Our goal at Alter Endeavors is to develop exceptional sites. We experience particular joy and a sense of purpose when those sites have a meaningful impact on society.
One of the recent websites we designed and developed was for Dr. James Baker, a physician who is focused on driving awareness on opioid addiction after the loss of his son. While the story seems steeped in tragedy, Dr. Baker has used his pain to help others – while exuding the utmost class and humility. It was truly an honor to work with him. The love Dr. Baker has for his son and the cause is contagious. In my 5 years at Alter Endeavors, I have never cried during a call with a client. It was impossible not to feel a part of Dr. Baker’s family throughout this process – which resulted in some sniffles and alligator tears at times.
Dr. Baker reached out to Alter Endeavors 10 days before his scheduled presentation to Congress on opioid addiction. While it’s typical for us to immerse ourselves in our client’s brand and platform, this project was different. It took a village to launch this project. Our graphic designer, Jade Wiggins, and I took on the responsibility of translating Dr. Baker’s vision into an exceptional page on a very tight timeline. We were able to design and develop the site in less than a week. It was a collaborative effort that we’re incredibly proud of: drjamesbaker.com
Maxwell Baker, or “Macky” as we all refer to him now, was an exceptional human who used his experiences with addiction to draft countless pieces of material about living with addiction that James now uses to guide policy and change. A passionate drummer and son, we wanted the love between this father and son to come through immediately. We developed what is known as a “Splash Page” which is a site that uses a “drag down” feature to mimic a full website.
Our goal was to project hope, the very same goal that Dr. Baker has when he speaks to Congress. We chose imagery that illustrates this hope and shows the loving nature of Macky – something that gets lost when we as a society discuss addiction. Often times, we forget, as Dr. Baker mentioned throughout our process, that “addiction can happen to anyone.”
We wanted to gently feature Dr. Baker’s press and credentials because, at the end of the day, this project is about Max. It’s about maintaining and furthering his legacy. It’s about raising awareness and promoting his Foundation, which helps raise money for different addiction-based programs. It’s about real change in society and how we can all be better humans in a world that sometimes seems lost.
More so, as we went through the process alongside Dr. Baker, we discovered that we had no idea how to help people in our own lives that may be facing this disease. Dr. Baker’s solution was to craft a series of instructions titled “What can you do to help?” And that’s exactly what we hope this Splash page does – help others.
God speed to Dr. Baker as he gives his presentation to Congress today and looks to implement real policy change in our country. We were honored to play a small part in his mission and we were humbly reminded that it indeed takes a village to create real change.
The non-profit exists to fulfill Max’s dream of helping people with substance use disorders in finding acceptance, guidance, and support as they seek recovery. If you would like to make a donation, here is a link to do so.