Significant Other rebuilds RSG’s digital presence as a cohesive hub for leadership learning

The brief for the project was to rebuild RSG's digital presence as a cohesive hub for leadership learning and community engagement. The new platform needed to connect seamlessly with the channels where their audience already spends time, including email, Slack and in-person workshops. It also needed to provide clear pathways into courses, programs and resources, while giving Raw Signal the flexibility to grow and evolve their offerings over time. Our goal was to create a platform that felt intuitive, expressive and aligned with the values at the core of RSG’s work, while supporting deeper engagement across their entire community.

Our process began with Significant Other's Knowledge and Process survey, which helps us understand how clients think about their audience and how they prefer to collaborate. RSG’s responses showed a clear, nuanced understanding of their community and a willingness to work closely with us throughout the project. We began by examining the business from multiple angles. 

RSG's audience is discerning and highly engaged, so we focused on building empathy, mapping user journeys and identifying where the digital experience needed to offer clarity, reduce friction or encourage exploration. 

This research revealed opportunities to modernize the site structure, strengthen pathways into programs and create a more intentional flow between their various touchpoints.

A key part of the process involved working with RSG’s internal design team. Their brand was already well-established, so our role was to extend it into digital applications in a way that preserved its character while supporting a broader set of content and interaction needs. Through this work, we developed a scalable design system and component library. From there, the project moved through iterative cycles of design, validation and development. 

Concepts were tested with RSG’s leadership, refined through collaborative reviews and translated into a flexible WordPress build. Performance, accessibility, integrations and CMS usability were addressed throughout the process, ensuring the final product aligned with both user needs and technical requirements. By the time we reached launch, the RSG team was fully embedded in the system, ready to use it as a foundation for new programs, resources and community engagement.

One of the most memorable parts of this project was how quickly the work shifted from a traditional client engagement into a true partnership. We came in as long-time readers of RSG’s work, but their openness during our Knowledge and Process survey immediately dissolved the usual formalities. 

They were eager to participate in workshops, dive into FigJam explorations and explore ideas with real candour. This level of collaboration created space for deeper thinking on both sides. We were able to test assumptions, refine concepts together and move through decisions with clarity and shared ownership. What could have been a standard redesign evolved into a collective build shaped by open dialogue and mutual trust. By the time we launched, the platform felt like the product of a single, integrated team. That sense of shared creation remains one of the highlights of the project.

A defining aspect of this project was the shared commitment to creating moments of surprise and delight throughout the interface. 

Early on, both teams aligned on the idea that the platform should feel thoughtful, energetic and a little unexpected. This led to a series of custom microinteractions that elevated the experience without distracting from the content. One standout example is a call-to-action component where a large field of RSG’s brand accent colour, initially positioned as a decorative block offset from the headline, reshapes itself into a highlight wrapping a nearby button when a user hovers over it. Dozens of similar moments were prototyped and refined using Figma and After Effects, allowing us to test timing, movement and tone before any development work began. RSG's trust was essential. They were open to exploring unconventional ideas, which gave the interface an extra level of polish and personality that feels true to their brand.

Credits:

• John Ryan (Significant Other - Co-founder)
• Jacob Sharrard RGD (Significant Other - Co-founder)
• Krystal Campbell (Significant Other - Director of Creative Operations)
• Christopher White RGD (Significant Other - Senior Designer & Creative Strategist)
• Adrian Trimble (Significant Other - Senior Developer)
• Melissa Nightingale (Raw Signal Group - Co-founder)
• Johnathan Nightingale (Raw Signal Group - Co-founder)
• Farnia Fekri (Raw Signal Group - Director of Marketing)
• Adrian Durcik (Raw Signal Group - Director of Client Services)
• Tia Hughes (Duelle Made - Founder)