Creating a Digital Home for Mission-Driven Leadership
An executive coach with 25+ years of nonprofit leadership experience needed a website that balanced warmth with authority. With Spark Purpose Design, I designed and built her website, positioning her to attract nonprofit CEOs and executive directors.
Role
UX Designer, Copywriter, Squarespace Developer
Timeline
2025
Collaboration
Anne Tsuei, Spark Purpose Design
Client
Liz Fussell Executive Coaching
Project Deliverables
Website Design & Build / Copywriting / Icon Design
The Challenge
Liz had no website to showcase her expertise or attract clients. She needed a professional digital presence that would resonate with nonprofit leaders needing leadership coaching.
The site had to establish her credibility as an executive coach while staying true to her warm, compassionate approach. Too corporate, and she'd lose her authenticity. Too casual, and nonprofit CEOs wouldn't take her seriously.
What They Needed
Liz needed a website to outline her services, capture subscribers to her newsletter, and establish herself as a though leader in the executive coaching space.
Defining the Brand Voice
We centered the design around a tree metaphor: deep roots, steady growth, and transformation. This connected Liz's Louisiana roots to her coaching philosophy and gave us a visual language that felt both grounded and motivational.
The strategy was to lead with her values and coaching philosophy, then back it up with concrete services and credentials. This structure let her personality shine while proving she could deliver results.
The Approach
Discovery and Brand Strategy
Collaborated with the client and Anne Tsuei to understand Liz's coaching philosophy, target audience (nonprofit CEOs and board members), and positioning challenge. Conducted a competitive audit of others in the industry. Defined target audiences, brand values, tone guidelines, and core messaging pillars. Developed a logo and color palette centered around the tree metaphor.
UX Design & Information Architecture
Created wireframes in Figma to establish the site structure and user flows. Prioritized clear service offerings with concrete outcomes, testimonials for credibility, and strategic placement of calls-to-action. Designed the information architecture to guide visitors from awareness (her philosophy) to action (booking consultations).
Visual Design & Custom Assets
Designed complete page mockups in Figma using Anne's color palette and refining it for warmth and accessibility. Created custom icons for Liz's three service offerings that reflected the tree theme. Curated nature imagery—trees, roots, reflections—to reinforce the brand metaphor throughout the site.
Strategic Copywriting & Content Planning
Wrote all website copy in collaboration with Anne. Crafted messaging that balanced Liz's warmth with her executive credibility. Suggested repurposing her LinkedIn posts as blog content for ongoing thought leadership and SEO.
Squarespace Development & Launch
Customized a Squarespace template to match the Figma designs, implementing all visual elements, custom icons, and content. Optimized images for page speed and SEO. Ensured 508 accessibility compliance and mobile responsiveness. Configured forms, navigation, and all interactive features for a seamless user experience.
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Note on collaboration: Anne Tsuei of Spark Purpose Design led the development of the logo, color palette, and brand strategy. I led UX design, copywriting, and Squarespace implementation. We worked collaboratively throughout, iterating on copy and design refinements together.
Key Deliverables
UX Design & Wireframing
We created the complete user experience foundation for the site, establishing how visitors would move through Liz's story and services. The wireframes prioritized clarity and conversion, guiding nonprofit leaders from understanding her philosophy to booking a consultation.
Information architecture for all pages
Figma wireframes
Website Copywriting
We wrote all website copy with the positioning line "Bringing leadership back to its roots." The copy balanced Liz's warmth with her executive credibility, weaving her 25+ years of experience into the narrative naturally rather than listing credentials.
Homepage, About, Services
Service descriptions with outcomes
Conversational-yet-authoritative tone
Visual Design & Brand Implementation
Working with Anne's color palette, I created complete Figma mockups for all major sections and curated imagery that reinforced the nature theme. Every visual decision supported the central metaphor of growth, roots, and transformation.
Complete page mockups in Figma
Earth-tone palette refinements
Curated nature photography
Custom icons
Squarespace Design & Development
I built the complete site in Squarespace, customizing the template to match the Figma designs while ensuring fast load times, accessibility compliance, and a seamless mobile experience.
Custom template implementation
Blog and newsletter integration
Mobile optimization and 508 compliance
SEO and image optimization
Results & Learnings
What Worked
Sustainable blog strategy: Repurposing LinkedIn content positioned Liz as a thought leader while keeping content creation manageable.
User-friendly platform: The Squarespace implementation allows Liz to independently update content and maintain the site long-term.
What I'd Do Differently
User testing with target audience: While we validated designs with Liz, testing with 3-5 nonprofit leaders would have provided valuable insights into how the target audience navigates and responds to the site.
Case study development: The site would be strengthened by 1-2 detailed case studies demonstrating Liz's impact. We discussed this possibility but client permissions weren't yet secured.
Proactive accessibility documentation: I would provide a color contrast guide and accessibility checklist to help maintain WCAG compliance as the site evolves.
Analytics implementation plan: Setting up conversion tracking from launch would enable data-driven optimization of consultation bookings.
Extended content guidance: Beyond creating the blog structure, a comprehensive content calendar and SEO optimization guide would support Liz's ongoing thought leadership efforts.
Key Takeaways
Authentic voice drives connection: Liz's distinctive language, sourced from discovery calls and LinkedIn posts, made the copy feel genuine. Our test was always, "does this sound like Liz?"
Show credibility through design choices: Rather than stating "warm and professional," we demonstrated these qualities through nature imagery, clean layouts, and outcome-focused messaging.
Collaboration produces better results: Working with Anne allowed us both to focus on our core expertise while challenging each other's work. Her brand identity work informed my UX decisions; my development constraints shaped our design thinking. The result was stronger than either of us could have produced alone.