Forming a digital identity for ESCoE

The Economic Statistics Centre of Excellence is a hub of world-leading expertise built around the analysis of emerging and future issues in measuring the economy.

Many of ESCoE’s researchers are based globally so their website is critical to forming identity and having something that is recognisably ‘us’.

So when it was time to update their website the centre needed someone to help form and display their brand identity in a clear and compelling way to encourage visitors to come back for a return visit.

ESCoE also wanted the website to enable them to tell the story of their various research projects. The old site wasn’t a suitable site window to what they are doing, nor did it reflect the cutting-edge nature of their research.

The web development project posed an interesting challenge from the outset. We needed to incorporate the close partnership with the Office of National Statistics while also being distinctively ESCoE.

Considerations were made regarding the look and feel of the site - users shouldn’t be surprised to discover that ESCoE and ONS are in partnership, but we needed to communicate ESCoE’s unique brand, mission, and convey this when displaying the rich bank of original research and world-class economic publications.

As many have experienced this year, the pandemic disrupted some parts of the organisation - the seminar series which had been designed to bring people together had to shift online. Attendees had to interact online and via the website, creating a digital-first experience.

The website played a key part in that experience and was well received by internal and external stakeholders - with many members contacting the team directly to complement the new design.

One metric which stands out since the new site was launched is session duration. Users are now spending far more time on the site and looking at more pages, which suggests user engagement has been boosted. This is helped by the improved user experience. Now, users can journey through ESCoE’s research.