Meyer Memorial Trust has been a pillar of equity and social justice in Oregon for over 80 years. But after a decade on a rigid, legacy CMS, their digital presence was failing to keep pace with their evolving mission. They needed a website that was not only easier to manage but also bold enough to reflect their “justice-forward” values.
Our challenge was to translate a vibrant, emotive brand into a functional user experience without overwhelming the audience. Leadership famously asked us early on: “Will we end up with a too-intense rainbow?”
Our answer was a strategic design system rooted in “Color Governance.” We balanced Meyer’s high-energy palette with disciplined whitespace and accessible typography. We replaced their brittle Drupal site with a modular, component-based WordPress build. This new system empowers their small team to build complex, story-driven pages independently, ensuring that the “right” design choice is always the easiest one to make in the CMS.
By mapping user journeys to specific “Need States”—from quick scanning to deep exploration—we created an information architecture that respects the user’s time while inviting them deeper into the work. The result is a digital platform that is optimistic, accessible, and unapologetically focused on equity, proving that a serious mission doesn’t require a somber design.
