Unified, Immersive Website for MBL
We partnered with the Marine Biological Laboratory (MBL) to redesign and consolidate its digital presence—integrating multiple microsites, elevating its visual storytelling, and creating interactive tools for researchers, students, and visitors.
The Marine Biological Laboratory, affiliated with the University of Chicago, is one of the oldest and most prominent private research laboratories in the United States, recognized globally for groundbreaking research and education in environmental and biological sciences.
MBL’s aging website and related microsites lacked mobile responsiveness, visual impact, and brand consistency. Disconnected navigation and duplicate content across sites made it difficult for users to find resources and for content administrators to maintain updates efficiently.
- Consolidate microsites into a cohesive, brand-aligned platform.
- Showcase MBL’s research, programs, and faculty through rich visual media.
- Improve usability and navigation for researchers, students, and visitors.
- Provide flexible tools for content teams to manage pages without sacrificing design consistency.
- Conducted stakeholder interviews, user research, and usability testing to prioritize needs.
- Reorganized the information architecture to unify programs, courses, and research centers under a single navigational structure.
- Developed atomic design patterns and reusable Layout Builder components for flexible, consistent page creation.
- Enhanced storytelling through video, cinemagraph elements, and dynamic content such as real-time Woods Hole weather.
- Built a fully responsive, accessible Drupal 9 site on Pantheon, consolidating multiple microsites into one streamlined experience.
- Introduced specialized landing pages for research centers and courses while maintaining a standardized look and feel.
- Implemented an interactive scientist directory with advanced search and filtering.
- Added the MBL Toolbox—a persistent footer feature giving students, faculty, and researchers quick access to high-demand resources.
By consolidating content, creating reusable design patterns, and enhancing visual storytelling, MBL’s website now serves as both a recruitment tool and a daily resource for its global community of scientists and students. The balance of flexible content tools and brand consistency ensures the site will remain impactful and easy to manage for years to come.
The redesigned MBL site positions the institution as a global leader in biological research and education—delivering a unified, immersive, and resource-rich digital experience for all audiences.
