As a cohesive, statewide effort, the ERC wanted to convey the mission and vision of the Illinois Monarch Project (IMP) in a thoughtful, clear, and powerful way.  With numerous stakeholders and strategic partnerships at play across sectors including agriculture, urban and protected lands, rights-of-way, and the general public, the ERC was intent on keeping their focus on the future.  This meant making sure each agency had their voice heard and an active role in protecting the monarch.  

Our primary goal was differentiating the ERC and IMP from other conservation and environmental research sites focused on the monarch, while reinvigorating IMP stewards about what the project was and sought to achieve.  Similarly, we wanted to address the issue of inconsistent brand messaging and poor visibility by crafting a cohesive brand story with a clean, professional, yet personable appeal. 

Our objective at this stage was to refine the brand identity – specifically, a landing page with illustration, copy, UX and front end design – to improve brand positioning and help the IMP promote the second statewide Monarch Summit, as well as distribution of the Illinois Monarch Action Plan.  

We began by taking a glance at the competitive landscape.  How were other state agencies and institutions sharing their Action Plans and monarch conservation efforts?  We met on a recurring basis with ERC staff and steering committee members for strategic workshops, asking ourselves, what is the one thing we want people to feel?   We crafted a comprehensive style guide including typography, color palette, graphics and illustration, and tone of voice.   

After distilling the Action Plan, we realized that this would be a much more comprehensive site build than initially anticipated.  We took the approach of a scrolling web design with individual tabs for each core stakeholder group highlighting their specific role in monarch conservation.