The network for creativity
Join 1.25M professional creatives like you
Connect with clients, get discovered, and run your business 100% commission-free
Creatives on Contra have earned over $150M and we are just getting started
Back to feedPost
Mending Indigenous Spirits: one home for a Sonoma County nonprofit
Mending Indigenous Spirits is a Northern California nonprofit running recovery meetings, cultural events, an artisan market, trainings and a wellness team. All of that was already happening. It just had nowhere to live online.
I rebuilt their site so the whole range of the work sits in one place, on the phone, which is where most of their community finds them. I did it pro bono. I still run it.
Who arrives, and how
The organization supports relatives walking the Red Road and Wellbriety paths of recovery, survivors of domestic violence, unhoused relatives, youth and elders, families affected by Missing and Murdered Indigenous Persons, and Two-Spirit relatives. People often come to it on a hard day. That set the tone for every decision after it. Calm, legible, quick to read on a phone held in one hand.
Structure before design
Seven programs with nothing holding them together. Any design I put on top would have made it worse, so I mapped the whole range first: Vision, Team, Events, Wellbriety meetings, Artisan Market, Shared Journeys, Trainings. The architecture is the reason it still isn't cluttered two years in.
The look
Deep charcoal grounds, teal and warm gold, serif headings that carry weight without raising their voice. I wanted the culture to live in the structure and the typography rather than sit on top as ornament.
How it's built
Next.js and TypeScript over a PostgreSQL database. Events, meetings and trainings are records, not pages anyone re-edits, so the organization adds to the site instead of redesigning it. There's an admin behind all of it, switched off at their request. They send me the news and I publish it.
What it has carried
The events hub ran their Protect Our Children youth design contest end to end, from the call for entries through to three winners in August 2026. The winners page and the campaign flyer went live the day the board approved them.
Still mine to look after
The work started in 2025, the rebuild launched in 2026, and I've kept it running since.
"Fred stepped up and took the initiative to clean up, rebuild, and reestablish our website. He brought a fresh perspective and created a more polished, welcoming, and well rounded face for our organization. His time, effort, and dedication have helped us present our work, vision, and services in a way that better represents who we are and the communities we serve."
"We are truly grateful for Fred stepping up and helping bring our website back to life."
Angelica Aviña, Board Chair, Mending Indigenous Spirits
The network for creativity
Join 1.25M professional creatives like you
Connect with clients, get discovered, and run your business 100% commission-free
Creatives on Contra have earned over $150M and we are just getting started
Challenges
View all
Related posts
Same content. Two completely different vibes.
What happens when you keep the course content the same, but change the structure, typography, and color palette?
Two hero sections. One course. Two different visual experiences.
Which one would you choose? 1 or 2?
29 voted
41%
42 voted
59%
71 votes
Closed
Option 1 works well , the heirarchy and card layout on the hero is very smart
My career as a designer has never been a consistent one.
No straight line. No winning year on year. Honestly, the bumpiest journey imaginable to get where I am.
I started in this industry with a cracked version of Photoshop, running on a PC that would crash with anything I designed.
I once worked for a company on 12k a year and could barely make rent. But I did what I could, because I love what I do.
To anyone expecting perfection in your first year, think twice. Technology lets us get better faster, sure, but you still need the fundamentals of design and business. Without them you're just guessing at what's good, and your clients pay the price.
Take your time. The reality of success is still damn hard work. A social following doesn't pay the way you think it does not unless you know how to sell or create.
If I could give someone a piece of advice, it'd be this: Be patient, Be willing to give more than you take and don't rely on AI to do all the thinking for you.
How long have you been in this industry? Since I started this career, I have been a huge fan of your work. From which design period did you start to show the desired outcome after you joined?
NEXOR — Creative Digital Agency Website 🔥
NEXOR is a futuristic website concept for a creative digital studio focused on digital products, brand systems, and bold digital experiences.
The goal was to create a memorable first impression while keeping the agency’s services and next steps clear.
Special attention was given to:
• a bold hero composition with oversized typography and futuristic imagery;
• a vibrant orange and black palette that creates a distinctive visual identity 🟠;
• a strong visual hierarchy that balances creative expression with usability;
• clear CTAs for starting a project or booking a call;
• a contact form integrated directly into the hero section;
• responsive mobile layouts that preserve the visual impact 📱;
• a full-screen mobile menu with intuitive navigation and prominent contact options.
The result is an expressive digital experience that combines bold visual storytelling with a clear path to conversion.
Looking to create a distinctive website for your creative agency, digital studio, or technology brand? Let’s build something extraordinary together ⚡
The orange-and-black system has real presence, and the mobile frames show the hierarchy holding together rather than just shrinking. The clear CTA placement is a smart counterweight to the oversized hero type.