A new generation of wise thinkers and good leaders
University of Oxford
Web Design, Web Development, Brand Development
Higher Education
The Oxford Character Project is an interdisciplinary initiative from the University of Oxford that focuses on the human dynamics of leadership and the qualities of character that enable leaders to build trust, think with clarity, embrace diversity, empower others, and persevere through difficult times.
Putting character first
Founded in 2014, their team combines expertise in programme design and delivery with academic insight from across multiple disciplines. They approached us looking for a new platform to contribute their knowledge through journal articles and industry reports, which would help them deliver character and leadership development programmes at Oxford, and in other universities and commercial organisations.
Leading with knowledge
As with all our projects, we kicked off the process with our website discovery workshop with the Oxford Character Project team to gain a deep knowledge of their initiative. We understood who they are, their goals and how we could deliver a solution that aligned these goals with their users’ needs.
We discovered an audience comprised of students, academics and business individuals, with a passion for responsible leadership and an opportunity to elevate the Project as thought leaders in their field, championing good character through resources, research and success stories.
We developed detailed wireframes to explore how best to present their breadth of knowledge and information in a clear, easily navigable way.
The website needed to be flexible to allow for both minimal and extensive amounts of content, whilst remaining attractive and highly digestible for the user – with this in mind we strongly believed Craft CMS development was the right choice.
A balance of brands
The Oxford Character Project had the desire to portray an identity of their own, whilst retaining a clear connection with the University, we developed their brand identity, working alongside the University marketing department to achieve this. A minimal, monochromatic colour palette, derived from the University palette is accented by a vibrant green and unique typography to distinguish the project as their own. Soft curves contrast sharp edges for a sophisticated, but friendly aesthetic.
Our design approach was to create a sense of community, with a particular focus on those behind the initiative. The website is rich with imagery of people to help form a more personal connection, while video content portrays their personalities in an engaging user experience.
The heavy lifting of the navigation is handled by a series of cards, displaying the areas of the website and complimented by relevant imagery for a highly visual and tactile approach to exploring the information.
The breadth and diversity of the Project’s alumni community become a living part of the website and the initiative’s history through an interactive map. This allows users to explore through the years, track the progression of the project and gain insight into the programme participants.
A firm foundation
We delivered a clean, easy-to-navigate website that provided a foundational platform to elevate the Project as thought leaders and global practitioners. We helped kickstart their own authority by creating a brand identity that sits firmly within the constraints of the University of Oxford branding whilst retaining a personality all of its own. Their website acts as a repository of information to help and inspire a new generation of wise thinkers & good leaders.
