# Design skeleton — fromphdtolife.com

## 1. Brand DNA

### Business
- **Name:** From PhD to Life (Jen Polk, PhD)
- **What they do, for whom, where:** Career coaching, workshops, and speaking for professors, postdocs, and PhDs across Canada, the United States, and internationally who are navigating career transitions beyond academia.
- **Offers:** 1-on-1 Consultation (Career Clarity & Strategy Sessions); Free Webinar — How to Get a Great Job Outside Academia; PhD Career Clarity Program (6-month group program); Workshops and Speaking (for universities and organizations).
- **The one action this page exists to cause:** Prompt the visitor to take one of three clear actions: register for the free webinar, enroll in the PhD Career Clarity Program, or send an email enquiry.
- **Contact and socials:** Email: Jen@FromPhDToLife.com; Newsletter: https://subscribe.fromphdtolife.com/; Socials: LinkedIn, YouTube, Bluesky, Facebook, Twitter.

### Brand
- **Colours:** Primary map green (#00BD9D), accent map blue (#1DA1F2), neutral slate grey (#A6A6A6), text ink black (#000000).
- **Fonts:** None provided. Chosen for editorial academic authority: Display face high-contrast serif (Playfair Display / Fraunces), body face crisp humanist sans (Inter / Source Sans 3).
- **Logo:** `assets/logo.webp` (From PhD to Life geometric wordmark with dashed grey path connecting green and blue map pins). `assets/logo-icon.webp` (isolated square map pin and dashed path icon).

### Assets
| file | subject | px | luminance | dominant colours | plain backdrop | full-bleed at 1440 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| `assets/logo.webp` | logo wordmark with map pins and dashed path | 995x613 | 0.04 | #000000, #1ca0f1, #a4a4a4 | yes (transparent) | no |
| `assets/portrait-01.webp` | Jen laughing in daylight courtyard | 2305x1728 | 0.548 | #f4f1eb, #525f2c, #232719 | no | yes |
| `assets/portrait-02.webp` | Jen portrait with baked speech bubbles | 1080x1080 | 0.665 | #f6f2f2, #111015, #dda7a9 | yes (transparent) | no |
| `assets/work-01.webp` | two people standing behind stacks of academic books | 1024x614 | 0.619 | #d6b596, #e0c7ac, #dfdfd5 | no | no |
| `assets/work-02.webp` | multi-device collage showing program materials on green field | 1920x768 | 0.555 | #f2f3f4, #01bb9c, #090c0c | no | yes |
| `assets/work-03.webp` | over-the-shoulder view of laptop showing Jen on video call | 1350x900 | 0.487 | #201e20, #a4a29f, #e8dfde | no | no |
| `assets/logo-icon.webp` | square dashed-path and map-pins brand mark | 192x192 | 0.121 | #000000, #1ca1f2, #a6a6a6 | yes (transparent) | no |

## 2. Art direction

- **Concept:** An intellectual transition monograph: the thoughtful, structured bridge between academic identity and a self-directed career.
- **Palette:** Ground: Bone white (#F9F8F5) and warm parchment (#EFECE6); Ink: Deep soot black (#111111); Accent: Brand map teal (#00BD9D) with secondary blue (#1DA1F2) reserved for directional links.
- **Type:** Display: Fraunces (warm, authoritative editorial serif); Body: Source Sans 3 (clear, humanist academic sans); Typographic move: Mixed weights in one line with italicized reflective questions.
- **Image language:** Plated documentary rectangles with generous white space and strict editorial margins; no artificial drop shadows or clipping masks.
- **Motion language:** Sequenced text on section headers upon initial viewport entry; subtle hover states (opacity and underline transitions) on interactive links and cards.
- **Layout habits:** Wide asymmetric single-column reading rails; editorial plate-on-ground image placements balanced against deep typographic hierarchy.
- **Why:** Signals: career change coaching for an intellectual demographic (professors, PhDs) who respond to rigorous, deliberate discourse rather than high-gloss hype. Direction: Editorial. Rejected: Warm (too folksy/ornamental for scholarly professionals) and Bold (overly assertive for reflective career transition).

## 3. Story

| # | beat | job | copy | asset | seam to next |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | nav | Orient visitor, establish brand presence, provide quick access to core pathways | HOW TO REACH ME | `assets/logo.webp` | cut |
| 2 | hero | Anchor practitioner credibility, clarify immediate audience, and validate the career transition challenge | WHAT I DO, WHO IT'S FOR | `assets/portrait-01.webp` | ground change |
| 3 | positioning | Give voice to the reader's private hesitation and emotional impasse regarding academic identity | WHO I WORK WITH | `assets/work-01.webp` | ground change |
| 4 | pause | Refocus the core problem from mechanical tools (resumes) to self-clarity and values | WHAT I THINK THE REAL PROBLEM IS | none | cut |
| 5 | process | Introduce the facilitative, non-prescriptive coaching philosophy and five strategic pillars | HOW I WORK | none | ground change |
| 6 | offer | Lay out the four distinct engagement options with direct entry points | WAYS TO WORK WITH ME | `assets/work-02.webp` | ground change |
| 7 | about | Build personal trust through lived experience, academic roots, and practitioner mission | MY STORY, WHY I DO THIS WORK | `assets/work-03.webp` | cut |
| 8 | press | Cement institutional credibility through published commentary and government advisory history | MY BACKGROUND | none | ground change |
| 9 | newsletter | Offer a low-friction ongoing resource for people at the early contemplation stage | HOW TO REACH ME | none | cut |
| 10 | cta | Consolidate the three primary next steps (webinar, program enrollment, direct consultation) | HOW TO REACH ME | none | ground change |
| 11 | footer | Close with formal contact info, full social platform links, and copyright mark | HOW TO REACH ME | `assets/logo-icon.webp` | cut |

## 4. Section specs

### 4.1 nav
- **Layout pattern:** hung from an edge
- **Ingredients:** Brand logo mark, primary navigation links (Offerings, Approach, About, Free Training), and a distinct direct contact button.
- **Why:** Establishes calm editorial navigation immediately without overwhelming the reader.
- **Asset and tool:** `assets/logo.webp`, resize (width 180px).
- **Motion:** hover states on text links and contact button.
- **Copy:** HOW TO REACH ME

### 4.2 hero
- **Layout pattern:** side-by-side
- **Ingredients:** Large two-line headline, statement of practice, immediate identity validation, primary CTA buttons ("Watch Free Webinar", "Explore Programs"), plated portrait.
- **Why:** Editorial clarity pairing Jen's warm, relaxed presence with direct, reassuring language.
- **Asset and tool:** `assets/portrait-01.webp`, crop (4:5 ratio), resize (width 600px).
- **Motion:** sequenced text on the primary statement; hover states on CTA buttons.
- **Copy:** WHAT I DO, WHO IT'S FOR

### 4.3 positioning
- **Layout pattern:** plate on ground
- **Ingredients:** Section header, the visceral narrative of the LinkedIn title dilemma, quote callouts highlighting common internal objections, plated visual of academic books.
- **Why:** Acknowledges the profound identity struggle of leaving academia using Jen's evocative vignette.
- **Asset and tool:** `assets/work-01.webp`, crop (16:10 ratio), resize (width 800px).
- **Motion:** scroll reveal on reading rail and quote blocks.
- **Copy:** WHO I WORK WITH

### 4.4 pause
- **Layout pattern:** stacked column
- **Ingredients:** Focused editorial commentary contrasting surface symptoms (resumes, networking) against root clarity, bulleted risk factors, reflective introspective questions in large italic type.
- **Why:** Slows the pace to deliver intellectual re-framing before introducing solutions.
- **Asset and tool:** none
- **Motion:** scroll reveal on question list.
- **Copy:** WHAT I THINK THE REAL PROBLEM IS

### 4.5 process
- **Layout pattern:** stacked column
- **Ingredients:** Philosophy statement ("I don’t prescribe career paths"), five structured focal points in an open editorial grid, summary of long-term purpose.
- **Why:** Demonstrates methodology and structure to satisfy analytical minds without imposing rigid outcomes.
- **Asset and tool:** none
- **Motion:** scroll reveal on five focal points; hover states on pillar cards.
- **Copy:** HOW I WORK

### 4.6 offer
- **Layout pattern:** stacked column
- **Ingredients:** Section introduction, program showcase banner, four distinct pathways structured into numbered editorial modules (1-on-1 Consultation, Free Webinar, PhD Career Clarity Program, Workshops and Speaking) with direct links.
- **Why:** Cleanses confusion by categorizing the four ways to work according to client readiness and organizational needs.
- **Asset and tool:** `assets/work-02.webp`, resize (width 1200px), crop (21:9 ratio).
- **Motion:** scroll reveal on offer cards; hover states on enrollment and registration links.
- **Copy:** WAYS TO WORK WITH ME

### 4.7 about
- **Layout pattern:** side-by-side
- **Ingredients:** Biographical narrative from 2012 PhD defense to founding practice, statement of mission ("Why I do this work"), laptop video-consultation plate.
- **Why:** Grounds the practice in shared academic credentials and empathetic lived experience.
- **Asset and tool:** `assets/work-03.webp`, crop (4:3 ratio), resize (width 540px).
- **Motion:** scroll reveal on story paragraphs.
- **Copy:** MY STORY, WHY I DO THIS WORK

### 4.8 press
- **Layout pattern:** stacked column
- **Ingredients:** Authority summary, publication masthead list (University Affairs, Inside Higher Ed, The Chronicle of Higher Education, The Globe and Mail, Academic Matters), landmark advisory credential (Canadian Council of Academies *Degrees of Success* report).
- **Why:** Provides third-party institutional proof critical for academic credibility.
- **Asset and tool:** none
- **Motion:** scroll reveal on publication credits.
- **Copy:** MY BACKGROUND

### 4.9 newsletter
- **Layout pattern:** plate on ground
- **Ingredients:** Dedicated invitation to Jen's ongoing email list for readers taking time to decide, single-field email signup pathway.
- **Why:** Respects the contemplative, non-rushed decision cycle of academic professionals.
- **Asset and tool:** none
- **Motion:** hover states on signup button.
- **Copy:** HOW TO REACH ME

### 4.10 cta
- **Layout pattern:** stacked column
- **Ingredients:** Direct closing message, three distinct high-visibility action pathways (Free Webinar registration, PhD Career Clarity Program enrollment, Direct email link).
- **Why:** Directly serves Jen's primary business goal by giving every visitor an unambiguous next step matching their current readiness.
- **Asset and tool:** none
- **Motion:** hover states on action buttons.
- **Copy:** HOW TO REACH ME, WHAT I DO

### 4.11 footer
- **Layout pattern:** hung from an edge
- **Ingredients:** Brand mark icon, direct email address, full social platform links (LinkedIn, YouTube, Bluesky, Facebook, Twitter), copyright line.
- **Why:** Clean, quiet conclusion providing exhaustive practical touchpoints.
- **Asset and tool:** `assets/logo-icon.webp`, resize (width 48px).
- **Motion:** hover states on social links and email.
- **Copy:** HOW TO REACH ME