National Academies

To help the National Academies build on their legacy of excellence, we elevated the brand to better capture the authority and impact of their work, modernizing the visual identity through a refreshed typography system and expanded color palette inspired by their publications.

At the same time, the site was restructured to surface their most influential research more clearly, improving discoverability through topic-driven entry points and simplified paths across their content ecosystem.

By bringing together previously fragmented platforms and aligning the National Academies' brand more closely with its research and influence, the new experience reinforced their credibility and made their contributions more visible to their stakeholders and the public.

The experience also brings the institution’s human dimension forward. By highlighting the experts, committees, and collaborative processes behind the work, the platform tells a clearer story about the National Academies’ unique ability to convene leading minds and turn evidence into guidance.

We transformed the National Academies experience from a fragmented content archive into a connected, approachable ecosystem where users can clearly understand what the organization does and what they gain from it. 

Previously, the site often presented content out of context, making it difficult for users to see the bigger picture of the organization’s work and rigorous process. By unifying the design system, restructuring information architecture, and establishing more connectivity across content types, we encouraged users to move seamlessly across the site and explore the relationships between projects, processes, and output. What was once a disjointed and sprawling experience is now structured, intuitive, and purpose-driven, giving both users and internal teams the clarity and tools needed to communicate, discover, and scale the organization’s impact.

The transformation was not only public-facing. It also addressed a critical operational need: enabling teams across the National Academies to manage, publish, and maintain content more efficiently.

We introduced a flexible template system designed to support the full lifecycle of the organization’s work, from emerging topics and committee activity to published research and public engagement. This gives internal teams more autonomy while maintaining consistency across design, navigation, and content structure.

A redesigned data architecture and content model make the platform easier to search, maintain, and scale over time. At the same time, the new structure helped produce alignment across the organization, helping previously disparate units present their work consistently and tell the story of the National Academies and its mission with clarity.