Development Review
Artifact info
Title:

Website Development and Strategic Planning

Engagement:

New Landwell + ILALI Website

Client:

Innovative Learning and Living Institute

Meeting Date:
October 15, 2025
Next Meeting Date:
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People
Gabi Jubran
James Redenbaugh
M. Rako Fabionar
Artifact Image
Meeting Summary

Website Development Progress and Timeline

James Redenbaugh and Gabi Jubran reconnected on the ILALI website project after several months of pause (01:40). The project has established clear visual direction with finalized logo, typography, and brand guidelines, along with substantial diagram work completed in Illustrator (12:08). The team agreed to target completion before the end of the year, with an ambitious goal to potentially launch by the end of November if momentum builds (14:57).

Gabi, who officially joined as core steward for social ecosystem and story since August 1st, emphasized the importance of getting a functional foundation live quickly rather than pursuing perfection (44:53). The current single-page website doesn't communicate the full scope of what ILALI offers, and establishing a proper web presence has become a keystone priority for other initiatives to materialize (16:15).

The previous website structure featured four core initiatives, but the Living Praxis Communities component wasn't explicitly represented. Amanda Nagai, the enactment ecosystem lead now working three-quarter time, will help envision how all the offerings connect visually (07:01).

[technology="Custom Membership System"]

Strategic Focus: Bioregional Gathering

The immediate team priority is the Novella Bioregional Gathering at Landwell on November 1st and 2nd (15:01). This event focuses on the Laguna de Santa Rosa watershed and Green Valley river watershed in Western Sonoma County, while inviting partners from across Salmon Nation. Key partners include Salmon Returns (Donna Morton and Cheryl Chen) and North Bay Organizing Project, a coalition of 20+ organizations working on everything from labor organizing to prescribed burns and land rehydration (17:34).

The first day features a walking tour, meal, and evening Heart Sprung Tongues event (a curated open mic and local artists showcase). The second day focuses on strategic planning with partners developing the Novella bioregional proposal (18:44). The gathering will generate important content for the website, including professional videography, and help clarify partner relationships that should be highlighted in the site design (34:25).

Content Strategy and Workflow

James shared an outline document created in May that maps site structure: initiatives, impact, join the movement, and connect sections with preliminary content ideas (21:12). Gabi's approach involves taking an initial pass at copywriting, then reading content aloud in group sessions to sense what lands emotionally and refining from there (26:41). This collaborative process will leverage James's deep institutional knowledge from years of working with Reiko while bringing fresh perspective.

Reiko Fabionar acknowledged his perfectionism and difficulty stepping back from the textual and visual work, despite comfort with oral storytelling (36:12). He expressed relief that Gabi and the team can drive the project forward with more consistent momentum. The curse of knowledge makes it challenging for him to distill years of thinking into accessible entry points (05:34).

The team will start with a fresh Figma board consolidating all current brand assets, icons, and approved designs in one organized location to eliminate confusion about what's current (46:49).

Technical Architecture and Database Systems

The website will be built on Webflow, which James described as superior to WordPress for requiring no ongoing plugin updates—once built, it persists indefinitely like a drip irrigation system rather than a farm animal requiring constant feeding (10:07). This stability is crucial for a small team with limited technical resources.

[technology="Directory Systems"]

For the ILALI ecosystem directory, James proposed using Airtable as the backend database with a form for community members to create profiles (52:00). This content can then flow into Webflow and be displayed however needed—as grids, radial circles, or interactive maps. James demonstrated two examples: a circular interface for a Hollyhock gathering where participants could explore each other's responses to questions and audio introductions (54:13), and a 3D globe showing different types of organizational profiles for alliances, ambassadors, and whole lounges (55:33).

This approach offers maximum flexibility without requiring a complex custom platform. Gabi expressed frustration with existing CRMs failing to capture the multidimensionality of relational work—relationships to people, places, and organizations simultaneously (56:55). James shared he's designing his own CRM system that treats people, ideas, projects, places, trips, and practices as interconnected post types, currently prototyping it with Airtable and Webflow (01:00:01).

Additional Design Needs and Stretch Goals

Beyond the core website, several other design needs emerged. Reiko mentioned the Landwell philanthropic deck created with James and Peter, which exists in Figma but needs accessibility improvements and minor updates to reflect current funding status (48:26).

Social media templates were discussed, with questions about whether design assets could be made accessible in Canva for "design mortals" on the team to use while maintaining visual consistency (49:25).

Reiko also expressed interest in developing a worldview assessment tool—a simple, elegant interface for people to explore their developmental perspectives informed by Spiral Dynamics and other frameworks (01:02:23). James confirmed this would be straightforward to build, noting he'd recently created a Vedic astrology app for teams in a single day that analyzes group astrological patterns (01:03:12).

[technology="Assessment Systems"]

Organizational Context and Practices

Gabi's role centers on cultivating relationships and ensuring ILALI's story creates space for others to see themselves participating (04:33). He also manages a nonprofit and understands the challenge of having so much knowledge to share that it becomes difficult to give people just enough to want more.

The team is implementing Holospirit as their operating system, informing both their digital collaboration and in-person gathering practices (01:12:24). Reiko emphasized the importance of deepening their practice, noting that a recent Roots to Rise program at Hollyhock powerfully reinforced their approach to worldview literacy and healing work. A Hollyhock board member called it "gold that every leader should go through" and wants to implement it for their board (01:11:07).

The Sacred Architecture team (including Kelsey and Brenda) held a powerful session working with Toltec chakra systems and animal spirits, performing energetic clearing not just for individuals but for ILALI as an entity (01:08:34). This holistic approach to organizational development reflects the depth of practice informing the team's work.

Gabi shares caregiving responsibilities for his mother with his two brothers in Menlo Park, which shapes his current life focus and devotional practice (03:24).

Project Management Philosophy

James shared that his company has spent a year redesigning their own project management system, driven by a vision of treating projects as art and sacred spaces rather than just lists, grids, and folders (37:23). The goal is creating beautiful, artful interfaces that facilitate creative conversations without overwhelming people with unnecessary features. The prototype uses Airtable backend connected to custom Webflow frontend, allowing any kind of visualization and interaction pattern (39:38).

This perfectionism resonates with Reiko's own creative process, and both acknowledged the challenge of balancing vision with practical delivery (37:25). The team philosophy emphasizes getting functional foundations in place and evolving from there rather than waiting for perfection.

Action Items

Gabi Jubran

  • Take first pass at website copywriting using the outline document after November 2nd gathering (26:41)
  • Organize copywriting review sessions with James and Reiko to refine content through read-aloud feedback (27:32)
  • Explore Airtable templates and forms James can share for ecosystem mapping (01:01:01)

James Redenbaugh

  • Create fresh Figma board consolidating all current brand assets, icons, and finalized designs (46:49)
  • Share Airtable examples and templates for potential directory and CRM applications (01:01:01)
  • Prepare for content and structure conversation once Gabi has drafts ready

Reiko Fabionar

  • Step back from detailed copywriting to allow fresh perspectives while remaining available for refinement (28:09)
  • Coordinate with Landwell team about their website needs and resources (51:45)
  • Follow up on accessing and updating philanthropic deck in Figma (48:34)

Amanda Nagai

  • Collaborate on visualizing how all ILALI offerings connect and relate (07:01)
  • Support operations and coordination for November 1-2 bioregional gathering

Team

  • Focus primary energy on November 1-2 Novella Bioregional Gathering before returning to website work (42:01)
  • Revisit site structure outline document collaboratively to finalize content strategy (22:27)
Relevant Initiatives

Website Redesign

Priority: 
Very High
Size: 
L
Creation Stage

Pitch Deck Designs

Priority: 
Medium
Size: 
S
Complete

Ecosystem Directory & CRM

Priority: 
Medium
Size: 
M
Idea Stage

Social Media Templates

Priority: 
Low
Size: 
S
Idea Stage

Worldview Assessment Tool

Priority: 
Low
Size: 
M
Idea Stage
Transcript