Giving Important Wetland Research a Home Online

Overview

The University of Toronto's Wetlands research team had decades of important research, but no public presence to share it. There was no central platform for the public, policy makers, or fellow researchers to learn about their work or access their findings. They needed a site that would give their research visibility, highlight its significance, and make it easy for anyone to explore. In addition to the website, we created a full brand identity and custom logo to establish a consistent, professional presence across all touchpoints.

Challenges

• No public-facing website or central hub for their work
• Inaccessible to the public despite years of impactful research
• Diverse audience needs, from in-depth research papers to quick project overviews
• Requirement for bilingual (English/French) access
• Need for accessibility compliance for academic and public audiences
• No existing brand identity or logo for the initiative
  

Solution

We created an online home for the Wetlands Solutions project, designed to showcase their research and make it accessible to all, supported by a cohesive new visual identity.

Research Showcase

• Dedicated sections for research projects, publications, and team members
• Media library highlighting coverage and key milestones
• Prominent display of project impacts and metrics
  

Brand & Logo Design

• Developed 3–4 initial concepts, refined with client feedback into a final versatile logo suite
• Provided colour, black/white, horizontal, vertical, and square lockups in multiple formats
• Integrated branding into the website, bilingual navigation, and downloadable resources
  

Bilingual Implementation

• Full French localization for all site content
• Bilingual logo and navigation elements
  

Accessible Design

• Clean, WCAG AA-compliant interface
• Clear navigation for both casual visitors and research specialists
• Mobile-friendly layout for access on any device
  

Process

1. Discovery & Planning: Worked with the team to understand their history, research goals, and audiences.
2. Brand & Logo Design: Created and refined logo concepts aligned with the project's mission and aesthetics.
3. Design & Architecture: Developed a clean, approachable design system that balances academic credibility with public accessibility.
4. Development: Built the site in Webflow for easy updates, using a CMS structure for future scalability.
5. Content Creation & Migration: Collected and organized research summaries, team bios, publications, and media coverage.
6. Launch & Support: Rolled out an English version first, followed by French localization.
   

Outcome

The new Wetlands Solutions website at wetlandsolutions.org now:

• Gives the research team an authoritative public presence for the first time
• Establishes a professional, consistent brand identity
• Makes decades of work accessible to researchers, policy makers, and the public
• Meets Canadian bilingual standards and WCAG AA accessibility compliance
• Presents the research in a clear, engaging way to diverse audiences