Just Works Consulting is an organizational development and interim leadership practice founded by principals Ora Grodsky and Jonathan Rosenthal. Just Works supports individuals and organizations working for a more just and sustainable world, helping them integrate their deepest values into the core of their work.
After launching a website redesign with Maple Creative, Liz interviewed Ora about her work and the experience working with Maple. This post is a behind-the-scenes look at our creative process and the sometimes emergent nature of collaboration.
Just Works was seeking a refreshed website to coincide with the upcoming launch of Ora’s new book, Justice, Love, and Organizational Healing: A Guide to Transformational Consulting.
Jonathan and Ora both have distinct offers. Together with their trusted associates they provide coaching, consulting, and interim leadership.
“Consulting with organizations is sacred and blessed work for me – working with our clients is an opportunity to hold people in their aspiration, humanity, and longing for a more just world.”
I wanted to take the opportunity to show the impact and value of a website project. The creation of a website design, and especially its content, is a transformative opportunity for any individual, business, or organization.
What they wanted: Their Vision
Just Works was seeking a partner who could hold the depth of their vision with care, to create a digital home that would feel calm, grounded, and welcoming to potential clients while clearly letting them know who Just Works is, what they stand for, and the work they do.
When Ora reached out to Maple for a website redesign project, Ryan knew right away that it would be a great fit. The project was driven forward by the shared belief that organizations can promote operational success while embodying their values in their ways of working.
Services Provided
- Website and content re-design
- Book launch page
- Custom illustration integration
- Book launch event registration page
It’s not easy to find a good design fit – but it’s ever so important right now.
Ora described their previous website as outdated, and lacking the freshness and innovation they bring to their work. After false starts with two previous web designers who, for different reasons, were unable to deliver, they were left feeling a bit discouraged.
They learned about Maple’s work through other social justice projects – specifically, another facilitator that Ryan had worked with.
“Our old website just felt outdated — it wasn’t crisp. I had wanted something really beautiful for a long time. When we first talked to Ryan, we felt like he got us right away. He understood who we were and why we do this work. Because we’re so values-driven — and so is he — that connection was really important to us.”
They wanted their new website to reflect the heart and care they bring to their work
- Reflect their values-driven approach
- Feel beautiful, clean, and calming
- Serve as a reference point for new potential clients
- Provide a dedicated platform for Ora’s upcoming book
Being a true creative partner means inviting different approaches and emerging needs
Our goal from the start of any creative project is to become a creative partner in their vision. We do this by asking lots of questions and going deep to understand what is most essential about our client’s work.
Websites are so much more than layouts – and since they aren’t read in a linear format, it’s even more important to see how it’s all connected.
We knew that this project was more than just a website for them. It was a defining moment to reflect on what they offer, who they serve, and the impact they seek to make.
Partway through the process, they brought in Haley McDevitt, a graphic facilitator who they had worked with in the past. (BTW, Haley was wonderful to work with, so please learn more about her on her website.
We love our layout design, but let’s be honest – Maple is primarily a website and copywriting shop.
It was a real treat to work with an illustrator’s vision to bring custom designs into the project.
Collaborations require small adjustments to our process, so we extended the design phase by a few weeks for Ora, Jonathan Haley, and me to meet and decide on backgrounds, colors, and illustrations. Meanwhile, we worked on some of the back-end development to prepare the website for content.
“Ryan did a great job partnering with Haley and incorporating her thinking. Neither of them felt like their ideas needed to dominate. It was a really collaborative, creative process — and I really enjoyed that.”
Being flexible works – so long as the objectives are clear
The design of this website was more emergent than most, but also very effective. We were able to make pivots to the design, collaborate with an artist, and still be very process-driven.
Looking back, this was possible because we were all clear on our objectives for the project.
- Redesign the website from the ground up with a new block theme. With a modern website, we could create a layout and aesthetic that felt spacious, grounded, and welcoming – and reach near 100 performance scores and meet important accessibility standards.
- Clarify and organize their message by providing strategic guidance to empower Just Works in articulating their offers and values.
- Incorporate Beautiful Illustrations in a creative collaboration. Haley McDivitt’s contribution enabled the site to capture its vision through stunning original hand-drawn artwork.
Throughout the process, we took on a few different roles;
- Creative partner who could listen, ask questions, and brainstorm ideas;
- Project manager to track next actions, record notes, and create documentation; and
- Web developer capable of bringing the design and structure to a tangible asset.
This project was not about flashy design – but alignment with Ora and Jonathan’s vision.
To keep things on track, we organized the work into some key phases in Notion. Once we finished mapping out the website (discovery), we started to mock up some designs while Ora and Jonathan worked on content. Once the website theme and layouts were complete, we added extra polish and revisions.
The entire timeline was built around the release of Ora’s book, ensuring all promotional content and purchase information was ready for launch.
Launching the Website (and Ora’s Book!)
The website launch was especially significant because Ora’s new book was just about to be released and she was beginning a series of interviews, events, and media appearances.
A great book page invites readers in by introducing the book and author, sharing powerful endorsements or quotes, and making it easy to purchase with direct links. On Ora’s page, she guided readers toward Bookshop.org to support independent bookstores.
To be thoughtful, we made sure any links on the site opened in a new tab so we didn’t pull visitors away from continuing to explore Just Works.
To support the book further, we created a banner in the website’s header. We used the Block Visibility plugin to actually schedule when any particular alert is visible. This was helpful for the book launch event, as it could be replaced by a more evergreen announcement about the book after the event date had passed.
Now, if they ever need to add an announcement, they can just email our team support@buildwithmaple.com and we’ll take care of it. That’s how website support should work, am I right?
To support the launch further, created a banner in the top of the website’s header. We used the Block Visibility plugin to actually schedule when any particular alert is visible. This was helpful for her book launch event – because it could be replaced by a more evergreen announcement about the book once the event date passed.
“I’m proud of our new site. I love showing it to people because it feels like it is beautiful and represents us and our work. And now that the website is live, I don’t have to think about it much. It’s just there, doing what it needs to do, and letting me focus on my work.”
— Ora Grodsky
In Conclusion
It was an honor to work with Ora and Jonathan on their website – and especially to learn about the resources, skills, and care they offer to support organizations.
This is exactly why website design has been such a sustained interest.
A website is the perfect canvas to explore and unpack the details, meaning, and wisdom guiding a project. This is something I found in common with Ora and Jonathan.
I like to think we recognized each other as service providers who bring care and connection to our work. I’m eager to continue learning from them, and I have a deep respect for their lived experience, perspective, and approach to organizational health.
I can say I’m proud of what we created together, and I smile reading through their interview with Liz. It means a lot to me knowing they feel like the site represents them and their authentic, welcoming, and undeniably human contributions.
If you’re involved in organizations as a facilitator, administrator, board member, director, or just interested, I encourage you to check out the resources offered on their website, completely free.
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