A Nonprofit Community: Making Idealist more than just a job board
I led the end-to-end redesign of Idealist, a global platform connecting millions of people to jobs, volunteer opportunities, and organizations. The project focused on modernizing the experience, improving usability across key journeys, and building scalable systems to support long-term growth.
increased job application completion
decreased bounce rate
new pages launched
An outdated and disjointed experience
The existing platform had grown fragmented over time. The visual design felt outdated, core user flows (job search, posting, and community engagement) were complex, and internal tools limited the team’s ability to create and manage content efficiently. Navigation and search lacked clarity, making it difficult for users to find relevant opportunities quickly.
Updated Brand
The building blocks
I created a comprehensive design system to unify the experience across the platform. This included a refreshed visual identity, updated typography, color system, and reusable components. The result was a more modern, accessible, and cohesive brand that improved consistency and reduced design and engineering overhead. This also enabled the creation of an internal content management system enabling non-technical teams to create and manage pages efficiently
New CMS Pages
Flexible Components
CMS Backend
30+ Content Types
Discovery & Navigation
I restructured the information architecture and redesigned the global navigation to make exploration more intuitive. Search was streamlined with clearer filters, improved hierarchy, and faster pathways to relevant results. This made it significantly easier for users to discover jobs, organizations, and opportunities aligned with their goals.
Navigation
Homepage
Job Listings
Listing Types
Application Process
End-to-End Platform Experience
I redesigned critical user journeys across both sides of the marketplace: Job Seekers: Cleaner job search experience with improved readability, filtering, and application flow Organizations: Simplified job posting, checkout experience, and added an applicant tracking system to help organizations manage candidates directly within the platform Community: An established place to meet like minded individuals, donate to worthy causes, and volunteer in the community, enabling people to feel a part of something bigger.
Posting a Job
Applicant Tracking System
Engagement, usability, and internal efficiency.
Overall, the platform is now more scalable, easier to use, and better aligned with the needs of both job seekers and organizations.
