Metropolitan Business Association
Project Name: MBA Oregon Homepage Redesign
Client: Metropolitan Business Association of Oregon
Timeline: 3 months
Role: Lead Designer & Product Strategist
Team: Design, Dev, Association Board
Overview
The Metropolitan Business Association (MBA) MBA is a fixture in Portland’s business scene, but their old website felt more like a bulletin board from 2008. The homepage was supposed to be a welcome mat, it was closer to a locked door. Our mission: give the association a digital face that actually reflects its community and ambition.
Defining the Problem
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The old site was visually stale and confusing to navigate
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Zero mobile usability, members bailed or called the office for help
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Hard to discover member businesses, categories, or upcoming events
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No clear value proposition for potential new members
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Missed chances to highlight MBA’s community leadership and partnerships
My Role & Contribution
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Led strategy, wireframes, visual design, and developer handoff
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Ran workshops with members, board, and sponsors to clarify what mattered
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Created new category, event, and member navigation from scratch
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Defined content hierarchy and all CTA language
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Coordinated directly with developers to deliver a pixel-perfect, responsive homepage
Design Approach & Thinking
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Focused on clarity, simple, direct routes to member info and events
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Designed with a “show, don’t tell” mindset: real faces, real businesses, real events
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Used color and typography to reinforce professionalism and local pride
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Mobile-first: everything had to work as well on a phone as on a desktop
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Made membership and referral actions frictionless (less clicks, more action)
Process & Collaboration
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Weekly reviews with board and core members—no design in a vacuum
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Paired with devs for rapid prototyping and QA
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Pulled in marketing to shape event and member spotlight content
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Feedback loops: every new feature got tested by real members before launch
Systems & Technical Fluency
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Built a modular homepage template for easy updates, no more developer bottlenecks
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Configured referral, event, and business category blocks as reusable widgets
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Ensured accessibility and quick load times (yes, even on slow WiFi)
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Integrated newsletter signups and app download CTAs
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Set up simple admin tools for the MBA team to manage content
Expected Outcome & Impact
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Traffic doubling in the first month after launch
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38% more referral shares and 63% increase in event signups
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App downloads shot up 22% new CTA finally worked
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Members reported pride in sharing the site
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Board feedback: “Finally feels like a community, not just a directory”
Reflection & Learnings
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Community input beats ego, real members always know what works
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Don’t overcomplicate, if you need a user guide for your homepage, you blew it
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Keep events and business categories one click away, always
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Fast, beautiful, and useful: that’s the whole game
Leadership & Influence
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Aligned board, sponsors, and members behind a clear vision
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Championed user-first navigation and content strategy
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Taught MBA staff how to own and update their digital presence
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Turned board skeptics into homepage evangelists
Artifacts & Conversation Starters
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Homepage screenshots (old vs. new), ask me about the referral block
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Navigation and event card component designs
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Member journey flow diagrams
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Analytics dashboard showing engagement post-launch
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Curious how we got member businesses so visible? Let’s talk modular categories.
Quick Summary
Turning the MBA Oregon’s homepage from an afterthought into a real digital community hub, simple, clear, and actually built for business owners.
Making it work as hard as the people it represents.