How I Accidentally Launched My Web Design Career?

I joined the World March of Women Kenya in March of last year, feeling good, but doe-eyed and green as I walked into my very first World March meeting. I didn’t know what to expect, or who I would find. Once in the meeting, I was silent. I didn’t understand half the abbreviations and acronyms being thrown around, IFOS, IC, seated among these women, everyone sounded so knowledgeable, and so important and there I was, wondering what any of these things meant. People were talking, ideas were flying around, and at some point, the conversation landed on t-shirts.

I remember someone saying they wanted this year’s t-shirts to be something that pops. Something different from what we were used to. Without overthinking it, I spoke up and said I knew how to design. Immediately, the conversation shifted toward my involvement.  Would I help design the t-shirts? They wanted to know. I gave an impish “okay”, and that was that.

After a few days had passed, I received a call from Mitchelle.

She reminded me that I’d mentioned knowing how to design, and had volunteered to help in the design of this year’s t-shirts. We launched into discussions of what the 6^th International Action theme was, and prospective designs we could implement. Then she asked the question I wasn’t ready for: “Can you do our website?”

I paused. Technically, I had done web design back in school as part of coursework. But there’s a big difference between a classroom exercise and actually building an entire website from scratch, on your own, for a real organisation. And so, I had to be honest that I’d never built one before.

“Can you try?” she said. And so I did. Then came the timeline: two weeks.

Two weeks to build a website I’d never built before, while juggling everything else on my plate. It felt nearly impossible. But something in me didn’t want to say no. Challenges have never backed me into cowardice and this would not be the first time. So, I got to work.

And so, it began slowly, step by step. The movement didn’t need anything too complex. Just a homepage, an about page, and a section for blog posts. It wasn’t a simple task, but it was doable. At least, that’s what I kept telling myself.

I started the project, and I was able to finish it within the 2 weeks we had set. When I showed it to the team, they were so happy with it. But there were a lot more changes that needed to be made, and because of the impending deadline, I had to move fast. Upon completion, the team reviewed it again and they were happy, and that’s all that mattered.

To ensure that everything ran as coded, Mitchelle and I got to work testing out different sections of the website. First, we started with posting blogs. Our communication team got right into it — writing, editing, and publishing blog pieces. This then yielded another challenge; the rest of the team didn’t have the technical know-how to publish the posts by themselves. They had to go through me because of how the database was set up. So, every time a blog piece was ready for publishing, they had to send it to me so I could post it.

I could already see the room for improvement.

Mitchelle presented the first version of the website in Brazil during the Afro-Latino discussions with SOF and World March of Women Brazil. She returned with notes—detailed notes on how we could improve it and make it better, and so we got back into it. We completely redesigned the website. We added a gallery, a publications section, and this was the big one, an admin page where the writers and admins could log in and post their own work, without having to send it to me first. I gave the UI (User Interface) a better feel, better transitions, and a better user experience overall.

We also changed the whole layout. And something else that was a big deal, we didn’t have a proper domain and this meant that our website was only available via shareable links.  But after Brazil, we sorted everything out. We launched the domain (worldmarchofwomenkenya.co.ke), and got our own official email for the communication team. It was all coming together. We began without a ratified structure, and now, our communication channels are solid.

Honestly? I’m happy that Michelle reached out to me that day to make that website. The opportunity to create something this important for such a powerful movement, was challenging, and involved a lot of long nights. But it challenged me and it launched my career in web design. If someone came to me with a request like that, sometime back, I would have just said that I couldn’t do it. But I was willing to try. And I worked on it to completion.

Now I’m doing it with other clients. And getting paid for it.

Because of World March of Women Kenya, I was able to put my capabilities to the test. The movement saw my potential, and believed in me. The design work that I do now is not only in posters and logos, I can now actually build a website. A beautiful one. One that people like and interact with. Visit the website here.

And that, is how I launched my career as a web developer.