/ Design History ← Index
The Making Of

Relay, from the beginning.
Every version. Every era.

From GitHub markdown files and a Google Drive folder to a full agentic context platform. This is the complete design and product history — every version linked, every era annotated. The kind of record that matters when you're building something that might last.

5
Design eras
18
Months building
0→
Zero code to platform
Era 0 · Origin
Before the product
2024 — Early 2025

Relay existed before it was built. The first "version" was a GitHub repository of markdown files and a Google Drive folder of documents — briefs, decision logs, product specs, and context scattered across the exact tools the product would eventually solve.

The problem was lived before it was named. AI sessions were starting blank. Context was lost every time a session ended, a contractor finished, or a document moved. The only way to carry anything forward was copy-paste. Relay was the answer to a question being asked daily.

GitHub Markdown Google Drive Google Docs Zero code
“The earliest Relay was a README and a folder of docs. We were solving our own problem before we knew we were building a product. The irony wrote itself."
Screenshots to be added. Early GitHub READMEs, Google Docs briefs, and pre-product context documents — the raw material that became Relay.
No live prototype · pre-product era · 2024 Archive pending →
Era 1 · First Build
V1 Marketing Site
Nov 2025

The first HTML prototype. A single page — the product moved from documents to a designed surface for the very first time. Early brand exploration: what does Relay look like? What does it say to a stranger?

No shared component library. No design tokens. No nav. Just a page that proved the concept could be communicated visually. The dark palette appeared here and never left. The teal accent appeared here and never left. The first time someone outside the building could understand what Relay was.

HTML CSS IBM Plex Sans Single page No shared tokens
First appearance of #0d1117 background, #00D9C8 accent, and "context transfer" as the core product framing.
web/v1 · single page · Nov 2025 Open V1 →
Era 2 · Design System
V2 Marketing Site
Jan 2026

The first full multi-page build. This is where the Relay design system was born — shared CSS tokens, component patterns, the nav, the footer. Every version since has inherited this foundation.

Product, Platform, About, Contact — the site became a place, not just a page. The Source / Share directional framing took shape. The relay visualizer appeared. The first version a real user could navigate and understand.

HTML relay.css (v1) CSS tokens Multi-page DM Mono Component library
relay.css was written here. The token system — --bg, --accent, --surface — established for all future versions. Still in use today.
web/v2 · 6 pages · Jan 2026 Open V2 →
Era 3 · Full Platform
V3 Marketing Site
Mar 2026

The Loop program launched publicly. relay-nav.js became a shared JavaScript component across all pages — the first time the site had real infrastructure underneath it, not just styled HTML.

Six pages. Unified navigation. A coherent product story from hero to footer. The "pipe runs both ways" framing. The how-it-works accordion, use case panel, and tier grid all appeared here in their final commercial shape.

relay-nav.js Loop program 6 pages Unified nav JetBrains Mono Shared JS component
First version with a true shared JavaScript nav and a fully coherent platform story. The site stopped being a brochure and became a product.
web/v3 · 6 pages · Mar 2026 Open V3 →
Era 4 · Launch Ready · Current
Canonical Marketing Site
Apr 2026

Patent-reviewed. Full Loop program. Primer-aligned design tokens. Cloudflare Turnstile, consent-gated analytics, OTP email verification, access code flow, and a complete dark/light/auto theme system. The version that ships on lawyer sign-off.

Every word reviewed. Every claim considered. The product is fully real here — real pricing, real architecture, real auth. The site and the product finally match each other.

Current canonical Primer tokens Turnstile OTP verify Dark / Light / Auto Patent-reviewed Dub Analytics
The shift from developer tool to platform. First version to show real pricing tiers and a commercial proposition with legal backing. The product earned this version.
web/current · canonical · Apr 2026 Open Current →
Era 5 · In Progress
Warm Direction — V5
May 2026 →

A new door into the same product. The current site speaks fluently to developers — terminals, monospace, architecture diagrams. V5 speaks to anyone who loves using AI, regardless of technical background. Serif headlines. Warm off-white base. Human handoff metaphors instead of agent windows.

Guiding principle: the simplicity of a paperclip. Clean lines. Immediately understood. No instructions required. Beautiful in its clarity. The product doesn't change — the door does.

Georgia serif Warm off-white Light-first Human metaphors No terminals In concept
First version designed for users who love AI but don't think of themselves as technical. The product has earned this audience. Time to meet them properly.
Prototype in progress. Concept reviewed May 2026 — build begins on direction approval. Will live at relayctx/v2/ in this index.
relayctx/v2 · concept stage · May 2026 Coming →