VITAMIX FOUNDATION
Mirco-site Design
The Vitamix Foundation is dedicated to improving access to nutrition education and healthy food within communities. The goal of this project was to create a digital experience that could support that mission, making resources easier to navigate, understand, and engage with.
THE CHALLENGE
Bringing structure to something still growing.
The Vitamix Foundation had a wide range of content, from programs and grant recipients to educational resources. But, it lacked a clear, scalable structure to support it. The microsite needed to organize this information in a way that felt intuitive and easy to navigate, while also integrating seamlessly into the existing Vitamix website.
Balancing clarity, flexibility, and brand consistency was key. Creating a system that could evolve alongside the Foundation without losing cohesion or usability.
THE APPROACH
Making it feel connected, without getting lost inside the Vitamix website.
One of the biggest challenges here was designing a microsite that lived within a much larger website. It needed to feel like part of the Vitamix experience, while still having its own identity.
The first thing I focused on was navigation. Figuring out how to introduce a secondary structure without competing with the main site.
THIS INCLUDED:
creating a dedicated foundation header that sits between the main navigation and the foundation navigation (aka the microsite nav)
establishing a clear separation between the primary site and the foundation experience, without breaking cohesion
making it obvious where users are, while still keeping everything connected
building a navigation system that could support growth as more content is added over time
From there, the rest of the structure and layouts followed. Giving the foundation its own space to live, without feeling disconnected from the larger brand.
Designing within a system.
Because the microsite needed to integrate directly into the existing Vitamix website, consistency with the broader design system was critical.
I designed within the established Vitamix Design System (which I also contributed to), using shared styles and components to keep everything cohesive. At the same time, I created new components for the microsite that were added back into the system to support future growth.
THE RESULT
A foundation that can keep building.
The final design created a more organized, accessible experience for users, making it easier to explore the Foundation’s work and understand its impact. The flexible structure also allows the site to grow alongside the organization over time.
