website
LGBTQ Speakers · Speaker bureau platform
Designing a scalable platform for LGBTQ+ voices
A speaker bureau website and content system that connects organizations with LGBTQ+ keynote speakers, educators, and industry experts.
Role
UX, brand and web designer
Timeline
May 2026–present
Team
Me (UX designer), CEO, Operations Manager
Tools
Figma, Squarespace, HubSpot, Zapier, CSS, ChatGPT
At a glance
Problem
Event organizers needed an easier way to find speakers, and the internal team needed a faster way to manage speaker profiles and content.
Approach
Research into speaker bureau sites, stakeholder meetings, a new brand identity, and a scalable design system.
Outcome
A new brand, responsive website, and speaker directory, backed by a restructured CMS and automated workflows.
01 · Overview
From concept to launch, as the sole designer
LGBTQ Speakers is a speaker bureau platform that connects organizations with LGBTQ+ keynote speakers, educators, and industry experts. As the sole UX and front-end designer, I led the project from concept to launch, designing the brand identity, user experience, responsive website, and scalable speaker directory.
Beyond the public-facing experience, I also restructured the content management system and set up automated workflows to make managing speaker content faster, more consistent, and easier to scale.
02 · The challenge
One platform, two audiences
LGBTQ Speakers needed more than a marketing website. It needed a platform that could support the organization’s long-term growth. Event organizers needed an intuitive way to discover speakers, while the internal team needed a faster, more scalable way to manage speaker profiles and website content. My challenge was to balance both groups while creating a flexible system that could evolve as the roster grew.
Primary users
✦ Event organizers
✦ Internal team
Their goals
✦ Discover speakers faster
✦ Scale content management
✦ Reduce manual work
✦ Build for future growth
03 · Research and discovery
Understanding users and stakeholders
I began by researching speaker bureau websites and meeting with stakeholders to understand both user expectations and business goals. Rather than replicating existing platforms, I focused on identifying opportunities to create a more intuitive experience while simplifying how the internal team manages content.
Key insights
✦ Users needed a faster way to browse and compare speakers
✦ Speaker information lacked consistency
✦ Manual content updates would not scale
✦ The platform needed to support both external users and internal workflows
04 · Defining the solution
A platform, not just a website
Rather than treating this as a simple website design, I approached it as a platform that needed to support multiple experiences. I focused on creating a scalable design system, intuitive speaker discovery, and an efficient content management process that could grow alongside the organization.
Design priorities
✦ Create a cohesive and accessible brand identity
✦ Make speaker discovery simple and intuitive
✦ Build reusable components for scalability
✦ Streamline content management through automation
05 · Building the brand identity
Bold, welcoming, and distinctly LGBTQ+
I developed the brand identity from the ground up, including the logo, color palette, and typography. The visual system uses expressive color and overlapping elements to reflect the diversity of the LGBTQ+ community while maintaining a polished, professional feel for organizations looking to book speakers.
Created a flexible logo system for different digital applications.
Used plum and lime as core brand colors to establish a recognizable identity.
Extended the visual system across the website for a consistent experience.
Balanced expressive brand elements with clean, editorial typography.
06 · Reflection
What I learned
[Add your reflection on this project. The text that was here before was copied from FirstBite.]
nlk9458@nyu.edu →
Open to full-time roles and freelance projects
© 2026 Nicole · Designed and built by me in Framer
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