John Templeton Foundation
I have worked with the Foundation for years on several initiatives to continually evolve the Foundation’s brand and website to accurately translate the foundation’s mission and purpose for today’s modern audience. I worked with their team to relaunch their brand and editorial platform — resulting in a new user experience and WordPress implementation that allows editorial flexibility and a special focus on a navigational structure that promotes exploration and return visits.
Role
Lead Designer
Team
Designer
Strategist
Lead Engineer
Frontend Engineers x2
Backend Engineers x2
Skills
Product Design, UX/UI
User Research
QA + Testing
About
The John Templeton Foundation is a grant-making foundation that advances well-being through research that sits at the nexus of science and spirituality. The foundation administers the annual $1.7 million Templeton Prize for achievements in the field of spirituality, including those at the intersection of science and religion. Past winners have included: Jane Goodall, Mother Teresa, Rabbi Jonathan Sacks, and Dr. Marcelo Gleiser.
Old Homepage
UX Challenges
The outdated JTF website and confusing grant application process led to a decline in qualified grant applications, as the site relied heavily on its connection to Sir John Templeton rather than establishing itself as a thought leader.
To address these issues, we redesigned the user experience and information hierarchy of the grant application process to deter unqualified applicants.
We also helped JTF showcase their funded work more effectively by incorporating engaging storytelling throughout the site and launching the Templeton Ideas platform, which aligns with their goal of igniting curiosity and boosting grant applications.
Research Methodologies
A detailed content strategy was essential to clarifying the Foundation’s message online. This perspective maximized usability and understanding for website visitors.
Utilizing qualitative research to inform strategies throughout the entire website. This included in-depth user interviews by research partner
Stakeholder & User Interviews
Workshops
Surveys
Competitive Analysis
User Personas
User journey workshop identifying pain points and opportunities
Old Version
Technical Challenges
One of the most significant challenges was developing the system that verifies and updates grants on the website. Engineering and I worked closely to formulate a solution that that met both the client's requirements and technical feasibility while maintaining a clear backend user experience.
While checking for grant updates was relatively straightforward, the process of updating grants within WordPress proved to be more intricate. This complexity stemmed from the necessity to perform these checks and updates in batches. Updating all 1000 grants simultaneously would have overburdened the server, potentially leading to timeouts. As a result, we opted for smaller batches of 25 grants. However, implementing this approach necessitated a mechanism to trigger these batch updates. We eventually agreed upon utilizing page visit cookies to initiate the batch processing.
We were responsible for creating all error handling messages since the system lacked any output messages explaining the cause of errors or malfunctions.
As part of Pantheon's database connection management, the connection credentials are updated every 40 days or so. Consequently, the client would receive an error message indicating that their system had lost connection with Pantheon, and they would need to update the connection information.
A Dynamic Editorial Design
The visual overhaul was not merely an aesthetic transformation; it was also a collaborative effort with JTF's web editors to develop robust new tools that could accommodate a diverse range of article formats and styles, cater to the fast-paced rhythm of daily web publishing, and provide readers with intuitive navigational structures that encourage exploration and repeat visits.
Editors have complete autonomy over the homepage, enabling them to curate content on a story-by-story basis or utilize automated modules that gather articles based on issues, categories, or content types (such as podcasts or videos). Article components exhibit similar flexibility, with toppers designed to accommodate various headline and artwork arrangements and to scale seamlessly from inset photos to full-screen videos.
The Solution
I revamped its website and grant application process to enhance user experience, attract qualified applicants, and showcase JTF’s funded work. By incorporating engaging storytelling, launching the Templeton Ideas platform, and developing robust new tools, JTF is establishing itself as a thought leader and revitalized its grant program.
Results
2,934
grant submissions, a new record
17%
reduce in bounce rate
Summary of Role
Comprehensive rebrand of John Templeton Foundation focusing on color, typography, layout, photography, and graphic elements
Led discovery exercises to identify issues and ideate solutions collaboratively with the client
Introduced a biweekly design audit to further identify visual and user experience improvements
Created a flexible and responsive design system for Templeton’s online publication platform
Ensured quality by leading a robust visual and functional QA, partnering with the development team
Actively worked within client’s CMS to populate content and imagery