Power Ahead Colorado (DRCOG)
Overview.
In 2024, the Denver Regional Council of Governments (DRCOG) received nearly $200 million in federal funding to help cut air pollution and greenhouse gas emissions across the Denver metro area. They needed a public-facing website to educate homeowners and contractors about heat pumps, rebates, and support for contractors.
The catch was that nothing existed yet. No site, no content, no approved branding. Building a program like Power Ahead Colorado from the ground up, in a very short timeframe – the grant itself has a planned lifespan of five years – is a lot like building an airplane while flying it, and the website is only one facet of a massive undertaking.
We built the Power Ahead Colorado website from the ground up as a brand-new Drupal site, coordinating with a marketing agency, a custom illustrator, and a contractor hub vendor. Working through evolving requirements and compressed timelines, we delivered a polished MVP that launched on schedule for a region-wide marketing push.
The project continues through a phased release structure, with the site's capabilities expanding as the program grows.
What They Needed.
Building a New Initiative From the Ground Up
DRCOG has been a regional planning organization since the 1950s, with an established brand and digital presence. But Power Ahead Colorado is a standalone initiative with its own public-facing identity, website, and content needs. None of that existed yet.
The branding agency was still developing concepts while we needed to begin planning the site's architecture, user flows, and technical foundation. Content hadn't been written, and the specific programs, page structures, and features were being figured out alongside the initiative itself.
Even the client's understanding of what the site needed to accomplish was evolving. They knew the broad goals (educate homeowners, connect them with rebates and contractors), but the details were taking shape in real time.
The project couldn't wait for everything to be finalized. It needed a foundation flexible enough to grow with a vision that was still forming.
Coordinating Across Multiple Agencies on Parallel Timelines
We weren't the only team working on this initiative. The project involved multiple partners:
- Karsh Hagan developing the visual identity and advertising campaign, along with preparing a comprehensive digital campaign timed to the site launch
- A Colorado-based illustrator creating custom artwork
- BDC, who created the Colorado Contractor Hub
Each of these workstreams had its own timeline, and many were running in parallel. We needed brand assets before the design could be finalised, but those assets were still in development. The contractor hub, which the website needed to integrate with, was being built simultaneously and wasn't fully complete.
The real challenge was building a website that aligned with multiple vendors' outputs while those outputs were still in progress.
An Evolving Scope Tied to a Fixed Launch Date
A major digital advertising campaign was set to drive traffic to the site on January 26, which meant the MVP needed to be live and functional well before that date.
At the same time, the project scope kept shifting. Through discovery and early design, the team learned that certain planned features weren't needed yet while others that hadn't been anticipated became priorities:
- A “Green Careers section” was added mid-project to serve those interested in entering the skilled trades.
- The original "programs and services" approach was replaced with more actionable content that taught users how to participate in programs rather than just learn about them.
- While homeowners were identified as a key audience from the outset, subsequent market research clarified their importance. The research showed that many residents in the area are renters who lack decision-making authority over appliances and heating systems, making pragmatic homeowners a more actionable and strategically important audience.
Every pivot happened while the launch date stayed fixed.
How We Helped.
Translating Unfinished Brand Concepts Into a Working Website
Rather than waiting for the marketing agency to finish its branding work, we worked proactively with what was available. When Karsh Hagan had two unapproved brand concepts, our design lead took both directions and created two full website concept designs. This gave DRCOG a tangible view of how each brand direction would look and function as a digital experience, which helped them make faster, more confident decisions.
Once the brand direction was approved and the final illustrations were delivered, we moved quickly to integrate them into the development environment and start bringing the site to life.
The result was a site that felt cohesive with the broader campaign from day one, with the custom illustrations, brand identity, and digital experience all working together as a unified whole.
Building Flexible Architecture Without Final Content
Since we couldn't wait for finalised content, imagery, or program details before building. Instead, every component was designed with flexibility and scalability at the core.
Cards, modular layouts, and adaptable templates were built to work whether DRCOG had two programs to showcase or twenty. If content was sparse in a section, the components still looked intentional rather than empty.
The custom illustrations presented a particular challenge. DRCOG had invested significantly in artwork from a local Colorado illustrator, and these images needed to look right everywhere: desktop, tablet, and mobile. The homepage features a split-screen banner where two illustrations sit side by side on desktop and stack on mobile. Getting the images to align seamlessly across viewports, without cropping important details, required testing multiple technical solutions before landing on the right approach.
Our front-end team built custom image styles that preserved the integrity of the illustrations at every breakpoint, ensuring the artwork the client had invested in looked exactly as intended across all devices.
Guiding an MVP Through Constant Change
Throughout the project, we helped DRCOG make practical decisions about what belonged in the MVP and what could wait.
We'd designed more than was immediately needed, which turned out to be an advantage. When the marketing campaign deadline created urgency, everyone could look at what had already been designed and select the pieces that were essential for launch. Everything else went into a backlog, ready to be built in subsequent releases.
This required constant communication. Our project manager kept the client informed about how scope changes affected budget and timeline, enabling DRCOG to make educated decisions in real time. Our technical lead proactively identified potential issues (like the HubSpot integration, which wasn't fully defined at the outset) and worked directly with the client's team to sort out requirements rather than waiting for formal specifications.
When user testing was proposed, the client approved every recommendation without hesitation, a reflection of the trust that had developed over the course of the project.
Our own processes had to be adapted to fit the realities of working with a government agency funded by a federal grant. Budget reporting followed stricter requirements than a typical engagement, with specific thresholds that triggered notifications to funders. The project shifted from a sprint-based structure to a release-based structure on Pantheon hosting to better fit the workflow.
These adjustments happened without disrupting the client's experience or the project's momentum.
Words from the client.
I’ve managed a lot of consultants in my career, and I would put ImageX at or above anyone I’ve ever worked with. Their responsiveness, flexibility and communication are topnotch. I would recommend their work to anyone.
- Chris Selk - Program Manager, Communications & Engagement, Power Ahead Colorado
The Results.
MVP Launched on Schedule for a Major Marketing Campaign
Despite coordinating across multiple vendors, and navigating a scope that shifted throughout the project, we delivered a polished MVP on January 13. The site was ready well ahead of the digital advertising campaign that drove traffic starting January 26.
Homeowners across the Denver metro area can now:
- Explore rebate programs and learn about heat pumps and energy-efficient upgrades
- Find approved contractors through an integrated contractor finder
- Access resources to plan their projects with confidence
Contractors can connect with training opportunities, explore green careers, and access the contractor hub. The site serves both audiences through clear, intuitive pathways that reflect how people think about these decisions.
A Scalable Foundation for What Comes Next
The MVP was designed as a starting point, not a finished product. The phased release structure means DRCOG can continue expanding the site's capabilities without reworking what's already been built.
Designs that weren't needed for the initial launch are in the backlog, ready to be developed. The Green Careers section, for example, launched with introductory content and will grow as DRCOG adds more information about jobs, certifications, and training pathways in the skilled trades.
New content types, program pages, and features can be added to the existing foundation as the program matures and the client's needs evolve.
A Partnership Built on Trust
DRCOG's team has consistently expressed that we feel less like a vendor and more like an extension of their own team. Every recommendation we've put forward has been met with openness and trust. When the project required adapting to government contracting requirements, navigating multi-vendor dynamics, or pivoting on scope mid-build, the relationship held because both sides communicated transparently and respected each other's expertise.
That trust has practical consequences. Decisions get made faster, feedback cycles are shorter, and the client has the confidence to keep expanding the scope of the partnership as the program grows.
________________________________________________________________________________________
This project has been funded wholly or in part by the United States Environmental Protection Agency under assistance agreement 00I18200 to Denver Regional Council of Governments. The contents of this document do not necessarily reflect the views and policies of the Environmental Protection Agency, nor does the Environmental Protection Agency endorse trade names or recommend the use of commercial products mentioned in this document, as well as any images, video, text, or other content created by generative artificial intelligence tools, nor does any such content necessarily reflect the views and policies of the Environmental Protection Agency.
