case study
Camp Cocker Rescue
A brand refresh and website rebuild for a California rescue organization supporting high-needs cocker spaniels – resulting in a more consistent visual identity, easier adoption workflows, and a website that finally matches the heart of their mission.
The Challenge
Camp Cocker Rescue, founded in 2007, has earned a strong reputation for rehabilitating medically complex cocker spaniels and placing them in loving homes. But by 2025, the organization had outgrown its DIY brand and website. Their social media presence was fun, vibrant, and full of personality—yet their website told a very different story. It felt flat, outdated, and required a staggering amount of manual upkeep that pulled precious time and energy away from their small but mighty team.
The original Squarespace site had ballooned to nearly 1,000 individual pages, making it increasingly difficult to keep information current. Updating adoptable dogs, sharing their stories, and adding new photos and videos became a time-consuming challenge, especially in the midst of active rescue work.
It was clear the organization needed a more efficient, sustainable system—one that would support a fast-moving team, provide clarity for adopters and donors, and reflect the warmth, compassion, and reliability at the heart of their mission.
Logo Refresh
The existing logo, originally created using Canva, didn’t capture the Camp Cocker’s personality or the quality of care they provided. The illustration felt too serious and stern for their big hearted vibe and the system offered no flexibility for expanding into badges, submarks, or multi-platform use.
The new logo suite features:
The new logo suite features:
- A custom hand-drawn cocker spaniel illustration that conveys optimism and approachability
- Flexible layouts for print, digital, and merchandise
- And a refined color palette that aligns with the organization’s tone and personality
Visual Identity
With the logo in place, the broader visual system was developed to create consistency and give the team plenty of fun and quirky elements to play with on social media. The identity includes:
- A warm, cohesive color palette inspired by natural tones and cocker spaniel coats,
- Friendly, legible typography choices suitable for both emotional storytelling and operational clarity,
- A clean, modular design system that reduces visual clutter,
- And branded elements—icons, badges, and patterns—that add personality without overwhelming the content.
Brand Personality
Camp Cocker Rescue exemplifies the Companion brand personality – steady, empathetic, relationship-driven, and deeply rooted in care. Loyalty, trust, and connection guide every part of their mission.
Because the organization had built such a large and devoted community, their brand refresh needed to be handled with intention. Our goal wasn’t to reinvent who they were, but to honor the quirky, joyful energy their supporters already loved! Our work focused on aligning their visual identity with that Companion personality so the brand finally looked and felt like Camp Cocker in every way.
Icons & Illustrations
We developed a set of custom icons and playful illustrations designed to:
These little touches go a long way in making a rescue feel trustworthy, friendly, and memorable.
- Add joy and personality across the website and social channels
- Make every adoptable dog profile feel special
- Give the team easy-to-use assets for storytelling
These little touches go a long way in making a rescue feel trustworthy, friendly, and memorable.
Working with Lauren and HeartSpark Design was an amazing experience.
She is organized, collaborative, and well worth the investment. Before this project, our brand was chaotic and inconsistent, but now everything feels cohesive and professional, from our logo and colors to our beautifully streamlined website. The new site not only looks incredible but saves us enormous time with features that make managing adoptable dogs easy and intuitive. Lauren’s communication throughout the process made everything seamless, and the result truly reflects who we are as an organization.
Wordpress Website
Camp Cocker’s new website – developed in partnership with Ed Harris of Blue Hills Digital – was built with clarity, usability, and longevity at the forefront. We focused on creating a more intuitive navigation system, elevating each dog’s story, and preserving a full historical archive of every dog the organization has rescued. The result is a site that not only reflects the heart of their mission but is also equipped to grow alongside their work.
Key improvements include:
Best of all, Camp Cocker Rescue’s new digital home puts their dogs front and center – celebrating their stories and supporting the compassionate work behind every rescue – while saving their team substantial time each week.
Key improvements include:
- A streamlined WordPress system for managing adoptable dogs, with dedicated fields for photos, videos, updates, and behavioral notes
- Clear, intuitive navigation tailored to the needs of adopters, donors, and volunteers
- More accessible design and improved legibility across all layouts
- A backend structure that reduces duplication and significantly cuts maintenance time
- A cleaner, more strategic site architecture built for SEO, long-term content management, and organizational growth
Best of all, Camp Cocker Rescue’s new digital home puts their dogs front and center – celebrating their stories and supporting the compassionate work behind every rescue – while saving their team substantial time each week.
Project team
Lauren Atherton
Creative Direction & Logo Design
Ed Harris
Website Development
Hamza Ouaziz
Animation
Services
Brand Level-Up
Logo & Visual Identity
WordPress Website
Focus Area
Animal Rescue
Completed
October 2025
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