The Challenge
We primarily worked with a core group of the Institute's researchers rather than a full communications team dedicated to the website. This team has multiple obligations at the IND, so we needed to think creatively on how to build and manage both the project and the plan for maintaining the new website over time.
We first identified efficient ways to meet and make decisions, including group working sessions for content, design and features, analyzing some comparator sites and prioritizing simplicity for this initial phase of work. The design palette was governed by the UCSF design system, allowing us to design components and templates that worked interchangeably and incorporated new content. New opportunities for displaying photography are available, but in most cases are not required, since sourcing appropriate imagery can be a time-consuming endeavor.
The Solution: A Collaboration to Overcome Challenges
By emphasizing simple, repeatable "postcard" components across the site, as well as clear headings and a simple interface, we created designs that could feature content without too many distractions. We also created a new "people" section for displaying their most important asset: those doing and facilitating the research. This was a primary interest of the IND: spotlighting the real people bringing hope to patients, families and funders of neurodegenerative research.
What's Next?
The IND team will continue to expand it's research portfolio and the new website will be a key part of helping to spotlight their mission. This first iteration of the site isn't the end of the story. As with most of our projects, we will continue to advise the IND team about improvements to content and features over time, especially as new research is funded, facilities are enhanced and success stories continue to emerge.
