RFP: Website Development and Brand Re-Design for Two Rivers Gallery

1.0 STATEMENT OF PURPOSE

Two Rivers Gallery seeks partner(s) to design and develop a new website at www.tworiversgallery.ca and design a re-brand of our logo and style-guide. The successful candidate(s) will be selected to develop and deploy the completed website and brand re-design based on an assessment of skills and project scope as outlined below.

If scope of work is beyond one proponent, then Two Rivers Gallery is happy for candidate(s) to seek out collaborations with partnering organizations and individuals.

2.0 BACKGROUND

2.1 About Two Rivers Gallery

Situated on the traditional territory of the Lheidli T’enneh, Two Rivers Gallery is a centre for contemporary Canadian art and creativity in Prince George and the central interior. Two Rivers Gallery serves the Regional District of Fraser-Fort George, which includes the traditional territories of the McLeod Lake Indian Band, Lheidli T’enneh First Nation and Simpcw First Nation. The regional district consists of approximately 100,000 people across seven electoral areas and four municipalities, including Prince George with a population of 79,000. Two Rivers Gallery is contracted to provide services to the entire regional district. The geographical area we serve is 51,083 km2, just shy of that of Nova Scotia.

The name Two Rivers Gallery derives from the confluence of the two main waterways in the region, the Nechako and Fraser Rivers. Prince George, once considered a logging town, is a service centre in Central British Columbia, nine hours north of Vancouver. The next nearest public art gallery of comparable size and scope is five and a half hours away by car, and as a result Two Rivers Gallery is the main venue for experiencing contemporary art for the regional community.

Two Rivers Gallery is the centre for visual art in the North. The Gallery has innovative and relevant exhibitions featuring art by contemporary artists from across the country. Simultaneously, it has developed a complement of learning and engagement programs that support the collective experience of and learning through contemporary art. From artists’ talks to school programs to studio workshops to extensive outreach, Two Rivers Gallery champions the positive impact of art in our lives.

2.2 Audiences

The audience for Two Rivers Gallery website consists of gallery visitors, artists, community collaborators, teachers and students, donors and the general public. In 2021, 54,664 users visited 97 unique pages on the existing site.

Primarily, Two Rivers Gallery website users use the website to sign up for gallery programs or to plan their visit by learning about our current exhibitions. Our most popular pages are our programs pages (Children and Families Programming page and Adults Programming page) as well as on the Current Exhibitions page.

During our Online Accessibility Audit, community members were invited to explore the gallery’s virtual platforms including the website. Many noted challenges navigating the current site. We aim to build a new website that enhances accessibility and better reflects our values, goals, and impact to the community.

2.3 Design Brief 

The current website was built in 2019, replacing a much older and no longer functioning website. However, our review including our virtually accessibility audit in 2021, made clear a range of user challenges to be addressed. Further, our review recognized that we could not adapt our current site to suite our needs.

The new design for the website and logo will:

• Reflect the gallery’s work on centering contemporary artist
• Give context to the gallery’s geographic location and relationship to its local community
• The warmth and playfulness of the gallery

 The audit also informed us that the website needs to be user-friendly and intuitive. The website should be accessible for a wide range of people with different lived experience, including those living with disabilities. The website should be screen-reader friendly and be inviting.

Goals of the new website and graphic re-brand are:

• To inform, educate, and engage our visitors before, during, and after their visit, or for people who never will visit the gallery in-person
• Increase accessibility – allow for all visitors to better access through accessibility features, colour contrast, and screen-reader friendly website and mobile sites (WCAG 2.0 AA standards)
• Better represent the gallery for potential artists, donors, and visitors, showing the multi-dimensions of our values, mission, and programming
• Have a more robust search function
• Increase user engagement and social sharing
• Better stats and data for who is using our website
• Integration with our current applications (social media, Neon, Mailchimp, an online collections database)
• Integration with existing or recommended applications for e-commerce, calendar, search function, and analytics.

The logo itself can:

• Be a wordmark, image, or a combination of the two
• Be playful and warm rather than corporate
• Have a font that is accessible to read

2.4 Staff Resources

Core Team

• Sara Knelman, Executive Director
• Roxanne Heroux-Boulay, Communications Coordinator and Graphic Designer
• Regan Shrumm, Community Outreach and Accessibility Advisor

 The rest of the staff and board are additional stakeholders and each bringing their own expertise and point of view.

3.0 SCOPE OF WORK

Two Rivers Gallery requires the services of a vendor(s) to provide user-experience design, graphic design, software development, staff training, and launch and warranty for tworiversgallery.ca.

For the graphic design, this includes logo, style guide (including typography, colour palettes, graphics, and iconography), and integrated design with the website.

The selected contractor(s) will perform the following tasks:

1. Prepare and specify all labour, software, and equipment required to perform the work indicated and specified in the proposal documents, including technical specifications and design boards.
2. Collaborate with Two Rivers Gallery staff in understanding, developing, and supporting the proposed experience design. Provide additional insight, guidance, and experience in support for Two Rivers Gallery’s stated goals for design and overall website experience.
3. Work with Two Rivers Gallery staff, partners, and testing consultants as appropriate to prototype, beta-test, and/or verify software development efforts as needed.
4. Migrate the content from the old website to the new website.
5. Preparation of handover documentation and training, including software and systems manuals and maintenance and operation manuals. Training should comprise of basic operations of and maintenance of all systems.
6. Providing a suggested ongoing annual maintenance schedule and regimen, including suggested software.

3.1 Schedule

Prospective consultant(s) will be notified approximately four weeks after the proposal deadline. If the application is successful, we anticipate the contract with the selected consultant(s) to start in November with the project wrapping up and launching within the second quarter of 2023.

RFP Issued                               September 6, 2022

RFP Closing                             October 7, 2022

Contract Award                        End of October 2022

Start Date                                 November 2022

Expected Completion                May 2023

3.2 Budget 

Our budget is in the $40,000 to $60,000 range. While we prefer the most cost-effective solution, all proposals that fall reasonably around this range will be considered based on the value and experience they provide.

Proponent(s) costs will be expected to include: consultant fees, expenses for transportation, accommodation, per diem, hardware and software, as required. A payment schedule based on deliverables will be negotiated with the successful proponent.

3.3 Responsibilities, Expectations, and Requirements

The main responsibilities of Two Rivers Gallery are:

• Review and approve the proposed approaches and solutions for tworiversgallery.ca, assigning roles and responsibilities to project partners and staff as necessary;
• Review and approve the proposed user experience intended for the website;
• Guide, review, and approve the overall graphic design direction;
• Provide relevant history, documents, and specifications as needed for the implementation of the website;
• Establish budget;
• Monitor results according to the specification and scope defined in the RFP;
• Attend progress meetings over Zoom to review and inspect work.

The contractor(s) shall:

• Develop media and technology selection and design in accordance within the scope and budget
• Work with Two Rivers Gallery, partners, and testing consultants to provide input, opinion, and guidance as part of the design process for tworiversgallery.ca and re-brand;
• Provide regular reports regarding progress as well as meetings;
• Notify Two Rivers Gallery of any issues that may impact the timeline, budget, and/or deliverables;
• Incorporate at least 5 business day response time from Two Rivers Gallery staff to review into schedules.

4.0 PROPOSAL AND EVALUATION 

The proposal should include the following components: 

A. Value/Qualifications/Experience

1. 1. Cover Letter: A brief cover letter that identifies the proposal as a response to this RFP, and provides contact information for the proponent.
   2. Value proposition: Proponent(s) are encouraged to include a values proposition that showcases how they or their firm will bring value to the project.
   3. Proponent information: The proponent(s) should provide a description of the proponent’s consulting focus.
   4. Team profile: The proponent(s) should include a brief description of each team member’s qualifications and experience. Individual consultants should include a CV.

Proponent(s) should demonstrate a history of experience facilitating and developing strategic plans.

B. Understanding of the Project

Proponent(s) should highlight a comprehensive understanding of the project. Please indicate expected opportunities, risks, and assumptions in making this proposal. Process is every bit as important as the actual elements of the proposed solution.

C. Recommended Approach

Proponent(s) should highlight their recommended approach to the project, including methodologies and proposed solutions to a successful launch of the website. Capture the imagination of the reviewers, demonstrating an ability to be thoughtful, considered, and creative.

D. Workplan

A workplan of the project should be included in the proposal. Encouraged to include references to previous contracted projects that are comparable in size, budget, and scope.

 E. Budget

Given the best understanding of the scope of the project, please provide an itemized budget for completion of the project. This budget should include, but not limited to the following:

• Project management
• Conceptual design
• User experience design, including consultation with individuals with lived experience
• Graphic design
• Content management system design and integration
• Design, production and installation of all components for the website
• Training of Two Rivers Gallery staff for content uploading and basic maintenance
• Expected ongoing maintenance and service contracts

 F. References

 Three references related to the proponent’s work as a consultant. Include: contact name, position, organization, phone, email, description of the professional relationship with the references and the duration of the relationship.

4.1 Evaluation

Proposals will be evaluated on value, approach, qualifications, past experience, and references.

Proponent(s) should structure their proposals with the Evaluation Criteria headings below.

Evaluation Criteria Points

1. Value / Qualifications / Experience /15
2. Understanding of the project /5
3. Recommended approach /25
4. Workplan /25
5. Budget /20
6. References /10

Total Points /100

4.2 Submission details

Submissions must be delivered electronically as a single PDF to: 

Sara Knelman
Executive Director
Two Rivers Gallery
sara@tworiversgallery.ca

Proposals must be successfully received no later than 4:59 pm on Friday, October 7, 2022. Submissions received after the deadline may not be considered in the tender evaluation process.

4.3 Contact

All correspondence, questions or requests for clarification concerning this RFP should be submitted by email by Friday, September 23, 2022 with the title of the RFP in the subject line to:

Sara Knelman
Executive Director
sara@tworiversgallery.ca