Client
Tyler Johnston
Overview
The Midas Project needed a publication platform built from the ground up to support ongoing investigative journalism across multiple authors, categories, and content formats. The site had to communicate credibility and editorial authority immediately, guide readers toward featured stories, and scale with a growing library of articles — all while maintaining a clean, premium reading experience. I was responsible for the entire design and development process: from information architecture and visual direction to Framer implementation and CMS setup. After launch, the engagement continued iteratively — receiving feedback from stakeholders Tyler and Jack, identifying friction points in the live experience, and refining the product with concrete, well-reasoned improvements.
Client
Tyler Johnston
Industry
Editorial Media & AI Accountability
Service
Web Design (UX/UI)
Framer Development
Design System & Visual Direction
Content
Responsive Design / SEO Refinement
Duration
Ongoing / Iterative
The Challenge
- Building an editorial platform from scratch that could immediately communicate authority and credibility without relying on conventional news site conventions. - Designing a scalable CMS architecture capable of handling a growing library of articles across multiple categories, authors, and formats. - Creating a featured investigation format that felt distinct and intentional — not just a generic hero banner. - Ensuring the site met accessibility standards across typography, contrast, and semantic structure from the ground up. - Delivering a polished, responsive experience across desktop, tablet and mobile for a content-heavy editorial product. - After launch: diagnosing and resolving friction points — including article image usability, heading hierarchy inconsistencies, and theme behavior edge cases — based on real user and stakeholder feedback.
The Solution
I designed and built the complete website in Framer, including: - A custom editorial design system with a strong typographic hierarchy, restrained color palette, and a visual identity aligned with the publication's tone of authority and transparency - A full CMS-driven article architecture with category filtering (News / Investigation), author attribution, and a featured investigation format for hero-level storytelling - A newsletter subscription flow integrated into the homepage and footer, and cross-promotion of related Midas Project initiatives - Smooth scroll interactions, micro-animations, and a refined navigation experience - Fully responsive layouts optimized for desktop,tablet and mobile, treating each breakpoint as a distinct reading context Post-launch, I continued iterating on the product — implementing a lightbox interaction for article images, refining the featured article hero with an editorial badge and improved CTA, fixing accessibility issues across contrast and text sizing, and improving the visual cohesion between the hero and the CMS article grid.
The Result
Model Republic launched as a fully functional, editorial-grade publication platform — capable of publishing high-impact investigations and scaling its content library with ease. The site established a strong visual identity for the publication, reinforced its credibility, and gave the team a self-manageable CMS to operate independently. The ongoing iterative work further elevated the reading experience: improving featured content clarity, accessibility, image usability, and responsive composition. Tyler and Jack highlighted the editorial quality, the clarity of the layout system, and the seamless reading experience across devices as the standout results of the project.
PORTFOLIO
Web Design (UX/UI)
Framer Development
Design System & Visual Direction
CMS Architecture & Content Strategy
Site Optimization & Interactions
Interruptible
Interruptible
Interruptible
UX/UI Design
Framer Development
CRO Optimization
Product Design
Design System