WildCRU
Explore the website here
Designing a digital ecosystem for global conservation research
Part of the University of Oxford’s Department of Biology, WildCRU is a world-leading conservation research unit working across continents to protect wildlife through science. With an extensive body of interconnected studies, species, projects and people, their digital platform needed to do far more than present information – it needed to make complex knowledge accessible, engaging and meaningful.
The project began with an in-depth discovery session to understand the structure of WildCRU’s research, the importance of its conservation work and how different audiences interact with its content. From there, we developed a clear visual direction and site architecture before creating a detailed tagging strategy designed to manage the relationships between species, projects, programmes and researchers, ensuring content surfaced intuitively throughout the platform.
Built as both a research hub and storytelling space, the website balances clarity and functionality with striking photography, thoughtful navigation and immersive user journeys. A bespoke interactive map allows users to explore research by country and instantly uncover related projects, bringing WildCRU’s global impact to life.
The result is a robust and intelligent digital platform that brings order to complexity while reflecting the scale, credibility and international reach of WildCRU’s conservation work.
The website looks fantastic. Thank you to the Shine team for all your hard work, creativity and support throughout the project. Your patience and collaborative approach made a huge difference, and the final result is a massive credit to everyone involved.
