HERD International Web Redesign

The Challenge

HERD International's previous website didn't properly reflect who they are — a serious, credible research and development organization doing important work in health and sustainable development. The old site felt disconnected from that identity, and it wasn't doing justice to their standing or the quality of their work. The redesign needed to strike a careful balance: visuals that carry a formal, serious tone reinforcing HERD's identity as a trustworthy, established research organization, while still feeling fresh, modern, and contemporary. The site also needed to stay clean and well-organized so visitors — partners, stakeholders, or researchers — could navigate easily, and it had to build on HERD's existing brand identity elements so the new site felt like a natural evolution rather than something unfamiliar. On top of the visual and structural challenges, the site had to be updated regularly, so we couldn't design a static site — we had to build a system with a simple content management system that let the website admin add and update content on their own, without needing technical help each time.

Goals of the redesign

• Establish HERD as a trusted research organization — position HERD as a credible research and development organization both nationally and internationally, with a strong focus on health-related work.
• Keep content fresh and up to date — regularly showcase HERD's latest projects, resources, tools, and achievements.
• Make navigation stakeholder-friendly — organize and present information around what different stakeholders care about, so they can quickly find what's relevant to them.
• Give admins an easy-to-use CMS — provide a simple content management system that lets the website admin add and update content without needing technical help.

My Approach

To bring HERD International's vision to life, we designed a clean, modern interface that reflected the credibility and thoughtfulness of their research work. Every design decision — from spacing to typography — was made to feel intentional and organized, mirroring the careful, evidence-based nature of HERD's own work. We layered in subtle micro-interactions throughout the site to keep the experience feeling fresh without compromising the formal tone. And to solve the content management challenge, we built the website on WordPress, giving HERD's team an easy-to-use CMS.

The Outcome

The result was a website that struck the right balance between contemporary and serious — the micro-interactions gave it a modern, polished feel while staying understated enough to not distract from the content. With WordPress powering the CMS, HERD's admin team could add new projects, resources, and updates on their own, without needing a developer every time something needed to change — keeping the site current with minimal effort.