Origin + Culture
Building a Bilingual Digital Home for a Cultural Movement
Full-year engagement (2025)
Click to view the full Origin + Culture homepage
The Client
Origin + Culture
Medellín, Colombia
Nonprofit Organization
2022
Origin + Culture is a Medellín-based nonprofit founded by Andrea Ardila and Juan David Arias to create inclusive spaces where people can connect, share stories, and celebrate the richness of the African diaspora. Rooted in Afro-Colombian culture, the organization runs cultural initiatives, educational programs, community events, and immersive travel experiences — all in service of a global diaspora and a deeply local community.
Please note: This case study reflects work completed during the period of active collaboration. Laura and Vie's Legacy, LLC no longer manages or maintains this client's marketing, communications, website, or digital presence, and current materials may differ from the original scope of work.
The Challenge
When Origin + Culture came on, their website was functional — but barely. The existing site was bare-bones, written in only one language, and didn't reflect the depth, warmth, or cultural specificity of the work they were actually doing on the ground. For an organization whose mission lives at the intersection of Black identity, diaspora community, and social impact, that disconnect mattered.
There were two distinct audiences to serve: Spanish-speaking locals in Medellín, and the global English-speaking Black diaspora that O+C actively seeks to engage. The site spoke to neither with intention.
Beyond the website itself, internal operations were fragmented — no content calendar, no shared asset library, no documented workflows. The team was doing meaningful work without the infrastructure to sustain or scale it.
My Role
Marketing Consultant | Full-year engagement (2025)
- Bilingual website copywriter (English + Spanish)
- Brand voice and content strategist
- Internal systems architect
- Social media strategist
The Approach
Bilingual Website Redesign
The first priority was building a website that could hold the full weight of O+C's identity. Every page was written from scratch — in both English and Spanish — with copy that was culturally grounded, not just translated. The goal wasn't to swap words between languages; it was to make sure each version of the copy felt native and intentional to its audience.
Pages Written
Internal Systems + Operations
Alongside the website work, I built the internal infrastructure O+C needed to keep operating after the engagement. This included:
- A shared drive and digital asset management (DAM) system to organize brand assets, event materials, and media
- A communications calendar to coordinate content across web, email, and social
- Backend workflows and documentation to support remote collaboration with a Colombian-based team
The client handled the final proofreading in both languages — a true collaboration that kept the voice authentic.
Social Media Strategy
With a clearer brand voice established on the website, that same messaging framework carried into social media. Strategic messaging, visual branding, and authentic storytelling aligned with the organization's cultural values drove a significant lift in community engagement.
Bilingual Website Copy
“A Celebration of Culture, Community, and Collective Power”
“Una Celebración de Cultura, Comunidad y Poder Colectivo”
About Us Page
Brand voice translation from deck to web
Social Media
Event Promotion
Mission Language
Tour Promotion
Community Event
Sample posts from O+C's Instagram — event promotion with bilingual captions (English and Spanish)
By the Numbers
↑ 37%+
Monthly Website Traffic
↑ 48%
Avg Social Engagement
2
Languages
English + Spanish
6+
Pages with Original Bilingual Copy
1 year
Engagement Length
What Performed Best
The bilingual architecture of the site did exactly what it was designed to do: it removed friction for two different audiences without making either one feel secondary. The Black on Black Diaspora Party page is the clearest example — fully bilingual, with tiered offerings (general admission, culinary experience, VIP table packages, and sponsorship), all written in copy that honored the cultural weight of the event.
Internally, the DAM system had compounding returns. Once the team could find, use, and update assets independently, the work kept working — without requiring ongoing hand-holding.
What We Learned
Translation is not the same as transcreation. Writing bilingual content for a culturally specific organization means understanding not just vocabulary, but tone, reference, and resonance. The Spanish copy for O+C couldn't be a direct translation of the English — it had to speak to a Colombian audience with its own cultural fluency.
Infrastructure is a form of marketing. The communications calendar and DAM system weren't flashy deliverables, but they directly enabled the team to show up consistently online — and consistency is what drives the engagement numbers over time.
What This Built
Origin + Culture now has a digital home that reflects who they are, who they serve, and where they're going. The website speaks to the global diaspora and the local community in their own languages, with copy that honors the mission rather than flattening it. Combined with the internal systems built alongside it, the organization is set up to manage and grow its digital presence long after the engagement ended.