Case study: ERIC North East

ERIC North East

Part of Tyne & Wear Archives & Museums, the Environmental Records Information Centre (ERIC) North East is based at the Hancock Museum and is primarily funded through the provision of data services to ecological professionals as well as local and national Government agencies. It collects and collates data from wildlife recorders which informs decision making about the natural environment.

Comprehensive, accessible and reliable information on the species and habitats of the North East is essential to inform conservation of the natural environment for the future, and the majority of the data collected by ERIC comes from voluntary recorders and naturalist groups.

ERIC sought dodio’s expertise to create a website which would not only enable wildlife recorders to log and categorise sightings accurately but would also provide an engaging and informative resource for enthusiasts and partners.

WEB DESIGN & BUILD

In order to meet ERIC’s multifaceted brief, we created a web solution with dual functionality. On the one hand, an online recording facility to enable volunteers to securely submit accurate data on wildlife sightings and on the other, an engaging and responsive site which would act as a resource for wildlife enthusiasts and encourage engagement in the recording process.

The new site benefits from a clearer web structure enabling users to find relevant content immediately. To bring the site to life and increase engagement with the wider public, the site also features fresh content about the wildlife in the region and the people involved in this work behind the scenes. This is also shared across the blog and social media feeds that we have added to the site.

The client requested that the new site would make its commercial wildlife data request service more accessible by providing an e-commerce facility on the website. We created a new multi-step order form which is both responsive and user-friendly, making the customer journey easier and more positive.

When developing the visual concepts for the website, we took inspiration from ERIC’s current brand and developed multi-coloured concentric rings which feature throughout the site. The colours represent the full gamut of wildlife whilst the rings echo the rings of a tree which in itself is nature’s record of the environment throughout the ages.