Designing a Window Into Ocean Discovery
MBARI
Role
Creative Director + Project Lead
Agency
Visceral
Services
Discovery · Information Architecture · Content Strategy · Visual Identity · Website Design · Production · Activation
The Challenge
MBARI is one of the world's leading ocean research institutions, advancing the science, engineering, and technologies that underpin our understanding of a changing ocean. Their work matters to a global audience: the international scientific community, the journalists who translate ocean science to the world, and the policymakers shaping ocean and climate policy. But after decades of pioneering research, the platform couldn't deliver it. Critical work was buried by poor organization. Publishing was restricted by a dated CMS. And the design didn't reflect the advanced nature of the science. The site wasn't just underperforming. It was limiting the reach the mission required.
The Approach
A deep discovery period, including stakeholder engagement across MBARI's science, engineering, and operations teams, a full content audit, analytics, and a competitive landscape, defined the path forward. We rebuilt the site as a connected system, surfacing the relationships across MBARI's work: scientific disciplines and the technologies built to advance them, expeditions and the publications they produce, the scientists and engineers behind every breakthrough. A redesigned publications directory, education programs, and outreach tools turned the platform into a global resource for science dissemination, a core directive of MBARI's mission. A new brand identity gave MBARI a visual presence as modern and ambitious as the science. A modernized publishing platform gave the team the tools to keep pace with the science.
The Result
MBARI now has a platform built for the science it produces. A bold new visual identity reflects the institute's standing as a global leader in ocean research. Decades of work, connected and accessible to the world. The mission MBARI was founded on, to advance and disseminate our understanding of the ocean, is now supported by a platform built for it.