Building a Global Platform to Promote & Protect Endangered Languages

We conducted an extensive research and assessment phase to understand the organization’s needs, its audiences, and the opportunities for greater impact. Building on previous strategy and tech assessments, we reviewed a set of inherited wireframes, analyzed the limitations of the current CMS and data architecture, and engaged deeply with ELP’s staff and global community of language champions. Our discovery process revealed both technical and experiential pain points: the previous site lacked clarity, community-centered functionality, and user-friendliness, especially for non-technical contributors. We also uncovered rich insights about ELP’s mission and brand identity, which helped us align on a vision for a site that’s built to support the living, evolving work of language revitalization around the world. 

With a mission as expansive as ELP’s—supporting over 3,400 endangered languages across 87 countries—it was critical to ensure the brand strategy and visual identity reflected the depth, diversity, and global nature of its work. To do this, we facilitated a design strategy workshop that brought together language ambassadors and ELP team members from around the world. Building on our strategy brief and discovery insights, the workshop created space for participants to share what design elements, imagery, and themes felt representative of their communities. Together, we explored what it means to co-create a multicultural brand that honors Indigenous wisdom and avoids cultural generalizations. The collaborative dialogue helped validate key directions such as the use of place-based illustration, universal natural elements, and a flexible system for storytelling—giving our design team the clarity and confidence to move forward with a visual language as unique and powerful as the languages it represents.

With a shared vision and strategy in place, we moved into visual design to bring ELP’s mission to life through a vibrant, modern, and inclusive design system. Starting with a minimal brand foundation, we expanded their visual identity to better reflect the project’s global scope and cultural richness. Inspired by natural forms and universal symbols, we introduced a flexible illustration library featuring elements like rivers, mountains, stars, and flora. These visual metaphors transcend geography while evoking a strong sense of place. Color palettes were chosen for their warmth and accessibility, and typography was refined to strike a balance between clarity and character. We avoided heavy-handed imagery in favor of a system that could adapt to community-generated content without misrepresentation. The result is a dynamic, living brand experience that reflects ELP’s community-led ethos and invites deeper engagement with the stories, knowledge, and people behind every language.

With thousands of language resources and revitalization programs at its core, ELP’s redesigned site needed to both house thousands of pieces of content and connect people to the right content at the right time. Our content strategy and UX work focused on organizing these assets into intuitive, accessible pathways for a global audience. We reimagined the Resources Library as a dynamic hub, with smart filtering, clear categorization, and improved metadata to support discovery across languages, contributors, and regions. Contributors can now submit new resources and programs through clear, user-friendly forms, helping to grow the database while preserving its integrity. Together, these improvements ensure that ELP’s most valuable content is easier to find, easier to contribute to, and more impactful for the communities that need it most. As a result, resource submissions increased from ~2 per month on the old site to around 100 in the first month following the launch.

To support ELP’s fundraising efforts, we extended the new brand into presentation materials that bring the organization’s mission and impact to life. Building on the visual system developed for the website, the report combines place-based illustrations, warm color palettes, and accessible typography to communicate urgency, clarity, and hope. Story-driven messaging and powerful data points highlight ELP’s global reach. At the same time, layout and design choices ensure their report feels cohesive, credible, and mission-aligned, serving as a compelling tool to inspire philanthropic investment in language revitalization.