We set Nomensa a significant challenge by asking for a new and distinctive site, but constraining the design to fit with an existing site and insisting on a short timescale. We are very pleased with the result, which combines clarity and ease of navigation with the flexibility we need to ‘grow’ the site as the LHC project develops.
UK LHC Communications Manager, Large Hadron Collider
The Challenge
The Large Hadron Collider (LHC) project is the largest international collaboration of scientists in history and is setting out to discover more about the origins of our universe.
The LHC website was developed for the same organisation (PPARC) behind the Particle Physics UK website (www.particlephysics.ac.uk) which was also created by Nomensa. The new LHC website emphasises the UK’s role in this project. It needed to communicate clearly the science, the organisation and the excitement of this project to the public, teachers and students. While making advanced physics accessible to all people it also had to provide information and resources suitable for teachers and scientists.
The Process
Nomensa ran a requirements workshop before creating a new logo and design storyboards for the LHC website. First creating an information architecture that was intuitive, Nomensa then developed fully accessible web templates to be integrated with the Defacto Content Management System (CMS). Nomensa assisted with content loading prior to the site launch and delivered CMS training for the LHC communications team to ensure they were confident with managing and developing their website over the 10 – 15 year life time of this huge international project.
The Outcomes
In terms of the design, a clever balance was achieved so that the LHC website retains brand elements of the Particle Physics UK website whilst having a vibrant new visual identity to drive public interest in the project. The result is an exciting, informative website that provides an excellent user experience for the diverse range of audience groups that this website communicates with. We look forward to seeing the results of the LHC experiments and the website grow over the coming months.
