User ExperienceInformation Architecture

Atlas: A redesign. Popularising academic content

MY ROLE

Atlas aims to create a research-backed, bird’s-eye view of global society. As the only designer at Atlas, I redesigned how readers discover and engage with academic content. The work began with a request for visual improvements. It became a question of how to nudge readers to go deeper.

CHALLENGING THE BRIEF

A visual brief

The team felt Atlas looked too much like Wikipedia and suspected its appearance was driving readers away. I was asked to make it look better.

A deeper problem

Research showed readers getting lost in dense academic articles, often discouraged before finding something that interested them. Asking authors to write more accessibly could help, but the interface still presented too much at once.

Working within the structure

The redesign had to work across web and mobile on top of a fixed database structure. I focused on changing how readers encountered the content.

Finding the problem behind the brief

Behavioural data showed where readers dropped off. Qualitative user testing helped explain why: the sheer volume of content discouraged them before they began reading. The brief shifted from visual improvements to rethinking how the information was structured and introduced.

Illustrative scroll-depth reconstruction of an Atlas health care article about Russia, with a colour overlay across the opening and page navigation.

Illustrative reconstruction

Less to start with

I stripped the initial view down to short chapter overviews, keeping the full passages accessible behind them. A title and image introduced the topic. An overview gave readers enough context to decide whether to continue. The detail followed when they wanted it.

The problem was how much content we presented at once, not just how it looked.

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Readers went deeper when we showed less upfront.

Designing with familiar interaction patterns

I drew on familiar browsing patterns from media platforms such as Netflix and Spotify. Readers could scan, find a point of interest and explore from there. The content remained academic. Its discovery no longer depended on someone being ready to read an academic article.

Atlas interface presenting academic sources in a structured visual list.

Atlas chapter navigation dividing an academic article into sections readers can explore individually.

Stakeholders

Balancing competing needs

Making Atlas more approachable meant balancing different expectations. Authors wanted their meaning preserved. Donors expected transparency and academic rigour. Teachers needed material they could bring into the classroom.

Simplifying without losing depth

I simplified the entry into each article while retaining the depth behind it. Short overviews made the content easier to approach without asking authors to reduce their work to a summary.

Building buy-in through iteration

Getting there took repeated conversations and adjustments. I kept stakeholders involved as the format evolved, working through concerns and refining the design. Building their confidence in the changes was part of making those changes possible.