Empovia dite design & rebrand
CLIENT - Empovia (formerly Change Catalyst)
ROLE - Product Design, UI/UX, Art Direction
Overview
Empovia, a leader in Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI), rebranded from Change Catalyst to focus on empowered learning and development. My role involved designing a digital presence that would reflect this transformation, engage new audiences, and scale with the company’s evolving offerings. The goal was to build a modular and accessible platform that communicated Empovia’s values and positioned it as a forward-thinking, science-backed DEI solution.
The Challenge
Repositioning a Legacy Brand: Change Catalyst was an established DEI brand, but the shift to a new eLearning model required a fresh identity while maintaining credibility.
Balancing Modernity with Tradition: It was essential to blend the legacy of the brand with a more vibrant, modern look.
Designing for Diverse Audiences: The site needed to serve enterprise, nonprofit, and individual audiences, each with distinct needs.
Scalability: The website had to be scalable and easy to manage as Empovia expanded its offerings.
Design Reset: Addressing Inherited Challenges
Initially, I was tasked with completing the site build based on an existing design. However, upon further discussions, the client requested a fresh start. This provided the opportunity to fully redesign the site and realign it with Empovia’s evolving brand and vision.
Brand Alignment
Empovia’s brand guidelines provided a strong foundation, with an emphasis on vibrant colors and gradients. I recommended incorporating these elements to bring the brand to life through dynamic background treatments, particularly in the header sections, creating visual interest while maintaining a clean, minimalist layout.
Approach
Given the tight timeline—just one week before development was set to begin—there was no room for traditional wireframing, user testing, and iterations. Instead, I jumped straight into high-fidelity wireframes that closely mirrored the final design direction, allowing for a faster review and approval process while maintaining design integrity.
Final design
The final design blends soft, humanist typography and vibrant gradients to convey warmth, approachability, and trust. A clear information architecture ensures easy navigation and content discoverability across all devices. The modular design system allows Empovia to scale and adapt their content as new programs and resources are added. Every visual element is thoughtfully crafted to reflect the brand’s core values: empowerment, inclusion, and forward progress.
UI style guide
Annotations snapshot
Podcast templates
After the website design, the client requested banner templates for the Leading with Empathy & Allyship podcast. A flexible Canva template system was developed to align with Empovia’s branding while establishing a distinct visual identity for the podcast.
Results
Enhanced Brand Identity: The new design successfully communicated Empovia’s mission and values while positioning it as a leading DEI platform.
Scalable Platform: The modular, CMS-powered structure allows Empovia to easily manage and scale content as they expand their offerings.
Engaged Audiences: The redesigned user experience improved engagement by offering intuitive navigation and accessible content across multiple audience types.
Consistent Branding: The podcast templates maintained brand consistency across various platforms and media, reinforcing Empovia’s professional image.