NC Local
We partnered with the NC Local team on 0-1 product definition and design, go-to-market strategy and brand identity.
NC Local started as the "NC Local News Workshop” — a North Carolina-based journalism support organization. Years of community listening sessions showed CEO Shannan Bowen that people across the state didn’t always know how statewide issues and laws impacted their lives, especially in communities far from Raleigh.
The ‘new’ NC Local was formed to address this gap — in collaboration, not competition, with existing North Carolina newsrooms. We were excited to work with Shannan and her team to reimagine NC Local’s brand identity and launch a product ecosystem that met the needs of North Carolinians across the state.
0-1 product strategy
We kicked off our product work with NC Local by facilitating a design sprint in Wilmington with NC Local’s team and board.. We collaboratively mapped NC Local’s new audience segments and product ecosystem, all grounded in insights from community listening sessions. From there, we brainstormed and prototyped the new NCLocal.org experience together.
Collectivist(s)
Chelsea Brown
Year
2025
Brand identity
We reimagined NC Local’s brand identity to reflect the natural beauty of North Carolina, from dark ‘sky teal’ to seashell and shale. Our goal was to create an accessible, visually welcoming visual identity. We’re continuing to partner with NC Local to roll out brand extensions and sub-brands across the state.
Collectivist(s)
Danielle Song
Year
2025
“We didn’t just launch a new website for NC Local.
We launched a utility.
In a time when people are increasingly getting news and information direct from social media, group texts and AI-generated summaries—and when trusted local sources are harder to find—we believe a modern newsroom’s site has to be more than a destination. It has to do something. It has to answer questions, connect people to resources, and help them navigate real issues that impact their daily lives.”
Shannan Bowen, NC Local CEO
Product design & build
We partnered with the Newspack team to bring the NC Local team’s product vision to life. The new NClocal.org was built to flex to topic and region based-based navigation. We also built interactive features, like a food resource directory, that went beyond traditional articles formats and met North Carolinians pressing needs.
In addition to the ‘reader-facing’ product, we also built The Hub — a distinct destination within NCLocal.org — serves journalists in North Carolina. The Hub’s robust Airtable resource directory— curated by Catherine Komp — includes a job board, talent directory, helpful links roundup and more.
Collectivist(s)
Chelsea Brown and Hilary Fung
Year
2025