Web Design for a Native Wildlife and Habitat Preservation Program

Goals & Challenges

The clients were landowners from Central Texas who had partnered with Tarleton State University. They were seeking an online platform to facilitate communication and provide resources for landowners and residents in the area, offering a unique opportunity to learn how to support and benefit native wildlife and habitats on their properties.

Additionally, the website will serve to present the goals, activities, and progress of the land management efforts by Tarleton State University.

Collecting content materials, such as management plan details (31 practices across 19 activities under 5 goals), species information (125 species categorized into 9 subcategories under 15 main categories), and additional photos showcasing nature and fieldwork, required strong organizational skills and patience.

Resources & Materials

We had several video calls and numerous email exchanges with the client and a coordinator, who was a graduate student. In addition to discussing the project's background and purpose, we reviewed specific details regarding the species and the management plan, including how the client wanted to present them and where to find external resources.

Species study database

While part of the management plan was still under review and expected to undergo some changes, we successfully gathered the key details with the coordinator’s assistance and were able to begin working without delay.

Approach & Outcome

We worked closely with the client to help them focus on gathering materials on schedule.

We restructured and organized the materials to prepare them for the website and carefully planned the site structure, ensuring that each piece of content had a clear purpose. A key feature of our work was creating pages that outlined the management plan in five steps. We designed icons for each step to help viewers easily understand the process, and we included a glossary on the side of each page to assist viewers in finding further information or definitions of unfamiliar terms.

Early stage sketches

Another key feature was the species catalogue. We designed it with easily recognizable category icons, which facilitate navigation and make the site enjoyable to explore. We also assisted in finding species images from Creative Commons.

Other presented designs

We made a conscious effort to use photos of the land taken by the client whenever possible. These images perfectly align with the project's purpose and convey a sense of love for the beautiful land throughout the website.

Inspiring photos taken by client