How creativity becomes strategy
How creativity becomes strategy
How creativity becomes strategy
Levon,
I thought you’d enjoy a closer look at one of my favorite collaborations. Mosaiq was a project with IDEO.org and the Citi Foundation to build a learning platform for nonprofits.
It started as a simple knowledge hub and grew into a living community where grantees could learn from each other.
Here’s how we got there.
Levon,
I thought you’d enjoy a closer look at one of my favorite collaborations. Mosaiq was a project with IDEO.org and the Citi Foundation to build a learning platform for nonprofits
It started as a simple knowledge hub and grew into a living community where grantees could learn from each other.
Here’s how we got there.
Levon,
I thought you’d enjoy a closer look at one of my favorite collaborations. Mosaiq was a project with IDEO.org and the Citi Foundation to build a learning platform for nonprofits. It started as a simple knowledge hub and grew into a living community where grantees could learn from each other.
Here’s how we got there.
Understanding the Challenge
Understanding the Challenge
A LINE IN THE SAND
Working with IDEO.org and the Citi Foundation, we set out to design an online learning platform for nonprofit grantees.
The goal was simple but ambitious: help organizations share resources, learn together, and grow stronger as a community. Our priorities were clear from the start. We had to make the platform easy to use, build a unified brand, and create an environment where learning feels collaborative, not transactional.
Working with IDEO.org and the Citi Foundation, we set out to design an online learning platform for nonprofit grantees.
The goal was simple but ambitious: help organizations share resources, learn together, and grow stronger as a community. Our priorities were clear from the start. We had to make the platform easy to use, build a unified brand, and create an environment where learning feels collaborative, not transactional.
Defining the Mission and Scope
Defining the Mission and Scope
A LINE IN THE SAND
Early conversations helped shape the vision and clarify what success would look like. Roles were assigned across design, UX, content, and development. One challenge appeared right away. We had limited access to grantees spread across regions. That forced us to get creative in how we listened, tested, and learned from them.
We took the list of grantees and from it, developed four core personas to guide design and communication: Early Innovators, Established Implementers, Seasoned Optimizers, and Legacy Makers.
Each came with detailed fact sheets describing their goals, challenges, and motivations. We also studied similar platforms to identify what worked, what didn’t, and where Mosaiq could stand out.
Early conversations helped shape the vision and clarify what success would look like. Roles were assigned across design, UX, content, and development. One challenge appeared right away. We had limited access to grantees spread across regions. That forced us to get creative in how we listened, tested, and learned from them.
We took the list of grantees and from it, developed four core personas to guide design and communication: Early Innovators, Established Implementers, Seasoned Optimizers, and Legacy Makers.
Each came with detailed fact sheets describing their goals, challenges, and motivations. We also studied similar platforms to identify what worked, what didn’t, and where Mosaiq could stand out.
Deep DIVE into Research
Deep DIVE into Research
A LINE IN THE SAND
We also studied similar platforms to identify what worked, what didn’t, and where Mosaiq could stand out.
Most platforms treated learning as a one-way stream of information. Few built space for connection or peer recognition.
We also studied similar platforms to identify what worked, what didn’t, and where Mosaiq could stand out.
Most platforms treated learning as a one-way stream of information. Few built space for connection or peer recognition.
That gap became our opportunity. It shaped our strategy around collaboration and belonging.
That gap became our opportunity. It shaped our strategy around collaboration and belonging.
Crafting the Brand and Experience
Crafting the Brand and Experience
A LINE IN THE SAND
Our brand strategy centered on values that mattered most to the stakeholders: empowerment, collaboration, innovation, and inclusivity. We wanted the platform to feel welcoming to every grantee, regardless of size or stage. It had to invite participation, not hierarchy.
That thinking carried into the naming process. Early options like BridgeField, Sparkshift, and Bloomspace each captured parts of what we believed in, but none of landed with the client.
Through more rounds of testing and conversation, Mosaiq emerged. It felt human, collective, and flexible. The name became a metaphor for what we were building: a network of distinct entities forming something stronger together.
Our brand strategy centered on values that mattered most to the stakeholders: empowerment, collaboration, innovation, and inclusivity. We wanted the platform to feel welcoming to every grantee, regardless of size or stage. It had to invite participation, not hierarchy.
That thinking carried into the naming process. Early options like BridgeField, Sparkshift, and Bloomspace each captured parts of what we believed in, but none of landed with the client.
Through more rounds of testing and conversation, Mosaiq emerged. It felt human, collective, and flexible. The name became a metaphor for what we were building: a network of distinct entities forming something stronger together.
Bringing the Vision to Life
Bringing the Vision
to Life
A LINE IN THE SAND
We built and tested wireframes, then turned them into working prototypes. Each round of testing brought something new.
At first, we focused heavily on content delivery. But through interviews and feedback sessions, it became clear that grantees wanted more than information. They wanted a place to connect, share experiences, and learn from each other. That insight shifted the direction of the project. We redesigned the platform to balance learning with genuine community.
We built and tested wireframes, then turned them into working prototypes. Each round of testing brought something new.
At first, we focused heavily on content delivery. But through interviews and feedback sessions, it became clear that grantees wanted more than information. They wanted a place to connect, share experiences, and learn from each other. That insight shifted the direction of the project. We redesigned the platform to balance learning with genuine community.
Takeaways from the project
Takeaways from the project
A LINE IN THE SAND
I learned a few things while working on Mosaiq:
Start with clarity and define roles early.
Bring copywriting into the process from the beginning.
Test more than interfaces. Test tone, test empathy, test what makes people stay.
Design is not just what people see but how they grow within what you create. Every choice came from listening, testing, and refining until it worked for those who would use it. This is how strategy and creativity shape each other.
I learned a few things while working on Mosaiq:
Start with clarity and define roles early.
Bring copywriting into the process from the beginning.
Test more than interfaces. Test tone, test empathy, test what makes people stay.
Design is not just what people see but how they grow within what you create. Every choice came from listening, testing, and refining until it worked for those who would use it. This is how strategy and creativity shape each other.
Thanks for taking the time to read this, Levon. I hope it gave you a sense of how I think.
Thanks for taking the time to read this, Levon. I hope it gave you a sense of how I think.