Black Flag Design
Keith -> Pascal / PowerAdvice / June 2026
Pascal

Pascal, here is where I need you.

PowerAdvice is far enough along that I need help keeping people oriented. I need your eye on the front end, the CMS, and the way we explain what is done, what is next, and what needs a call.

PowerAdvice homepage screenshot
Ask PowerAdvice screenshot
Signed-in PowerAdvice CMS homepage editor
Keith -> PascalUse this to get into the project fast.
01Stakeholders

Who Pascal needs to understand.

Doug Heikkinen
Advisorpedia founder / editor

Doug Heikkinen

Doug is the taste and trust filter. His feedback has driven the visible product: right rail behavior, masthead wordmark and tagline, channel templates, Ask controls, Purple Wonderland, sponsor divider, and the active-cursor question.

When Doug says something feels off, turn it into a concrete design decision, a before/after, and a review-ready PR with a preview link.

tasteAskchannelssponsor polish
Suzanne Schmitt
Strategic advisor

Suzanne Schmitt

Suzanne needs the clean version of the project: what is ready, what is parked for a call, what still has risk, and whether the path to July 1 is credible.

Do not give her repo noise. Give her timing, scope, confidence, and the decision that needs to be made.

timingscopelaunch confidence
Jakie Beard
Advisorpedia marketing

Jakie Beard

Jakie is part of the channel and marketing read. In the June 15 deck, the team needed Jakie and Tory to lock the 12 launch channels, settle Media vs Podcasts, and keep sub-topics as tags instead of new channels.

For Pascal: help make channel, newsletter, sponsorship, and launch-language decisions easy to review.

channelsmarketingsponsors
Tory Miller
Advisorpedia operator

Tory Miller

Tory's notes have already turned into shipped UI work: the Ask gradient and palette, labeled rail tabs, readable date, no visible Sponsored label, Podcasts taxonomy follow-through, and practical CMS/ad workflow questions.

Treat Tory as the day-to-day operator check. If the CMS or ad setup is confusing, she will feel it first.

CMSadsAsk gradientworkflow
LR
Editorial production

LeeAnn Roy

LeeAnn sits closest to the editorial production reality: research, contributor communication, contributor engagement, article review, and the repeated work that has to happen after launch.

Use her lens for contributor records, article cleanup, source accuracy, and whether the CMS makes repeated editorial work easier.

contributorsarticle reviewproduction
Howard Lee
LFDM growth / SEO

Howard Lee

Howard's lane is the migrated library: locked channels, article master, source URLs, metadata, redirects, search traffic, and MCP review across the full corpus. The June 15 deck put the migration handoff squarely in his lane.

Do not mix Howard with editorial taste. He needs stable taxonomy and reliable tooling so he can work the sheet end-to-end.

SEOmetadatamigrationMCP
This is the people map Pascal actually needs: what each person pushes on and how to use that signal.
02GitHub repo / work split

Start from the repo.

black-flag-collective/power-advice Astro + Convex + CMS + MCP
src/pagesPublic routes: homepage, channels, articles, contributors, Ask, support pages, and the CMS entry route.
src/componentsPublic UI and CMS components. This is where a lot of the visible cleanup will happen.
src/stylesChrome, homepage, channels, article, CMS shell, and responsive styles. Expect visible design polish here.
convexContent schema, CMS data, Ask search, analytics, workflow state, and server functions.
mcp/PowerAdvice CMS MCP tools: article review, migration rows, homepage slots, Ask eligibility, ads, and sponsors.
scripts + cratesMigration, QA, source-content ETL, previews, deploy checks, and evidence jobs.
The product is real. The design is uneven. Doug gave us a useful punch list, but the bigger job is a full design cleanup: public site consistency, CMS usability, mobile polish, and small things that make the build feel unfinished.
Keith

I am holding launch readiness.

Data migration, ads, and the launch path stay with me unless I explicitly hand off a piece.

Article corpus, source URLs, Howard/LFDM migration sheet, metadata, redirects.
Next ad review, sponsor placement questions, and the revenue-side cleanup.
July 1 readiness: what is ready, what is blocked, and what needs a decision.
Pascal

Take the design pass.

Take the design lane confidently. Use staging, UAT, and PR previews to ship the front end and CMS polish.

Run the Head of Design plugin across staging and the CMS, desktop and mobile.
Open review-ready design PRs against the public site and CMS. Attach preview links.
Help turn messy feedback into a clean team note when the design work needs explanation.

Where to look first.

Homepage, channel templates, article pages, Ask / Purple Wonderland, sponsor and ad placements, contributor pages, and the CMS editor/list surfaces. The CMS works, but it has not had a real design pass.

HoD pass = critique, not vibes. Screenshot the site, find the inconsistent spacing/type/states, call out the petty problems, then turn fixes into reviewable PRs.
GitHub repo staging.poweradvice.com LONG-1108
Repo map first. Keith holds migration, ads, launch. Pascal can take design PRs and preview-backed team workflow.
03Product review

Walk the product, then take the design pass.

Two passes matter: what readers see, and what the PowerAdvice team has to use every week. The public site needs consistency. The CMS works, but it has not had a real design pass.

Public siteReader-facing pages

PowerAdvice public homepage
HomepageThe front door: channel mix, latest rail, sponsor placements, Ask entry, and the overall editorial feel.
PowerAdvice channel page
Channel pageWhere taxonomy becomes visible. This has to feel clean because it carries the migrated library.
PowerAdvice article reader
Article readerMake the reading experience deliberate: type, byline, sharing, ad rhythm, and mobile spacing.
Ask PowerAdvice page
Ask / WonderlandThis is the AI-facing surface. Carry the polish into the rest of the site so it feels intentional.
PowerAdvice staging homepage detail
Staging detail passUse this for the petty stuff: spacing, labels, rail alignment, empty states, hover states, and responsive rough edges.

CMSTeam-facing workflows

Signed-in PowerAdvice CMS homepage editor
Homepage editorEditorial control exists. The interface still needs hierarchy, states, and less visual clutter.
Signed-in PowerAdvice CMS articles screen
Article editorThe core production surface. Make scanning, validation, source review, and publishing status easier to read.
PowerAdvice CMS channel manager
ChannelsThis has to support taxonomy cleanup without making the team think about the implementation.
Signed-in PowerAdvice CMS contributor editor
ContributorsContributor records are operational. The screen should help the team spot missing identity and metadata fast.
Signed-in PowerAdvice CMS ads manager
AdsPlacement work is real, but the design should make sponsor inventory and page context easier to reason about.
PowerAdvice CMS media library
MediaImage handling needs obvious affordances: what exists, what is missing, and what is ready to use.
PowerAdvice CMS newsletter manager
NewsletterMake the workflow direct: what is ready, what is missing, and what needs editorial attention.
PowerAdvice CMS pages manager
PagesStatic/support content needs the same polish as article workflows, especially before launch.
Product review first: public site for readers, CMS for the team doing the work.
04Repo + product map

Keep this map open.

This is the working map: repo, public site, CMS, MCP, tickets, PRs, preview targets. Start here when you want to understand where something lives.

GitHub repo Source for the public site, CMS, Convex functions, MCP worker, preview workflows, and deploy jobs.
repo
Public site Reader-facing homepage, channels, articles, contributors, Ask, sponsors, and launch pages.
prodstaginguat
CMS Team-facing operator app for homepage slots, articles, channels, ads, contributors, media, newsletter, and pages.
prod CMSstaging CMSuat CMS
MCP Remote CMS tooling for article review, migration rows, homepage slots, Ask eligibility, ads, and sponsors.
prod MCPstaging MCP
Work queue Linear gives the bucket. GitHub gives the change. Preview URLs give me the thing to review.
LONG-1108PR #540
power-advice/
        src/pages/                         public routes + CMS route
        src/pages/cms/[...cmsPath].astro   CMS app entry
        src/components/cms/                operator UI
        src/components/property/           public PowerAdvice components
        src/lib/source-content/            public content reads
        convex/                            schema, workflow, search, backend funcs
        mcp/poweradvice-cms/               remote MCP worker + tool catalog
        shared/                            content types, channels, CMS field context
        scripts/preview/                   PR preview naming + deploy helpers
        .github/workflows/                 preview, UAT, staging, prod, MCP deploys

How work moves.

Linear branch PR preview UAT staging prod
example preview #538 example preview #540 example implementation PR #526
Repo, product, CMS, MCP, tickets, PRs, previews. This is the operating map.
05Where I need help

What I need from you.

Project help

Help me keep the team oriented.

Take the pile of notes, tickets, previews, and PRs and turn it into the version people can act on.

what changed what is blocked where to look
Front end

Take a real design pass.

Type, spacing, ads, templates, Ask, sponsors, mobile polish.

PowerAdvice channel page
CMS

Make the CMS less rough.

IA, scanning, tables, forms, empty states, workflow clarity.

Signed-in PowerAdvice CMS articles screen
Ask / AI

Help me explain Ask.

Explain current behavior, product boundaries, and launch-ready language.

Ask PowerAdvice screenshot
Freedom

Open design PRs.

Attach the preview link. I can review the actual work and merge from there.

Keith's lane

I am holding migration, ads, launch.

You can still make those areas easier for the team to understand while you take design.

Take the design lane. Use previews. Make the work easier for everyone to see.
06Where you can jump in

This is where I need you, man.

Example: turn the note into a PR-ready pass.

Email -> screenshots and links -> Linear bucket -> UAT PR -> preview -> my review.

Linear LONG-1108
01 Doug email What he saw, in his words.
02 Screenshots + links Show the exact page and state.
03 Design call Say what should change and why.
04 UAT PR Attach the preview link.
05 Team note Before, after, shipped, still open.
PR #538 PR #540 staging uat
This is the opening: take the design lane, ship preview-backed PRs, and make the project easier to review.
07Live review

Start live. Then design.

Review targetsOpen the product, then make the pass

PowerAdvice staging homepage
Staging public siteCurrent shared review target. Start here when you want to see what the team is looking at.
PowerAdvice UAT homepage
UAT comparisonCheck the branch state before judging the design. This is where implementation PRs land first.
PowerAdvice channel page
Channel pageTaxonomy, ad rhythm, spacing, and page hierarchy. This is a high-value design pass.
PowerAdvice article reader
Article readerType, byline, share rail, image treatment, ads, and mobile spacing.
Ask PowerAdvice screen
Ask / WonderlandThe AI surface should feel polished and connected to the rest of PowerAdvice.
Signed-in PowerAdvice CMS homepage editor
CMS homepage editorMake the team's weekly workflow easier to scan. This is real operator design work.
Signed-in PowerAdvice CMS articles screen
CMS article workflowClarify validation, source review, save state, publish state, and what needs attention.
Start with what is live, then make the design pass visible.
08Shipping

Put up the UAT PR.

Default path: branch from uat -> PR into uat -> preview/evidence -> merge -> promote onward.