Building engagement and community
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Scope
Design system and patterns
Accessibility and mobile optimization
Technical and structural limitations prohibited audience growth
The Council.org’s outdated platform struggled to meet the needs of its diverse audiences—spanning media, events, content, and resources. The limitations hindered its mission to grow knowledge and engagement in global affairs.
We built a robust platform that elevated engagement across media and events
We redesigned the site with a modern digital experience and robust engagement tools. Key features included live event streaming, a custom podcast player, advanced article filtering, media categorization, surveys, and more. The design emphasized accessibility, scalability, and mobile optimization to ensure seamless access across devices.
Post-launch results
50% growth in average monthly users
Significant uplift in conversions across newsletter signups, event registrations, and media streams
Improved accessibility ratings, ensuring a more inclusive experience
Full mobile optimization, driving consistent engagement across devices
Skills
Accessible design
Content design
Cross-functional communication
Design systems
Discovery
Motion design
Presentations
Project planning
Motion design
UI Design
UX Writing
Wireframes
Role and process
As a Design lead, I partnered directly with CCGA’s digital team and their president—a former U.S. Ambassador to NATO—to define requirements in a fast-paced agency environment. I drove all design and strategic deliverables across each project phase, and later expanded my role to include spec work that increased project scope and impact.
Decisions
Prioritize fresh content — Frequent updates kept users engaged by highlighting recent events, while the system’s design ensured content could be published quickly and consistently.
Build from the foundation up — An atomic design approach ensured scalability by first establishing core styles, then layering in components for a cohesive, flexible system.
Learnings
Include stakeholders early — Involving stakeholders during the design phase fostered ownership and transparency, leading to more aligned and confident decision-making.
Design scalable content models — Creating flexible models that could scale down streamlined workflows and reduced overall development time.
Enable modular layouts — Flexible page structures made it easy to spotlight dynamic content such as live events, breaking news, and other timely updates.
