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apexstem.org — Public site design plan

Status: Design phase (Phase 2 — not started)
Owner: Board + marketing lead
Related: brand_and_trademark.md · portal plan Phase 2 · domain_and_dns.md · ridgeracersnj.com

1. What this site is (and is not)

Site Role Tone
apexstem.org Organization home — mission, impact, donate, sponsor, multi-team future Bold, hopeful, community-scale
ridgeracersnj.com Team brand — competition results, car, pit, sponsor video High-energy racing, F1 aesthetic
docs.apexstem.org Internal wiki — SOPs, onboarding (login required) Functional, reference

One-line positioning (stated — use in headlines, footer, sponsor decks):

Apex STEM Education develops New Jersey students through hands-on engineering, data-driven problem solving, and AI literacy — with competitive STEM Racing as our flagship program.

Aspiration (secondary — About page, grant narratives; not hero copy):

Skills students build here — design, analysis, presentation, teamwork — transfer to college STEM programs, technical careers, and future competitions beyond racing.

Mission framing (public site):

Layer Message
Org (apexstem.org) Applied STEM education: engineering, data analytics, AI literacy, project leadership
Flagship program STEM Racing teams (design, build, test, compete) — where all four pillars come together
Future programs Workshops and clinics in data analytics, coding, and responsible AI use

Required org line on team materials:

Ridge Racers NJ is a program of Apex STEM Education.

2. Design direction — bold, vibrant, youth impact

Emotional goal

Visitors (parents, sponsors, students, grant reviewers) should feel within 5 seconds:

  1. This is applied STEM — engineering, data, and AI literacy through real projects, not lecture-only programs
  2. Students lead the work — adults enable; students design, analyze, present, and decide
  3. Engineering + data + AI — CAD and manufacturing sit alongside testing data, analytics, and responsible AI tool use
  4. Local roots, national proof — Watchung Hills / Somerset County; Ridge Racers as the flagship that validates the model
  5. You can help — sponsor, donate, volunteer, mentor, or join a future program

Visual personality

Attribute apexstem.org ridgeracersnj.com (contrast)
Energy Bright, forward, sunrise Dark pit lane, speed lines
Metaphor Peak / launch / trajectory — upward progress Track, car, knockout wins
Subject breadth Four stated pillars — engineering, data, AI literacy, leadership Competition engineering & enterprise
Audience Donors, parents, community, foundations, future students Fans, sponsors, competition judges
Motion Confident scroll reveals, stat counters, data viz accents Particles, speed lines, racing UI

What to avoid (brand & trademark)

Per brand_and_trademark.md:

  • Apex Learning look — blue/orange ed-tech palette, mountain-peak logo, LMS-style layouts
  • “Apex” alone as the org name in headers — always Apex STEM Education
  • Copying Ridge Racers F1 red/black wholesale — org site should feel related but distinct

3. Color system

Proposed palette — vibrant STEM launch, not racing pit:

Token Hex Use
Deep space (bg) #0B1026 Hero, footer — rich navy (not pure black)
Electric cyan (primary accent) #00E5FF CTAs, links, data highlights, AI/tech accents
Solar coral (secondary) #FF6B35 Warmth, youth energy; ties to existing --apex on team site
Violet pulse (tertiary) #7C3AED Section accents, gradients, STEM/innovation
Launch gold #FBBF24 Impact stats, awards, highlights
Cloud white #F8FAFC Body text on dark; light section backgrounds
Slate muted #94A3B8 Secondary copy

Hero gradient (example):

linear-gradient(135deg, #0B1026 0%, #1a1f4e 40%, #7C3AED 100%)

CTA gradient:

linear-gradient(90deg, #00E5FF 0%, #FF6B35 100%)

Use high contrast (WCAG AA minimum) — cyan on navy passes; coral for buttons with dark text where needed.

4. Typography

Role Font Why
Display / headlines Outfit or Syne Bold, modern, youth-forward — not F1/racing
Body DM Sans Clean, readable for parents and grant readers
Stats / labels JetBrains Mono (optional) Engineering credibility for numbers

Type scale (mobile-first):

  • Hero H1: clamp(2.5rem, 6vw, 4.5rem) — weight 800, tight tracking
  • Section H2: 2rem–2.75rem — weight 700
  • Body: 1.125rem (18px) — line-height 1.65
  • Stat numbers: 3rem+ — mono or display, gold or cyan

Do not use Formula1 font or Orbitron on the org site — reserve those for ridgeracersnj.com.

5. Logo & visual assets (completed)

Status: AI-generated assets created and integrated — replace with professional design when budget allows.

Logo concept: Abstract trajectory + data nodes — upward launch arc with connected node dots. Avoids mountain icon (Apex Learning trade dress). Cyan (#00E5FF) primary with coral (#FF6B35) and violet (#7C3AED) accents on deep navy (#0B1026).

Visual assets created:

Asset File Use
Logo public/logo.png Header, footer
Hero background public/hero-bg.png Home page hero section
OG image public/og-image.png Social sharing (1200×630)
Favicon public/favicon.png Browser tab
Engineering icon public/icon-engineering.png Pillar cards
Data icon public/icon-data.png Pillar cards
AI icon public/icon-ai.png Pillar cards
Leadership icon public/icon-leadership.png Pillar cards

Visual motifs: Trajectory lines, sparkline-style data marks, node graphs — no robot/AI clichés.

6. Information architecture

Matches portal plan §3.1 with one addition: /programs (pillar detail page — not in original portal IA; add when board approves).

apexstem.org
├── /                    Home
├── /about               Mission, values, 501(c)(3) status, geography
├── /programs            What we teach — engineering, data, AI, leadership (see §6.1)
├── /teams               Program teams directory (flagship: STEM Racing)
│   └── /teams/ridge-racers-nj
├── /impact              Stories, results, photos (SEO)
├── /sponsor             Tiers + inquiry form
├── /donate              Zeffy or Stripe embed
├── /get-involved        Volunteer, mentor, start a team (future)
├── /news                Blog / announcements
├── /contact             hello@apexstem.org
└── (footer)             Link to docs.apexstem.org for volunteers with login

6.1 Educational pillars (site-wide messaging)

These four pillars appear on Home, About, and Programs — STEM Racing is one application of all four, not the whole story.

Pillar What students learn How it shows up today Future expansion
Engineering & design CAD, prototyping, testing, manufacturing, specs compliance Ridge Racers car development, portfolios, drawings Robotics, makerspace projects
Data & analytics Collect data, test hypotheses, document evidence, decide with numbers CFD/analysis in portfolios, timing systems, judge score improvement plans Data science clinics, competition analytics workshops
AI literacy & tools Use AI responsibly as a copilot — not a substitute for student work Research, documentation, presentation prep, coding support (AP CS mentors) Intro AI workshops, prompt literacy, ethics discussions
Leadership & communication Project management, sponsorship, verbal presentation, teamwork Enterprise roles, mock interviews, student mentors (e.g. Lead Student Mentor) Model UN–style debate, science fair coaching

Copy principle: Lead with the four pillars + flagship program; use Ridge Racers as proof, not the definition of the org. Save broader “future paths” language for About and grants — not the hero.

Primary nav (desktop): About · Programs · Teams · Impact · Sponsor · Donate · Contact
Sticky CTA: Support our students → /donate

Footer columns:

  1. Apex STEM Education — mission one-liner, EIN, “501(c)(3) application pending” until determination letter
  2. Programs — Engineering · Data · AI literacy · Leadership · Ridge Racers NJ → ridgeracersnj.com
  3. Get involved — Sponsor · Donate · Contact · Volunteer (email)
  4. Legal — Privacy policy (required before forms go live) · Conflict of interest (when published) · Team resources via email/PDF — not public wiki login by default (volunteer onboarding)

7. Page-by-page wireframe notes

Home /

Hero (full viewport)

  • Headline: Engineering. Data. AI. Leadership. Built here.
  • Subhead: Hands-on STEM for New Jersey students (grades 6–12) — CAD and manufacturing, evidence from testing, responsible AI literacy, and project leadership. Our flagship: competitive STEM Racing.
  • Two CTAs: Explore our programs · Become a sponsor
  • Background: Animated gradient mesh + subtle data-node motif (not racing-only)
  • Optional: floating stat chips — 3rd at Nationals 2026 · 7 student roles · Data-driven design

Impact strip (horizontal scroll on mobile)

| 4 | pillars | 3rd | Nationals 2026 | Data-driven | student-led |

“Four pillars” (4 cards — primary home section)

Engineering & design Data & analytics AI literacy Leadership
CAD, build, test Evidence from testing; numbers on every decision Responsible use of AI tools in research & docs Present, manage, mentor

Each card links to /programs#….

“What students do” (secondary — applied learning)

  • Design & prototype
  • Test & analyze data
  • Present & lead teams

Featured program: Ridge Racers NJ (flagship, not the whole org)

  • Label: Flagship program
  • Photo: mayor award or team booth
  • Copy: Our STEM Racing team puts every pillar into practice — engineering, enterprise data, presentation, and national competition.
  • Button: See the team → ridgeracersnj.com

“Why Apex STEM Education” (problem → solution)

  • Short bullets: applied STEM gap in schools, need for data/AI readiness, lack of 501(c)(3) home for youth programs
  • Map or region tag: Watchung Hills · Somerset County

Sponsor logo wall

  • Reuse optimized sponsor logos from team assets (with permission)
  • “Trusted by local businesses”

Closing CTA band

  • Coral/cyan gradient background
  • Help the next generation build real STEM skills — engineering, data, and leadership for New Jersey students.

Programs /programs

Purpose: Explain that Apex STEM is bigger than racing while showing how racing delivers all four pillars.

Page structure:

  1. Intro — Competitive STEM Racing is our flagship today. Workshops and clinics are planned; the four pillars below describe what we teach through every active and future program.
  2. Four pillar sections (anchor links from Home) — each with:
  3. What students learn
  4. Why it matters for college/career
  5. Example from Ridge Racers (concrete proof)
  6. “Coming soon” for standalone workshops where applicable
  7. AI & data analytics callout (featured band)
  8. Headline: Decisions backed by data. AI used responsibly.
  9. Bullets: testing logs, portfolio evidence, CAE with numbers, student-mentor support for coding/data, ethical AI use (student-owned work)
  10. Avoid hype — emphasize literacy and tool fluency, not replacing student thinking
  11. Program formats table
Format Status Examples
Competitive teams Active Ridge Racers NJ (STEM Racing)
Workshops & clinics Planned Year 2 Data viz, intro Python, AI literacy, presentation skills
Student mentorship Pilot / launching Lead Student Mentor program (HS volunteers under adult supervision)
Community outreach Active Harvest Festival booth, Founders Day, school demos
  1. CTA: Join a team · Volunteer as mentor · Sponsor a program

About /about

  • Vision (stated): Regional hub where grades 6–12 students build engineering, data, AI literacy, and leadership through competitive teams and (planned) workshops
  • Aspiration (secondary paragraph): Skills transfer to college STEM programs and technical careers — racing is the proving ground, not the ceiling
  • Full mission, values table (from business plan §2 — consider adding Data-informed decisions and AI literacy to values in a future business plan revision)
  • Student-led callout — adults enable; students own deliverables; AI assists, does not write portfolios
  • Not just racing paragraph — racing is the flagship; org mission is broader
  • Geographic focus map or list
  • 501(c)(3) status block (IRS-compliant pending language)
  • Optional: public board bios (first name + role only — no student PII)
  • Differentiation footnote: Not affiliated with Apex Learning.

Teams /teams and /teams/ridge-racers-nj

Directory page intro: Our competitive teams are where students apply engineering, data, and leadership in full. More program formats coming as we grow.

Directory page: Card per program team (Ridge Racers now; placeholders: Data & AI workshop series — coming soon, Future STEM Racing team — inquire)

Ridge Racers summary page:

  • Hero image from team assets
  • Results timeline (Regionals → Nationals)
  • Awards list
  • Visit ridgeracersnj.com — primary outbound CTA
  • Org relationship explained clearly

Impact /impact

  • 3 launch stories (from Nationals debrief — student-safe, no PII):
  • From 0/100 specs to a compliance culture (engineering discipline)
  • Testing scored 3/20 — why data and evidence matter (analytics pillar)
  • Student mentors and leadership (pipeline for older students coaching younger ones)
  • Optional fourth: Using AI and coding responsibly — mentor-supported, student-owned work
  • Photo grid: booth, parade, awards, car development (existing assets)
  • Pull quotes from judges (already in repo score analysis)
  • Tier table (Silver $250 → Title $2,500) from sponsor README
  • ROI bullets: logo placement, social, event visibility
  • Tax language: Sponsorship may be tax-deductible once Apex STEM Education receives its IRS 501(c)(3) determination letter. Until then, use “501(c)(3) application pending” — do not promise deductibility.
  • Embedded inquiry form → sponsorships@apexstem.org (Google Form or Tally — no PII in git)
  • Download: sponsorship one-pager PDF (future)
  • Impact statement: Your gift funds engineering materials, competition travel, and future workshops in data analytics and AI literacy
  • Zeffy embed (fee-free, nonprofit-friendly) per portal plan §12.1
  • Secondary: PayPal Giving, check by mail (treasurer address when bank live)
  • 501(c)(3) status block (use until determination letter):

Apex STEM Education Inc. is a New Jersey nonprofit corporation. Our application for 501(c)(3) tax-exempt status (Form 1023-EZ) was submitted on June 11, 2026, and is pending IRS review. Donations are not tax-deductible until we receive an IRS determination letter. We will update this page when status changes. Questions: treasurer@apexstem.org

(Source: formation checklist — treasurer to confirm before publish.)

Get involved /get-involved

  • Mentor — engineering, data/CS, AI literacy, presentation (link to contact; adult supervisors)
  • Volunteer — junior mentor program summary
  • Start a program — STEM Racing team, workshop series, or school partnership — “Contact us”
  • Student — join Ridge Racers or express interest in future programs

Contact /contact

  • hello@apexstem.org
  • Simple form (name, email, message, role dropdown)
  • No student contact forms without parent gate

8. Photography & media

Reuse from repo (with model releases on file):

Asset Use
mayor-achievement-hero.webp Home / Impact hero option
booth-harvest-festival.webp Community outreach
founders-day-parade.jpg Local roots
Team headshots Teams page (already public on ridgeracersnj.com)
Final Car.png / torpedo renders Engineering credibility

New media to capture:

  • Wide shot of students working together (not solo hero — shows collaboration)
  • Mentor + students in open group (compliance-safe photo)
  • Short 30s org reel for hero background (optional Phase 2.1)

9. Tone & copy guidelines

Do Don't
Lead with four pillars + flagship (engineering, data, AI literacy, leadership) Use vague “any STEM goal” in headlines or hero copy
Emphasize data, evidence, and AI literacy alongside CAD and manufacturing Hype AI as magic or allow “AI wrote our portfolio” messaging
Use active verbs: design, analyze, test, present, mentor, decide Corporate nonprofit jargon
Name Apex STEM Education on first reference “Apex” alone
Include geography (NJ, Watchung Hills) Generic national STEM boilerplate
Show pathways to help on every major page Dead-end pages with no CTA
Credit student-owned work; AI as assistant Define the org as “a racing team nonprofit”
Put aspiration (future paths) on About / grants only Imply adults or AI did the engineering

Sample hero alternates (A/B test later — all specific, no “any goal”):

  • Engineering. Data. AI. Leadership. Built here.
  • Hands-on STEM for New Jersey students — design, analyze, and lead through real projects.
  • Where students learn to design, test with data, and present like professionals — starting with national-level STEM Racing.
  • Competitive engineering, data analytics, and AI literacy for Watchung Hills and Somerset County.

10. Technical approach

Per portal plan Phase 2:

Choice Recommendation
Framework Astro — static, fast, easy Cloudflare Pages deploy
Hosting Cloudflare Pages on apexstem.org (zone already connected)
Styling Tailwind CSS or vanilla CSS with design tokens above
Forms Google Form / Tally / Formspree → email aliases
Donations Zeffy embed
Analytics Cloudflare Web Analytics (privacy-friendly, free)
Repo layout sites/apexstem/ (keeps team site at root for Netlify)

Performance targets:

  • Lighthouse 90+ mobile
  • LCP < 2.5s
  • All images WebP, lazy-loaded

SEO:

  • JSON-LD NGO / EducationalOrganization schema
  • OG images per page
  • /news for competition results and program launches (long-tail: “STEM education NJ nonprofit”, “youth data analytics NJ”)

11. Relationship to ridgeracersnj.com

┌─────────────────────────┐     ┌──────────────────────────┐
│     apexstem.org        │     │    ridgeracersnj.com     │
│  Org: mission, programs,│────▶│  Team: car, results,     │
│  data/AI, donate,       │◀────│  video, competition brand│
│  sponsor                │     │                          │
└─────────────────────────┘     └──────────────────────────┘
         │                                  │
         └──────────┬───────────────────────┘
                    ▼
           docs.apexstem.org (login)

Cross-links:

  • Ridge Racers footer → apexstem.org + org line (done in repo root index.html)
  • Apex team page → ridgeracersnj.com
  • Sponsor logos consistent across both sites

12. Phased build plan

Phase 2a — MVP launch (3–4 weeks realistic)

  • [x] Logo mark + visual assets (AI-generated placeholder, ready for professional replacement)
  • [x] Privacy policy page (required before contact/sponsor forms) — draft at /privacy; board review before launch
  • [x] Astro project in sites/apexstem/
  • [x] Pages: Home, About, Programs, Teams/Ridge Racers, Sponsor, Donate, Contact (Impact, News, Get Involved → Phase 2b/2c)
  • [ ] Cloudflare Pages deploy on apexstem.org — see deploy_apexstem_org_cloudflare_pages.md
  • [ ] Zeffy embed + sponsor form live
  • [x] Ridge Racers footer updated with org link
  • [x] OG images, favicon, pillar icons integrated

Phase 2b — Impact & SEO (weeks 4–6)

  • [ ] /impact with 3 stories
  • [ ] /news with Mayor award + Nationals results posts
  • [ ] JSON-LD + OG images
  • [ ] Migrate public contact to @apexstem.org

Phase 2c — Growth (months 3–6)

  • [ ] /get-involved expanded
  • [ ] Data & AI workshop series — pilot clinic (intro Python, data viz, responsible AI)
  • [ ] Second team or school partnership placeholder
  • [ ] Short hero video (org-wide, not racing-only)
  • [ ] Grant-ready “Programs & outcomes” PDF — four pillars + flagship results; aspiration in appendix only

13. Success metrics (Year 1)

Metric Target
Sponsor inquiries via form 10+ / season
Donation page visits → completion Track via Zeffy
Time on site (grant reviewer session) > 2 min avg
Inbound “Are you Apex Learning?” Document; should stay rare

14. Immediate next steps

  1. Board: Approve tightened positioning (four pillars + flagship; aspiration secondary) + hero headline
  2. Design: Logo brief → volunteer designer or Fiverr/99designs (~$200–500)
  3. Dev: Scaffold Astro site on Cloudflare Pages (can start with placeholder logo)
  4. Content: Draft Home, About, and Programs copy — specific stated goals in hero; aspiration on About only
  5. Legal: Confirm donate page language with treasurer (1023-EZ pending)
  6. Team site: Add org footer line to ridgeracersnj.com when apexstem.org is live
  7. Required (not optional): ~~Align business plan §2~~ — done (business plan v1.2)
  8. Brand doc: ~~Supersede racing-only taglines~~ — done (brand_and_trademark.md §6)
Doc Path
Business plan apex_stem_education_business_plan.md
Brand & trademark brand_and_trademark.md
Portal plan Phase 2 apexstem_portal_plan.md
Deploy docs site deploy_docs_cloudflare_pages.md
Portal status portal/STATUS.md

15. Adversarial review (June 2026)

Issues found and resolved in this doc (or flagged for board action):

Severity Issue Resolution
High Hero headline listed 3 pillars; AI literacy missing from H1 while it’s in stated positioning Hero now: Engineering. Data. AI. Leadership.
High Programs intro implied all programs are live; workshops are Year 2 Intro rewritten — flagship today, workshops planned
High Logo brief “abstract peak” conflicts with brand doc (avoid peak/mountain like Apex Learning) Clarified: trajectory/orbit, not mountain icon
High Footer suggested docs.apexstem.org login for volunteers — whole-site Access exposes finance/governance in search Footer now: email/PDF default per volunteer onboarding
High Business plan mission still racing-only; public site claims AI/data pillars Fixed — business plan v1.2 aligned (§2, §4)
Medium “Full STEM stack” read as overly broad Replaced with “four stated pillars”
Medium “AI-ready” in impact strip — vague buzzword Replaced with “Data-driven”
Medium Student mentorship marked Active — program still pilot Status → Pilot / launching
Medium Internal name (“Omesh lane”) in public site wireframe Generic “student-mentor support”
Medium IA lists /impact, /news, /get-involved but Phase 2a omitted them Phase 2a checklist clarified; deferred pages noted
Medium No privacy policy task before live forms Added to Phase 2a
Medium Age band (grades 6–12) missing from public copy Added to subhead and About vision
Medium Footer collapsed 4 pillars into 3 (“Data & AI”) Footer lists all four
Low Hero alt “Watchung Hills and beyond” — vague Tightened to Somerset County
Low Phase 2a “2–3 weeks” optimistic Revised to 3–4 weeks
Low /programs not in original portal plan IA Documented as intentional addition

Resolved in follow-up (June 2026):

Item Resolution
Business plan alignment apex_stem_education_business_plan.md v1.2 — mission, vision, values, §4 updated
Brand taglines brand_and_trademark.md §6 — board-aligned options; racing-only lines marked legacy
Donate / sponsor legal copy Approved-language blocks added to §7 (Donate, Sponsor) — treasurer sign-off before publish

Still open (requires human action outside docs):

  • Treasurer sign-off on donate/sponsor blocks before apexstem.org goes live
  • Attorney clearance before marketing at scale (brand_and_trademark.md)
  • Update public site when IRS determination letter arrives (remove pending language; enable tax-deductible claims)

Design plan — June 2026. Review after logo approval, business plan alignment, and 501(c)(3) determination letter.