Women wearing a lab coat - NHGRI

National Human Genome Research Institute

Repositioning Genomic Research

The many scientific breakthroughs, treatments, and ongoing studies made possible by the much-heralded Human Genome Project are too often taken for granted today. NIH’s National Human Genome Research Institute (NHGRI), the primary catalyst for studies that lead to new discoveries and treatments, was getting lost among the myriad of government acronyms. Our challenge was to reposition them as the cutting-edge innovator they truly are.

the forefront of genomics logo, A new state-of-the-art laboratory at the University of North Texas

Positioning

A near 2-year collaborative discovery, undertaken with an NHGRI cross-expertise steering team, revealed that genomics is ubiquitous not only throughout the biomedical research landscape of NIH, but with the private sector across the globe as well. From the Human Genome Project to the present day, NHGRI innovations continue to drive critical research and development thanks to the Institute’s goal to improve the health of all humans through advances in genomics. That goal, and their subsequent achievements would now be articulated to all stakeholders—from the scientific community and grant seekers to the educational community, policy makers, health professionals, and the general public—under the mantra we established: The Forefront of Genomics ®.

Website and Digital Strategy

The more than 4,000 pages of the NHGRI website housed a wealth of important information that was not easily found or shared; users were not staying on the site to read relevant content. After a deep dive into NHGRI’s six main audiences, Grafik provided both a digital strategy to reach those audiences and revisions to the website that would enhance their user experience. Our “search first” strategy for the new image-rich genome.gov features a tagging and taxonomy that serves up new and relevant information while ensuring all the valuable historic content remained, even as we streamlined the new site to “only” 2,000+ pages.

wireframes of NHGRI site

Visual Identity

To match the new positioning and express the excitement and importance of NHGRI, a new visual identity presents a bold and contrasting color palette full of rich and engaging imagery.

nhgri brand creative patterns nhgri mural nhgri brand brochures

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