Research for Action
A brand identity and website for an organization looking to balance creative expression with educational expertise.
Project Type
Visual Identity, Web Design
Studio
Radish Lab
Role
Design Director
Research for Action
A brand identity and website for an organization looking to balance creative expression with educational expertise.
Project Type
Visual Identity, Web Design
Studio
Radish Lab
Role
Design Director
Research for Action
A brand identity and website for an organization looking to balance creative expression with educational expertise.
Project Type
Visual Identity, Web Design
Studio
Radish Lab
Role
Design Director
Introduction
Research for Action (RFA) is passionate about high-quality education and advancing racial and social justice. They came to us because their website wasn’t serving them: users couldn’t quickly locate the content they needed, or understand the full breadth of RFA’s expertise as a national program and policy organization.
We set out together to create an engaging website that would communicate RFA’s expertise in a clear, beautiful, and grounded way, to an audience ranging from educators to policymakers.
Introduction
Research for Action (RFA) is passionate about high-quality education and advancing racial and social justice. They came to us because their website wasn’t serving them: users couldn’t quickly locate the content they needed, or understand the full breadth of RFA’s expertise as a national program and policy organization.
We set out together to create an engaging website that would communicate RFA’s expertise in a clear, beautiful, and grounded way, to an audience ranging from educators to policymakers.
Introduction
Research for Action (RFA) is passionate about high-quality education and advancing racial and social justice. They came to us because their website wasn’t serving them: users couldn’t quickly locate the content they needed, or understand the full breadth of RFA’s expertise as a national program and policy organization.
We set out together to create an engaging website that would communicate RFA’s expertise in a clear, beautiful, and grounded way, to an audience ranging from educators to policymakers.
Approach
We wanted to not only polish the site, but also support and amplify Research for Action’s position as a leading voice on educational equity. To do this, we worked to sharpen RFA’s messaging, elevate their experts, and refresh their narrative.
We collaborated with RFA’s Director of Communications to bring their brand messaging in alignment with their identity and expertise. We built out RFA’s team profiles and tagging taxonomy to emphasize their staff’s expertise, and developed nuanced content relationships. As users move through the new website, they’re presented with an engaging, comprehensive story of RFA’s impact. We prioritized:
Clarity
Streamlining and translating the who, what, and why of RFA’s mission.
Ease
Providing content for ‘skimmers, swimmers, divers’ within a flexible, scalable structure.
Engagement
Moving beyond awareness-raising to perception-shifting.
The creative solution
Data with humanity
Approach
We wanted to not only polish the site, but also support and amplify Research for Action’s position as a leading voice on educational equity. To do this, we worked to sharpen RFA’s messaging, elevate their experts, and refresh their narrative.
We collaborated with RFA’s Director of Communications to bring their brand messaging in alignment with their identity and expertise. We built out RFA’s team profiles and tagging taxonomy to emphasize their staff’s expertise, and developed nuanced content relationships. As users move through the new website, they’re presented with an engaging, comprehensive story of RFA’s impact. We prioritized:
Clarity
Streamlining and translating the who, what, and why of RFA’s mission.
Ease
Providing content for ‘skimmers, swimmers, divers’ within a flexible, scalable structure.
Engagement
Moving beyond awareness-raising to perception-shifting.
The creative solution
Data with humanity
Approach
We wanted to not only polish the site, but also support and amplify Research for Action’s position as a leading voice on educational equity. To do this, we worked to sharpen RFA’s messaging, elevate their experts, and refresh their narrative.
We collaborated with RFA’s Director of Communications to bring their brand messaging in alignment with their identity and expertise. We built out RFA’s team profiles and tagging taxonomy to emphasize their staff’s expertise, and developed nuanced content relationships. As users move through the new website, they’re presented with an engaging, comprehensive story of RFA’s impact. We prioritized:
Clarity
Streamlining and translating the who, what, and why of RFA’s mission.
Ease
Providing content for ‘skimmers, swimmers, divers’ within a flexible, scalable structure.
Engagement
Moving beyond awareness-raising to perception-shifting.
The creative solution
Data with humanity
A restrained look and feel
When it came to the look and feel of the website, we wanted to communicate that RFA brings rigor to their work and is driven by research, while maintaining the authentic, restrained, and community-focused feeling. We balanced a limited selection of photography with data illustrations that represented RFA’s qualitative and quantitative research.
A restrained look and feel
When it came to the look and feel of the website, we wanted to communicate that RFA brings rigor to their work and is driven by research, while maintaining the authentic, restrained, and community-focused feeling. We balanced a limited selection of photography with data illustrations that represented RFA’s qualitative and quantitative research.
A restrained look and feel
When it came to the look and feel of the website, we wanted to communicate that RFA brings rigor to their work and is driven by research, while maintaining the authentic, restrained, and community-focused feeling. We balanced a limited selection of photography with data illustrations that represented RFA’s qualitative and quantitative research.
Color and type to support existing systems
For the website’s visual and design approach, we leaned into warm, subtle, and organic colors, layering in tonal background patterns and cool gradients. For the typography, we selected a softer serif for big statements that was a part of their existing brand system and report design, supported by a secondary serif that was more legible for body copy.
Color and type to support existing systems
For the website’s visual and design approach, we leaned into warm, subtle, and organic colors, layering in tonal background patterns and cool gradients. For the typography, we selected a softer serif for big statements that was a part of their existing brand system and report design, supported by a secondary serif that was more legible for body copy.
Color and type to support existing systems
For the website’s visual and design approach, we leaned into warm, subtle, and organic colors, layering in tonal background patterns and cool gradients. For the typography, we selected a softer serif for big statements that was a part of their existing brand system and report design, supported by a secondary serif that was more legible for body copy.
Subtle illustrations to elevate expertise
When it came to bringing RFA’s expertise to life, we needed to balance ideas of creative expression and professional polish, while generating an inviting, authentic, and hands on feel. To accomplish this, we designed custom illustrations and applied them throughout the website to bring warmth and a personal touch to the descriptions of RFA’s expertise, projects, and approach.
Subtle illustrations to elevate expertise
When it came to bringing RFA’s expertise to life, we needed to balance ideas of creative expression and professional polish, while generating an inviting, authentic, and hands on feel. To accomplish this, we designed custom illustrations and applied them throughout the website to bring warmth and a personal touch to the descriptions of RFA’s expertise, projects, and approach.
Subtle illustrations to elevate expertise
When it came to bringing RFA’s expertise to life, we needed to balance ideas of creative expression and professional polish, while generating an inviting, authentic, and hands on feel. To accomplish this, we designed custom illustrations and applied them throughout the website to bring warmth and a personal touch to the descriptions of RFA’s expertise, projects, and approach.
A robust website for robust content
As a research-focused organization, RFA has an incredible amount of information to share with its many audiences: policymakers, practitioners, philanthropists, and the public at local, state, and national levels.
To make sure that each of their audiences can find exactly what they need, we performed a content audit to build a picture of RFA’s universe. Then, we collaborated to develop a mega menu and highly filterable resource library – allowing users to navigate multiple levels of content and to find exactly what they are looking for, right when they need it.
A robust website for robust content
As a research-focused organization, RFA has an incredible amount of information to share with its many audiences: policymakers, practitioners, philanthropists, and the public at local, state, and national levels.
To make sure that each of their audiences can find exactly what they need, we performed a content audit to build a picture of RFA’s universe. Then, we collaborated to develop a mega menu and highly filterable resource library – allowing users to navigate multiple levels of content and to find exactly what they are looking for, right when they need it.
A robust website for robust content
As a research-focused organization, RFA has an incredible amount of information to share with its many audiences: policymakers, practitioners, philanthropists, and the public at local, state, and national levels.
To make sure that each of their audiences can find exactly what they need, we performed a content audit to build a picture of RFA’s universe. Then, we collaborated to develop a mega menu and highly filterable resource library – allowing users to navigate multiple levels of content and to find exactly what they are looking for, right when they need it.
Credits
Project Team
Dylan Demanski, Senior Strategist
Partners
Allison Murawski, Samantha Slade
Typefaces
Acumin, Robert Slimbach
Cheltenham Pro, ITC
Sentient, Indian Type Foundry
Credits
Project Team
Dylan Demanski, Senior Strategist
Partners
Allison Murawski, Samantha Slade
Typefaces
Acumin, Robert Slimbach
Cheltenham Pro, ITC
Sentient, Indian Type Foundry
Credits
Project Team
Dylan Demanski, Senior Strategist
Partners
Allison Murawski, Samantha Slade
Typefaces
Acumin, Robert Slimbach
Cheltenham Pro, ITC
Sentient, Indian Type Foundry