Website & Logo for MIT AeroAstro
We have worked with the AeroAstro communications team for over 15 years, so we were over the moon (pun intended) to bring their logo — that we designed over a decade ago — to life in a new way with a redesigned website, featuring an expanded visual identity and color palette.
When creating websites, we make purposeful choices about design and consider both the website visitors as well as the web administrators. The new AeroAstro website features animation on the homepage that is not only visually engaging for a user when they land, but also is a subtle nod to air streams. Scrolling down, you will find a variety of content and animated icons to engage users with the content and research areas, which we illustrated to mimic the patches that are so unique to pilots and astronauts. The icons serve as a visual highlight not only on the homepage but also on the people profiles and research areas.
DigitalUX DesignWebsite DesignWebsite Development
IndustryEducation
AwardsWeb Excellence Award
Backend Automation
We built in lots of automation, so related content such as faculty profiles and impact stories could be displayed on different pages without adding to the site admin workload. The researcher profiles give the opportunity for consistent information for each person while allowing for individualization of information — did you know that one of the researchers had a Barbie doll created to acknowledge her achievements?
Animated Research Area Icons
One of the biggest challenges for this project was synthesizing what each research area is all about into one icon. We worked with the AeroAstro team to learn about their amazing research and created a set of icons that were representative but also not too specific to one area of the research. To elevate the interaction, we added some fun animation custom to each.
Templates for Lab Sites
The site also includes several page styles for individual labs to create their own sub-site that feels cohesive while allowing flexibility for various content needs. Lab administrators have unique CMS permissions to create and add their pages, while the main AeroAstro site is only editable to the communications team. This gives flexibility to the individual teams while ensuring a proper level of control over the overall website.
This Logo is Out of This World
Over 10 years ago, AeroAstro was our very first client at MIT and we designed their logo. How cool is it to think our logo is actually 24,000 miles in space and will last, hmm, one billion years! Read about how this logo made it into space.
