Future Currents
Fueling Movements Through Play and Possibility
The Challenge
Future Currents is a quiet force of nature. On a mission to empower movement leaders and organizations to create the future we all deserve, they bring incredible energy and rigor to the field.
After years doing the work as Social and Economic Justice Leaders Project (SEJ), they were ready to reintroduce themselves to the world as Future Currents. They came to us at a pivotal moment: fresh off a rebrand with a new name, visual identity, and programmatic strategy; ready to build their very first website.
Our Approach
Our partnership was electric from day one. The stakes were high, but so was the creative energy. They had big, ambitious ideas about what their digital presence could be — we helped them figure out how to make those ideas accessible and real.
From our earliest conversations, it was clear that they wanted something different. They weren’t interested in a typical organizational website that centered themselves or their impact. Instead, they wanted to create a tool that would be genuinely useful and inspiring to the broader progressive field.
Discovery
We kicked things off with a deep dive into Future Currents’ world to uncover their hopes and dreams for the site and learn about content opportunities. We also put in the work to understand their primary users and explore how the site could best serve them.
In addition to inviting the field to engage in the practice of Futuring, they wanted to build a resource and joyful gathering place. Guided by these insights, we developed three creative concepts for how the site could come to life:
“Our strategic and energizing workshops pushed our thinking even further. All Firebelly team members were collaborative partners and their skills and expertise were evident through the entire process.”
— Monisha Som
UX Strategy
The Future Currents team was excited to move forward with the Playground concept, in service of building a space where movement leaders could explore new ideas and insights. Further defining the Site Purpose as “where the field goes to refuel,” all eyes were set on building a dynamic, energizing resource rather than just an information repository.
To bring this to life, we established three experience principles: Purposefully Provocative, Supportive + Connected, and Action-oriented. These principles became our north star as we moved into design and development.
While we were knee deep in the website, the Future Currents team was refining their programmatic strategy, which inspired us to create the site’s unconventional information architecture. The resulting navigation system boldly introduces their unique POV to the field and inspires users to engage in Futuring.
Content Strategy + Design
All along, Future Currents was clear that they wanted to use the website to share focused insights with the field rather than the lengthy reports they were already publishing. So it was critical to pressure test the new IA with all of their existing content before locking in.
After a series of content-focused worksessions and aligning on the final navigation menu, we handed over a content repository and collaboratively wrote and edited the content as we transformed reports into compelling insights.
“Firebelly was able to capture everything we talked about, and it was a lot! It all came together so well and we’re proud that this is our first website as Future Currents.”
— Monisha Som
Art Direction
Their new visual identity was created by the agency Big Duck. To implement it into the new site, we adapted the bold style into a bright, accessible, streamlined web system.
To ensure a platform that could be used on the go, in the field or on the big screen, we made a type system that was fluidly scalable to stay responsive and accessible across every size of device or screen.
“The result of all of these elements was a bold, untraditional, and electric website. We are thrilled with it!”
— Monisha Som