Build something out of this world.
- Custom Development
- APIs & Integrations
- Web Design
- Mobile And Responsive
- UX Research
- Mapping & Implementation
- Paid Search Advertising
- Marketing Analysis & Strategic Recommendations
A partnership fit for the stars.
As America’s first planetarium, Adler is a Chicago landmark. They’re dedicated to sharing their passion for the universe with the universe. Each year, over half a million visitors come to see their interactive exhibits, live shows, and educational events. Our ongoing partnership is something we’re proud to be a part of, both as Chicagoans and lifelong learners. Adler encourages people to “look up,” but as their digital strategic partners, we continue to help them “look ahead.”
Projects 1
Adler Teen Database
The Process
Empowering youth on education.
The Adler team had an idea for a new tool to increase the efficiency of their operations, but little definition around specific features and functionality. Together, we worked with them to build a solution that caters to their multiple users and multiple types of programming.
Designed to support content.
The design is highly functional, aiming to give people the information they need and nothing they don't. The public-facing landing page is colorful and playful to inspire excitement in students about the programs. When users login, the design shifts to a more simplistic dashboard with clear information hierarchy to make finding what they need as easy as possible.
Smart and steady wins the race.
Each of the three major components—events, programs, and hangouts—had distinct behavioral requirements, oftentime overlapping in functionality. Because of the technical requirements of the build, QA expanded into rounds of iterative testing. We broke testing into silos—focusing on isolated functionality to error-proof each user interaction. With strict agendas, clear communicated context, and the active partnership of Adler, we were able to ensure a successful launch, the first time.
We have liftoff.
The platform streamlines many of their day-to-day activities and allows their team to make more informed decisions. Rather than manual result entry, it automatically synthesizes data about participating students and subjects. In addition, it provides Adler the ability to manage events, programs, and hangouts.
The Solution
The new database provides a simple and intuitive user experience that lets Adler’s team easily track key statistics and deliver that information succinctly and effectively to stakeholders.
Adler Teen Database homepage
Structured the content to both meet the needs of Adler’s team and reflect the priorities of funders
Designed to make a complex site as clean and intuitive, yet informative as possible
Created a dynamic “map of participation” that pulls from the database to show updated program information in real-time
Built a simple, flexible content management tool within the database for Adler to easily update the program fields of the homepage content
Leveraged Laravel framework to build the dual promotional, public-facing side, and an internal portal
Conducted extensive QA to ensure a successful, bug-free launch
Adler Teen Database dashboard
Built an intuitive system for editing upcoming programs
Designed a simple and clean dashboard with clear information hierarchy to make it as easy to use as possible
Laid main content in the middle of the page and any supplemental information stacked strategically to the right
Enabled users with different ways to quickly utilize the database and duplicate information
Built an intuitive system for editing upcoming programs
Designed a simple and clean dashboard with clear information hierarchy to make it as easy to use as possible
Laid main content in the middle of the page and any supplemental information stacked strategically to the right
Enabled users with different ways to quickly utilize the database and duplicate information
Project 2
The Adler 'Scope
The Process
A blog to match their brand.
Adler’s blog, The Adler Scope, is one of the primary ways they communicate with their audiences. With so many changes happening across the organization’s digital experiences, it needed to change to match the look and feel of their new brand. We incorporated subtle interactive hover effects and a smooth category filter animation, the design complements the content without distracting and encourages users to explore.
The Solution
We redesigned the blog, bringing their energy and enthusiasm for astronomy to life on the page. The blend of playful color swatches with simple animations engages users as they explore the blog.
The Adler 'Scope landing page
Modernized front-end design to keep the Adler’s digital brand consistent across experiences
Incorporated subtle interactive design elements to complement the content-heavy resource, including smooth category filter animations and minor hover effects
Project 3
The Kavli Series
The Process
A microsite for a mighty series.
In 2018, the Adler produced a Kavli lecture series about frontier research and wanted to spark interest and attract more attendees. We collaborated with their team to create a microsite where users can dive into detail about the speakers and topics, and also engage—with the option to host a viewing party or become a partner.
The Solution
The site’s design accomplished its purpose—it built anticipation for the event with unique elements like infinite starfield background and subtle planet animations. The series was broadcast to 22 cities, 7 countries, and 5 continents.
The Kavli Series microsite
Designed to encourage exploration, engagement, and anticipation for the series
Used a full dome landing impression to tease the experience users would get with the series
Created a mock 3D experience with animations, including starfield backgrounds and microplanet animations
Ensure top performance across all browsers by strategically designing with page speed in mind
Project 4
Main site improvements
The Process
To infinity and beyond.
For the past 3 years (and counting!), we’ve partnered with Adler to discover opportunities to engage with their users. We meet regularly to brainstorm new digital opportunities in accordance with new programs they have coming down the pipeline. For example, with Apollo 8 celebrating its 50th year anniversary, Adler’s 2019 programming theme is the moon. Our team brainstormed and presented 4 unique homepage engagements to help spark interest and drive users to explore these special events.
The Solution
We love working with people who are as passionate about what they do as we are. Collaborating with Adler to tackle challenges, discover solutions, and think of new ways to engage with their audience is an exciting, ongoing partnership that we’re proud to be a part of, both as Chicagoans and lifelong learners. On projects big and small, we’re committed to helping the organization continue to further their mission as Adler’s strategic digital partners.
Drove engagement and improved conversions on the site with ongoing UX enhancements
Redesigned and replaced an integrated ticketing system to improve the experience and performance of the ticket buying process
Added functionality to enhance the visual presentation and management of event content
Improved infrastructure to reduce load times
Designed and built a custom calendar
The Results
4
launches (and counting)
110%
CTR increase since launch for Google Grants Program
53%
increase in conversion rate since launch for Google Grants Program
$160k