National Security Language Initiative for Youth

A program that supports global curiosity.

The National Security Language Initiative for Youth (NSLI-Y), a U.S. Department of State-funded program administered by the American Councils for International Education, offers merit-based scholarships for U.S. high school students to study critical languages abroad and virtually. Its mission: to deepen cross-cultural understanding and spark a lifelong passion for language learning.

But NSLI-Y’s website was outdated and due for an overhaul. With a sub-site [NSLIY Interactive], a growing archive of participant stories, virtual program content, and application resources, the new site needed to unify two sites and deliver clarity for students. 

Unifying two sites into a single platform.

The redesign merged NSLI-Y’s primary website and its interactive companion site into a single, unified platform, streamlining content and navigation. We migrated their CMS from Craft to WordPress, a major upgrade that enabled their team to manage and stage content more easily using the Gutenberg editor. 

During migration, all existing content was preserved — including images with alt text, participant stories, and virtual program resources. We worked with the NSLI-Y team to develop a content staging workflow that aligned with their internal review and approval processes, including reviews by the State Department.

A brand application grown from a single icon.

With no brand guidelines to work from, we used elements from the NSLI-Y logo as a jumping-off point. The new design plays with layered speech bubbles and iconography to keep the interface playful, structured, and inviting for students. Colors are bold and white space is ample, ultimately balancing beautiful design with a clear and informative application and exploration process.

A final product that centers students.

The redesigned website clearly distinguishes NSLI-Y’s three program types to help students identify the best fit for their interests. And they don’t have to guess — they can hear directly from past participants. A ‘student stories’ block is a central feature, offering firsthand insights to guide prospective applicants. 

The website also meets accessibility standards (WCAG 2.2 AA), performs reliably across devices and browsers, and includes a flexible design system that simplifies content creation and editing.