Accountability New York

Home / Portfolio / Accountability New York
Transforming a fragmented advocacy site into a clear and authoritative public resource that presents evidence, explains the problem, and drives meaningful action.

Project Snapshot

Accountability NY is a coalition of law professors and public interest groups that pursues professional consequences for prosecutorial misconduct in New York. Their original website contained valuable research and serious grievances against prosecutors, but the site itself felt disjointed, outdated, and difficult to navigate. Visitors had trouble understanding the mission, locating evidence, and taking action.

Crosby Creative Co. rebuilt Accountability NY from the ground up. We transformed an inconsistent site into a clear and compelling public resource that presents complex information in a logical structure and gives citizens a straightforward way to engage, learn, and act.

The Problem

The original Accountability NY website was built on an old template with no real system for organizing the coalition’s work. It struggled to communicate both the seriousness of the mission and the volume of research behind it.

Limited Clarity & Storytelling

The old homepage presented dense paragraphs of text that assumed visitors already understood the problem of prosecutorial misconduct. The message was crucial but hard to absorb. Nothing guided a new visitor from confusion to understanding.

Disorganized evidence

The heart of the project is a collection of grievances against prosecutors. On the old site these appeared in long, unstructured lists. There was no way to browse by name, no way to explore by category, and no sense of the scale of misconduct documented by the coalition.

Outdated design and visuals

The color palette, layout, and typography looked dated and inconsistent. Visuals did not match the gravity of the issue. The site felt more like a document dump than an organized public resource.
In short, the coalition had important research and a powerful mission, but the website made that work difficult to understand and nearly impossible to act on.

Our Solution

We rebuilt Accountability NY from scratch with a focus on clarity, trust, and civic action.

1. Sharpened Positioning & Messaging

We rewrote the homepage to speak directly and simply. Visitors immediately learn what prosecutorial misconduct is, why it matters, and how it harms communities. Instead of assuming prior knowledge, the new homepage guides people through a clear and intentional narrative.

A strong introductory statement anchors the page and sets the tone. The rest of the layout reinforces credibility through clear definitions, structured explanations, and direct links to evidence.

2. Built a Proper Narrative Around the Problem

We turned complicated concepts into a clean and logical content flow. Each major idea has its own dedicated section.

  • What We Do explains the coalition’s purpose and the role of public accountability.
  • The Problem defines prosecutorial power and details how misconduct occurs across bail decisions, witness manipulation, discriminatory jury selection, discovery violations, and closing arguments.
  • Grievances presents the documented cases in a searchable and browsable format.
  • News and Resources organizes press coverage and additional context in a way that supports both public education and media research.
  • Take Action gives visitors a clear path to file grievances or demand oversight from the appropriate committees.

This structure lets visitors move from education to evidence to action without confusion.

3. Elevated Credibility and Evidence

The new site surfaces the coalition’s research in a way that is easy to navigate and difficult to ignore.

We converted hundreds of pages of scattered content into a structured database of grievances. Visitors can now browse prosecutors alphabetically or by subgroup. Supporting documents are displayed in a clean, readable layout that respects the seriousness of the material.

Press coverage is no longer hidden. It now appears in a dedicated section with clear headlines and summaries so journalists, researchers, and advocates can quickly understand the scope of the issue.

4. Designed for Ease of Use and Civic Engagement

Every decision supports action.

  • Prominent CTA: The site now includes clear invitations to read grievances, file complaints, and contact oversight committees.
  • Consistent navigation: A simple and predictable menu makes it easy to reach any page within seconds.
  • Readable Layouts: Content is intentionally spaced, visually organized, and written for a wide range of readers.
  • Action first: The new Take Action page presents the next steps without clutter or distraction.

The entire experience is built to support learning and participation, not overwhelm visitors with information.

5. Built for Growth and Long Term Use

Behind the scenes we built a flexible structure so Accountability NY can continue to publish grievances, news, and resources over time. New cases can be added without redesigning any part of the layout. Each page is built for clarity, consistency, and easy expansion.

The site is now a living public record that can grow as the coalition’s work continues.

Highlights

  • Rebuilt a fragmented website into a structured and navigable public resource
  • Created a strong visual design that reflects the seriousness of the issue
  • Clarified the coalition’s mission with direct, plain language messaging
  • Added clear paths for public action including filing grievances and contacting oversight committees
  • Organized hundreds of grievances into a clean and searchable collection
  • Designed a scalable site that can grow with future research and case additions

Results & Impact

The new Accountability NY website communicates exactly what the coalition stands for. It gives the public a clear explanation of the problem, offers undeniable evidence of misconduct, and provides a simple and direct way to take action. Instead of a scattered collection of documents, the site now feels like a focused tool with a serious purpose.

Most importantly, the redesign supports the coalition’s larger mission. It helps citizens understand prosecutorial power, exposes misconduct that has gone unchecked, and encourages the kind of engagement that leads to real accountability.

Quick Facts

Client

Accountability NY

Website

https://accountabilityny.org

Industry

Criminal Justice Reform, Civic Advocacy

Location

New York, NY

Engagement

Website redesign, content structure, UX foundation, visual design

Key Pages

Home, The Problem, Grievances, News and Resources, Take Action

Launch

2024

Goal

Present evidence with clarity, increase public understanding, and drive action oriented engagement
Start a conversation
Name