The Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy (AURA)

Hi, AURA,

We’ve hand-selected these case studies to show you our range and depth of web design and development. As you wade through, you will see that we’ve got the strategic, creative, and technical chops to help AURA spin a CAS website that meets its every need.

Welcome AURA,

On this page, you’ll find the case studies we’ve selected especially for you. All of them showcase the talent, passion, and ingenuity we put into everything we do. Reach out if you have any questions!

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Building a universal brand for astrophysics.

Deep space photograph displays a distant star cluster and nebula

Center for Astrophysics | Harvard & Smithsonian

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Center for Astrophysics | Harvard & Smithsonian

The Challenge

Since its founding over half a century ago, the Center for Astrophysics | Harvard & Smithsonian became one of the leading astronomy and astrophysics centers in the world. But brilliant research didn’t necessarily translate into a brand that told a clear story of who they are and how their discoveries continue to expand humanity’s knowledge of our universe.

Research

We began our engagement with CfA with a two-pronged approach, reviewing existing communications and interviewing some of their top researchers and leadership. To gain an outside view, we also interviewed research partners, funders, and advisory board members. We had two clear goals in mind: understand the CfA, and find out how they’re perceived by the world.

850+

Researchers and staff.

For a life-long space nerd like me, working with CfA was an amazing experience. It was such an incredible privilege to get to interview some of the leading astronomers and astrophysicists in the world and learn more about the discoveries CfA has made and continues to make every day. I know all of us at idfive are immensely proud of the fact that our work is helping CfA tell their story better so they can continue to expand humanity’s understanding of the universe.

Sean Carton

Chief Strategist

Strategy

Our research revealed two key data points: 1) The CfA is regarded as one of the world’s leading astrophysics organizations; but 2) nobody really understood their structure, and that misunderstanding often led to difficulties in securing funding or recruiting scientists. They were doing some of the most amazing science in the world, but outsiders were confused about who was doing it.

Branding

We realized that in order to tell the true story of CfA, their name had to change. We wanted it to communicate CfA’s preeminent position in astronomy and astrophysics while communicating the equity of Harvard’s and the Smithsonian’s contributions. The new name – The Center for Astrophysics | Harvard & Smithsonian did exactly that, emphasizing science over structure.

Design

We wanted to create a visual presentation of the new name to reflect the CfA’s long commitment to science and collaborative discovery. The symbolic gradient of the logo is reminiscent of a stellar spectrum—a key tool of astronomy instantly recognizable by their external audiences—while the logo’s contemporary typography speaks to both today and tomorrow’s discoveries.

CFA RED

CFA VIOLET

Website

The redesigned CfA website, published in March 2021, features copy guided by updated messaging and a design informed by updated brand visuals. The website’s content strategy puts science first by prioritizing ongoing research via a “Big Questions” section, and highlighting research, people, and facilities within the navigation.

Conclusion

Through all of our work, idfive has helped the CfA navigate a complicated institutional environment to ultimately implement a clear, compelling, and consistent brand that speaks to both internal and external audiences. United and energized by the new brand and marketing, communications, and fundraising tools, the CfA can now focus on the incredible research and discoveries that lie ahead.

Expressing the wonder of space exploration.

Nighttime photo of the Milky Way visible over a mountainous horizon

Johns Hopkins APL Civil Space

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Johns Hopkins APL Civil Space

DESIGNING AND DEVELOPING A SPACE EXPLORATION WEBSITE AT THE SPEED OF LIGHT

The Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory (APL) Civil Space project needed a brand new website to communicate the magnitude and “cool factor” of their work — from defending the planet from asteroids to unraveling the mysteries of the universe — to multiple audiences. And they needed it in nine months. It was rocket science. Literally.

Check out the APL Civil Space website.

Going Boldly

Sure, idfive developers had created interactive maps before. But to meet the challenge of galaxy travel, they created a destination map of the universe — going boldly where no developers have gone before.

Number of templates, including an interactive galaxy map

Strategy

Following our tried-and-true script, an idfive team kicked off the project with our Discover360™ process. We spoke with scientists, engineers, management, marketers, and educators. [A side note: These are some awesome, inspiring folks, some of whom worked on the country’s first space program in the ’60s.] We surveyed a wide cross-section of potential site visitors. We geeked out on web analytics and content audits (not to mention interstellar space), and scoped out what others in the field are doing. Armed with all of that data, we were able to share with our partners a creative brief and strategic direction that would inform everything from site architecture to design. Our aha moment: The site needed to appeal to a wide range of audiences — from middle-school students to rocket scientists — without confusing the one or condescending to the other.

Then COVID-19 hit.

But the idfive team and our APL Civil Space partners refused to let a global pandemic get in the way of our momentum. We switched our brainstorming workshop to a virtual format and presented the first rounds of a proposed Information Architecture and wireframes. Following revisions and approvals, we moved to the design phase and presented three concepts. Elements from all three were incorporated into the final design.

To meet the tight timeline and maximize budget, our developers completed the front- and back-end work concurrently with the design phase, relishing challenges like building a map-of-the-galaxy app. Our copywriters made sure that the final copy would appeal to space novices and rocket scientists alike.

Design

The visuals needed to be as awe-inspiring and compelling as space itself. Our design “North Star,” as pointed out in the project creative brief: “Think of the first time you saw the night sky on a clear, moonless night — away from artificial light or interference.” One picture = 1,000 words.

Development

idfive developers took the challenge of engaging site visitors to a new level by creating a Drupal 8 widget with Augmented Reality and 3-D assets that delivers state-of-the-art space instruments to your screen. Or maybe you have an iOS and want to drop the New Horizons spacecraft on your kitchen counter.

Conclusion

The APL Civil Space website engages school children, rocket scientists, and everyone in between with a richly visual, highly interactive experience — one that piques curiosity, encourages further exploration, and induces wonder. Just like the night sky on a clear, moonless night.

Unifying the news hub of a flagship HBCU.

Howard University “The Dig”

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Howard University “The Dig”

Designing an Integrated Web Platform for University Communications

Howard University’s Office of University Communications (OUC) manages an extensive portfolio of print and web properties, including the University’s main site, Newsroom, and Howard Magazine.

With its Newsroom, Calendar, and Howard Magazine websites in Drupal 7, scheduled for an end-of-life in November 2022, the OUC had an opportunity to create a new platform to meet its long-term communications needs.

50

Number of Howard web properties that receive distributed content from The Dig.

"Helping Howard showcase their excellence, community, and vision through this redesign was intensely rewarding. We were committed to re-imagining multiple aspects of their news hub: how stories are discovered, the themes guiding those stories, and the visual language."

Pat Balasavage

SR. USER EXPERIENCE AND INTERFACE DESIGNER

The Strategy

A project with an overarching goal this ambitious—to create a communications centerpiece that would speak to the internal and external audiences of one of the country’s leading historically Black Colleges and Universities—needed to start with extensive research. Our work began with a thorough Discovery process, including remote workshops with members of the Howard communications team that helped uncover internal editorial governance gaps and define the overall spirit of the project. From that collaboration, three themes emerged as central to the Howard story: Research, Community, Philanthropy.

The site also needed to highlight the achievements of Howard’s students, faculty, staff, and alumni, as well as celebrate the “change makers”—those in the Howard community who actively commit to positive social change. With themes and imperatives agreed upon, the idfive team developed an information architecture and wireframes with taxonomy terms to represent the best of Howard University. The taxonomies enabled the Howard team to implement a more effective Create Once Publish Everywhere (COPE) strategy across the institution’s major communications platforms.

UX Design

During user research, we discovered the need to balance the traditional brand look, but address the Howard team’s appetite for boldness and pushing the brand. While the site keeps the recognizable Howard blue, we made sure to use well-placed accents and white space to create areas of color and contrast. Angled elements and a variety of layouts were incorporated throughout the site to “break out of the box,” countering the grid-heavy structure of many news publications. We also emphasized high-quality photography, especially when featuring faces of the Howard community.

The final design leaves site visitors feeling:

Educated, as a reliable source of information with a unique perspective.
Uplifted, with a sense of success and progress.
Trust, that Howard is a worthwhile investment.
Pride, in the tapestry of the Black community.

And how users feel is central to our “neurodesign ux” practice.

Development

idfive developers took extra care to make sure the user experience came to life through hover effects and subtle animations, which help increase the feel of interactivity sitewide. The team also developed a wide variety of hero treatments to keep the different pages fresh, enhance engagement, and drive action.

The Result

The Dig has become the “single source of truth” for Howard University, with relevant content that can be easily shared across platforms.

Giving voice to the liberal arts.

Three U-Dub students sit on a bench on campus

University of Washington College of Arts & Sciences

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University of Washington College of Arts & Sciences

The Challenge

In a world dominated by science, technology, engineering and mathematics, what is the role of the liberal arts? After all, if the “value” of a college education is the immediate return on investment, how can the liberal arts compete with highly-valued majors such as engineering or the applied sciences (eg. computer science)?

Strategy

Our Discover360 process also revealed that the University of Washington College of Arts & Sciences also suffered from a crisis of identity: at a university dominated by scientific research and technological innovation what was the role of the College in the entire UW web ecosystem? The answer came from the students we spoke to. What they cared about was what interested them. Out of this insight came the philosophy that drove our redesign efforts: “Let the Majors Speak for, and Define, The College.”

Design

If the majors were going to speak for the College, the design had to feature their essence: the students and their environments at the university. Our design concept put the people of the College first, highlighting their diversity and their activities while studying at one of the most beautiful institutions in the United States.

Development

At a time when many Colleges of Arts & Sciences/Liberal Arts were shying away from their liberal arts roots, the UW College of Arts and Sciences decided to prioritize their commitment to the liberal arts, emphasizing the liberal arts’ relevance to 21st-century work. We communicated this through interactive tools for prospective students to show that the liberal arts and sciences could lead directly to fulfilling careers.

Conclusion

Our redesign has helped the College of Arts and Sciences at the University of Washington redefine what it means to study the liberal arts in the 21st century, emphasizing both the diversity of thought and the diversity of the student body of the College. Through the use of both stunning imagery and interactive tools that help visitors discover what the liberal arts can mean in the twenty-first century, the new website doesn’t just open up the College to a new generation of visitors but also helps recontextualize and more sharply define the College’s role as part of the greater University of Washington.

There’s more where that came from.

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