Unfortunately, their message: “Drowning is Preventable” was getting a little bit lost in the layout and design of the website. The site was colorful and happy. Pictures of smiling children and parents greeted visitors. However, we realized that when it comes to water safety, happy, bright faces are just like swim floaties: they give users a false sense of security.
We needed to get the new message across to every single visitor that happened to glance at any page. Water safety is serious. It is somber. It is important. And as scary as it is, especially for parents, we needed to show everyone plainly: “Bad things happen when no one watches the water.”
