Three design directions for the Maryland Vapor Alliance
Each direction is a complete, working front end covering the same five screens: the public home page, the member dashboard, the listing submit/edit form, the member membership & billing section, and the staff admin dashboard. All three use the real membership levels, real member records, and real revenue figures pulled from the live mdsmokefree.com database — so what you're comparing is the design, not the data.
Annapolis
Institutional editorial. Ivory paper, deep slate chrome, serif headlines set on hairline rules. Reads like a trade association that testifies before a legislature — credible with legislators and reassuring to a shop owner writing a $250 monthly check.
Newsreader (serif headings) + Public Sans (body). Dark sidebar app shell, dense data tables, restrained gold and deep red accents.
Palette
Feels like
A policy institute annual report. Serious, durable, unmistakably a body that represents someone.
Best if
Advocacy is the lead story and the directory supports it.
Wayfinder
Warm, light, directory-first. A map and a search bar lead the home page; everything else is card grids on cream paper. The friendliest of the three and the easiest sell to a shop owner who mainly wants foot traffic.
Archivo (headings) + Karla (body). Light app shell with a top tab bar, soft shadows, Maryland red as the dominant action color.
Palette
Feels like
A modern civic business directory. Approachable, current, built to be browsed on a phone.
Best if
Driving customers to member shops is the headline benefit.
Chesapeake
Dark operational product. Near-black ground, Maryland gold as the single accent, monospace for every identifier and timestamp. The admin side carries a real Stripe sync panel with a webhook log — the direction that most looks like software the association runs on.
Epilogue (headings) + IBM Plex Sans (body) + IBM Plex Mono (data). Dark throughout, public side included.
Palette
Feels like
A well-built operations console. Confident, technical, distinct from every other trade group site.
Best if
You want the platform to feel like a serious product, not a brochure.
What's the same across all three
The five membership levels, as they exist today
General (free), Supporter $100/mo, Single Shop Owner $250/mo, Multi Shop Owner (2) $500/mo, Multi Shop Owner (3+) $750/mo — each with its live annual price and listing allowance.
Upgrade and downgrade behavior
Upgrades apply immediately with prorated charges and open listing slots right away. Downgrades queue for the renewal date, and when the new level allows fewer listings the member picks which stay live.
Listing submission with staff review
Name, address, and logo changes re-enter an approval queue. Hours, phone, and description publish immediately. Every listing carries a compliance attestation.
Your stated constraints
No two-tone or mixed-font headings, no pill shapes, no eyebrow labels above headings. Every heading is one weight, one color, one family.