W
hen your members are sniffing out details for their next event, you want a website that’s clean, clear, and easy to navigate. That was the task for Visual Targets when Australian Canine Scent Work (ACSW) came to us.
With a community of passionate trainers, dogs, and handlers, ACSW needed more than a new coat of paint—it needed an overhaul that would support events, education, and membership with ease.
1. The Story of Australian Canine Scent Work
ACSW is a national organisation dedicated to promoting canine scent detection—an activity that taps into a dog’s natural olfactory talents in structured, rewarding ways. It’s not just a hobby. Scent work is a growing discipline in dog training with roots in working K9 units and applications in search and rescue, detection, and therapy support. ACSW plays a key role in developing this discipline in Australia, offering certifications, instructor training, and community-run events all across the country.
We were referred to ACSW through a past client who’d loved their logo project with us. When the ACSW team got in touch, their website was functional but clunky, a little limited in what it could do, and ready for a new layout and fresh look. They needed a total rebuild—front end, back end, calendar, registration systems, branding tweaks, and a clear structure to serve their vibrant, fast-growing community.
2. The Challenges and Opportunities
Here’s how we approached it:
Branding & Visual Clarity
- Logo refinements: We tweaked ACSW’s existing logos to differentiate the Education and Trial branches of the organisation. The Education arm received a darker-toned version that influenced the rest of the site’s colour palette, creating more contast and bringing intuitive clarity to navigation and contact options.
- Subtle UI cues: We used colour blocks to guide users to the right contact forms, distinguishing between divisions and simplifying the user journey.
Events System & Calendar Integration
- The Amelia advantage: After trialling a few options, Amelia stood out as the best event plugin—clean interface, multiple payment gateway options, and flexible display settings. It let us show the same data in both a calendar view and as an upcoming events list on the homepage.
Learn more about the Amelia Plug-in here.
- Custom event design: We designed each event listing with flexibility in mind. Instructors—many of whom are businesses themselves—could upload their own logos to personalise events and reinforce their brand.
This project wasn’t just about aesthetics. It was about building a smart, future-proof tool for a national organisation.
Building the Back-End Functionality
Self-service registration:
ACSW registrations are complex—members sign up for themselves and their dogs, with fields for behaviour, personality traits, and training history. We built detailed forms that captured all the necessary data without overwhelming the user.
Instructor hub:
With over 100 instructors running events, the site needed a backend system that let them manage listings easily. We designed the interface to be functional for event creators, while maintaining a polished look for visitors.
Membership portal integration:
Though the membership database was pre-existing, we integrated it seamlessly—linking award histories, progressions from member to instructor, and payment portals with clarity and care.
Training & Handover
- Empowering the client: We didn’t just hand over the site—we trained ACSW staff to manage it confidently. From updating instructor pages to setting up events and handling payments via Stripe or PayPal, we built a mini crash course into our handover process.
- User-friendly design: Choosing Amelia also meant ACSW could access great tutorials and support tools independently, helping reduce long-term reliance on us for every small update.
Design Details
Sticky menu + blurred background: For smoother navigation, we implemented a sticky top menu with a soft blur—keeping key links visible without visual clutter.
Animated logos: A subtle but satisfying addition: simple animations to bring the Trial & Education Division logos together on the homepage added personality without overwhelming the content.
Responsiveness & clarity: Every page, every function was designed with mobile and desktop users in mind—clean layout, clear labels, intuitive hierarchy.
The Results
The ACSW website is now a sleek, professional platform that reflects the energy of its community. Members, instructors, and curious newcomers can all find what they need quickly—whether it’s event registration, certification info, or the latest scent work news.
They’re confident running the site day-to-day, and the platform is ready to scale as the sport continues to grow in popularity.
See this video which shows how it turned out:
Want a website that works as hard as your business does? Whether you’re running events, managing memberships, or just ready to update your website, Visual Targets can help. Reach out to see how we can build something functional, beautiful, and tailored just for you.
Creative genius, talented wordsmith and all-rounder copywriter up for the grabs! If you can’t stand the look of your copy right now, she’ll shape your rambles into the most compelling words.
Marie Rene | LinkedIn
