A website for CCA's After Intelligence event series, produced in collaboration with the Kari Marboe Endowment. The site serves multiple purposes: marketing and save-the-date collection before the event, live information during, and a permanent archive of photos and resources afterward.
Homepage featuring dynamic event information and registration integration
duration
3 weeks
team
Joel Lithgow (Dev/Design), Julian (Lead Designer), Nikol Plass (PM)
role
full-stack developer & digital designer
tools
astro.js, css, figma, mailchimp
the challenge
The event had a tight timeline with multiple teams needing to work in parallel - marketing, communications, social, and web all had deliverables due before the branding direction was finalized. Traditional waterfall workflows would have created delays across the board.
key insight: When timelines are tight and decisions are still in progress, build systems that can absorb change - a configurable foundation keeps everyone moving
the approach
I prototyped the website ahead of the finalized design direction, building a configurable color design system using CSS custom properties. This allowed the entire site’s visual identity to be updated through a single configuration file, so when branding decisions landed, we could pivot instantly and keep all teams moving forward together.
process deep dive
1
rapid prototyping
Built a functional website prototype using placeholder branding, establishing information architecture and user flows before visual design was finalized.
2
configurable design system
Created a CSS custom properties-based theming system where colors, typography, and spacing could be swapped globally through a single configuration, enabling instant rebranding.
3
template development
Extended the design system to email templates and social media assets, ensuring brand consistency across all marketing touchpoints.
4
launch & archive transition
Launched the marketing site, then transitioned it post-event into a permanent archive featuring photo galleries and speaker resources.
The configurable design system enables seamless light and dark mode switching
visual documentation
Custom email templates maintaining brand consistency across communications
Social media templates enabling consistent marketing across platforms
CSS custom properties powering the configurable design system
Post-event archive serving as a permanent resource for attendees and speakers
key insights
"When timelines are tight and decisions are still in progress, build systems that can absorb change - a configurable foundation keeps everyone moving"
"Event websites have distinct lifecycle phases (marketing, live, archive) - planning for all three upfront prevents rebuild work later"
"CSS custom properties aren't just for theming - they're a collaboration tool that lets design and development work in parallel"
