Design Review
Artifact info
Title:

Source of Synergy Foundation Website Design Review 2

Engagement:

Source of Synergy Website

Client:

Source of Synergy

Meeting Date:
December 22, 2025
Next Meeting Date:
December 30, 2025
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December 15, 2025
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December 3, 2025
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November 19, 2025
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People
Diane Williams
James Redenbaugh
Barbara Layton
Iván Lopez
Artifact Image
Meeting Summary

🎯 Project Timeline & Holiday Coordination

The team discussed realistic timelines given the holiday schedule. James confirmed availability through the new year (excluding Wednesday and Thursday of that week), with flexibility to complete work before year-end without compromising quality (01:43). The group agreed to finalize materials internally among the three of them before bringing Deborah and Nancy in for input. Diane emphasized they should feel confident about the direction before expanding the review circle (00:31).

🎨 Background Animation Development

James presented significant progress on the background animation, describing it as "super alive" (02:16). The animation includes interactive elements that respond to mouse cursor movement, creating an engaging, touchable quality (05:19). The team discussed placement challenges with overlaying the logo and text on the animated background, as they were competing visually rather than working in synergy.

Diane suggested exploring color adjustments, perceiving the animation as orange while wanting to see it more gold (03:39). Interestingly, Barbara saw it as yellow rather than orange, highlighting how different people perceive colors differently (03:42). The team acknowledged these perception differences might stem from different screens and viewing conditions (48:52).

[technology="Parametric Geometric Interfaces"]

✍️ Typography & Readability Refinements

The discussion revealed several text readability concerns throughout the design. Diane pointed out that the "Our Mission" header appeared too small in proportion to surrounding content and needed to be larger (10:27). She also suggested bolding the key question "What will it take?" to make it stand out more effectively (11:48).

For the "Source Effect" section, Diane expressed dissatisfaction with the secondary font, noting the double-F configuration looked awkward (14:09). The team agreed to explore alternative typefaces that would better serve the content while maintaining visual hierarchy.

🌀 Visual Pauses & Contemplative Spaces

James introduced a design philosophy around creating breathing room in the user experience. After the question "What will it take?" he proposed featuring the mandala animation alone without text overlay as "a moment to just be in the question" (12:22). He emphasized that the foundation isn't claiming to have all the answers but rather inviting discovery together.

Barbara strongly responded to this approach, describing it as "a really nice feel" that provides "a much needed pause" (13:36). She contrasted this with many websites that bombard visitors with content, causing fatigue. The contemplative space offers visitors a chance to breathe and reflect rather than consuming information continuously (13:46).

🔷 Logo Variations & Brand Elements

James shared that he vectorized the logo for infinite resolution scalability (16:28). The team explored different arrangements emphasizing the "S Factor" and "Sourcing Synergy" concepts. Diane suggested pulling out the two S's to make them more visible, reinforcing the "sourcing synergy" meaning (17:15).

For the Synergy Circle section, they discussed moving away from the current circular logo arrangement made from multiple logos, which appeared more oval than circular (18:34). James proposed a simpler approach using a white circle with animated points around it, similar to the main animation but simplified, possibly featuring a toroidal field in the center (19:18).

🎨 Color Palette & Background Treatments

The orange background section sparked considerable discussion. Diane found the orange too bright and preferred something more yellowish-gold (20:09), while Barbara appreciated the muted quality but agreed the white text was hard to read (20:13). The team recognized that managing contrast while maintaining the desired warm, inviting palette would require careful adjustment.

James suggested incorporating more green into the overall design to achieve a fuller spectrum and strengthen the connection to planetary themes (40:03). While Diane initially hesitated, expressing concern about green clashing with the blue and yellow, James emphasized the importance of not having everything match too perfectly and representing diverse possibilities (40:09).

💭 Synergy Circles Strategy & User Pathways

A significant portion of the discussion centered on how to present Synergy Circles to website visitors. Diane clarified that existing circles within the Evolutionary Leaders community are private, but the public-facing site should inspire people to start circles around topics that move them—whether environment, youth, spiritual exploration, or other interests (22:51).

Barbara wanted clearly defined, tangible examples rather than vague suggestions so people could easily understand and relate to the concept (23:05). However, Diane emphasized the circles are meant to be user-initiated rather than organization-managed, particularly due to liability concerns. The site would provide inspiration and basic guidelines—clarify your intention, create welcoming space, connect and stay in touch—but individuals remain responsible for their own circles (25:08).

James probed on the call to action, asking what visitors should do next if inspired to start a circle. The team agreed on including a simple input form where people could share their goals or what synergy means to them, with submissions going directly to the organization rather than appearing publicly on the site initially (33:47).

🤝 Future Social Features & Community Tools

Barbara expressed interest in providing a way for visitors to connect with each other without the organization being responsible for moderating every interaction (26:56). James explained they're currently building tools that would enable profiles, groups, and social threads with intelligent moderation—potentially using an agent to filter content before it reaches the website (28:13).

Diane raised concerns about spam, referencing ongoing issues with the Call to Conscious Evolution site where Deborah constantly removes inappropriate content (27:40). For now, the team agreed to focus on the resource-oriented site with simple input collection, saving more complex social features for future phases when appropriate infrastructure and moderation capacity exist (29:14).

[technology="Community Facilitation Tools"]

📸 Visual Assets & Authentic Imagery

The team conducted a detailed review of imagery across different sections. Diane strongly advocated for moving away from stock photos to authentic images of actual gatherings, retreats, and community moments, even if not perfectly polished (35:31). She offered to locate high-resolution photos from past events.

For the Evolutionary Leaders section, they discussed using a pixelated group photo that shows everyone without leaving people out. While the technical quality had issues, the inclusive representation mattered more than perfect resolution (42:09). Barbara enthusiastically supported featuring the photo with all arms raised, calling it "a great photo" that "says so much" about the collective spirit (42:49).

For Health and Wellness, Barbara indicated the current image didn't capture the breadth of the initiative, which would encompass everything from personal wellness to weather modification and environmental concerns (37:32). She committed to finding something more appropriate.

The Edge newsletter image prompted discussion about representation. Diane felt it should look more cosmic and alive, conveying the "cutting edge" nature of the content and the paradigm-shifting work of the Evolutionary Leaders (41:33). The green plant image, while pretty, didn't communicate that it was a newsletter with diverse topics and features (40:17).

🏗️ Project Overview Visualization

Diane identified a missing element: a graphic that would show visitors at a glance all the things the organization does (43:56). She suggested this could appear in the opening animation or hero section, possibly as a word cloud or node-based visualization showing initiatives like Multi-Dimensional Exploration, Health and Wellness, Evolutionary Leader Circle, and Synergy Circles.

This overview would help visitors immediately understand the scope and nature of the organization rather than discovering it gradually through scrolling (44:54). The team agreed this contextual framing should come early in the user experience.

💰 Financial Sustainability Context

During a brief sidebar conversation, Diane and Barbara discussed broader organizational concerns around the retreat budget and overall financial health (29:50). Diane noted they need to raise $150,000 to meet their budget goals, suggesting that once the website is complete, focused fundraising should become the next priority (30:07).

She mentioned potentially asking Nancy to organize a fundraiser in Palm Beach or exploring auction options, expressing confidence they could do well with concentrated attention on development (30:38).

🔄 Iterative Review Process

James explained his collaborative workflow, noting that Ivana was actively working on the design during the meeting (14:56). He emphasized the files are quite large and encouraged the team to review on their own machines for accurate color and scale perception rather than relying solely on screen sharing (11:37).

He offered to share a version with an adjustable color picker so Diane could experiment with different hues on her own device and multiple screens to address the color perception differences they'd discovered (48:33). This approach would help resolve whether the orange-versus-yellow debate stemmed from actual design choices or screen calibration variations.

Action Items

James

  • Adjust animation color palette toward more golden tones and create shareable color picker for team testing (48:33)
  • Increase font size for "Our Mission" header and bold "What will it take?" question (11:48)
  • Explore alternative secondary fonts, particularly for "Source Effect" section (14:09)
  • Develop vectorized logo variations emphasizing the S Factor with two S's more visible (17:15)
  • Create simplified animated circle with toroidal field for Synergy Circle section (19:18)
  • Replace stock images with authentic photos in Evolutionary Leaders, Synergy Circles, Health and Wellness, and Edge newsletter sections (35:31)
  • Design cosmic-themed visual for The Edge newsletter conveying cutting-edge content (41:33)
  • Add project overview graphic in hero section showing all organizational initiatives (43:56)
  • Share Google Drive link with collected images and design files (51:02)

Diane

  • Source high-resolution photos from past retreats showing actual community gatherings (35:31)
  • Locate and upload group photo of Evolutionary Leaders with arms raised (42:49)
  • Find multi-dimensional exploration image previously used in materials (36:51)
  • Upload logo variations to shared Google Drive (50:35)

Barbara

  • Find appropriate image for Health and Wellness section that represents broader scope including environmental concerns (37:32)

Team

  • Review design materials on multiple devices to assess color perception consistency (48:52)
  • Meet Tuesday, December 30th at 2:00 PM for next design review (50:18)
Relevant Initiatives

Brand Refinement

Priority: 
Medium
Size: 
S
Completing

Strategy

Priority: 
High
Size: 
M
Planning Stage
Transcript