A world-renowned leader in Earth-saving scientific research, The Cary Institute of Ecosystem Studies came to us seeking a brand refresh, an update to a Drupal 8 CMS, and optimized messaging of their expertise and impact with the planet’s most pressing problems.
Our provided framework made for more compelling donor engagement and connection with Cary’s core audiences of policymakers, academics, practitioners, and the public. The new CaryInstitute.org gives their team the flexibility to respond to any changing digital needs, allowing their website and mission to evolve together.
Strategy
Tailored Global Initiatives
WDG’s history and familiarity with globally conscious research institutes served as an invaluable asset during the initial discovery phase for this project. Our team implemented a thoughtfully tailored and comprehensive conversion-driven digital strategy for Cary.
A seamless mobile-first approach enhanced their UX with streamlined navigation, better site search, and custom integrations. Their content and CTAs were repositioned to maximize donations, user engagement, brand awareness, and SEO metrics.
CMS
Thriving Drupal Ecosystem
With a move to Drupal 8, our development team created flexible content components across their site, allowing them to more easily adapt their page templates to their resources and better highlight their featured areas of expertise e.g., Freshwater, Forests, and Disease Ecology.
Creating parts of the new site from the existing framework provided Cary’s administrators more autonomy and as with any successful build, the real value proposition is allowing our partners to do what they value most.
Design
Style as Substance
Our designers sustained and revitalized Cary’s visual brand with clean minimalism, fresh font faces, and a color pallet that evokes earthy tones to draw in users and foster engagement.
The aesthetic blends academic authority with a modern feel — choosing fonts with character such as Playfair interwoven with punches of color on accent pieces as iconography and punctuation to create a look as lush as Mother Earth.
