Case Study

Fathom Website Design & Development

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Fathom is a global leader in water risk intelligence. They provide clients and partners with market-leading flood models based on the ever-advancing frontiers of scientific research in the face of increasing challenges posed by climate change. Academic research remains essential to the team now as when the co-founders Andrew Smith and Christopher Sampson met whilst completing their PhDs at the University of Bristol. This collaboration resulted in a no-bs approach to consulting and a distinctive visual company identity, albeit needing refinement.

The Challenge

Fathom prides itself on a uniquely quirky brand, targeting large clientele, including insurance companies and governments. However, Fathom suffered from inconsistent brand materials and a website with poor user experience. Further complicating matters, the existing website relied on a proprietary hosted solution that made it hard to maintain and update—improving these shortcomings while maintaining brand personality was of utmost concern for the Fathom team.

 

Solution

We started with an SEO audit to develop a search engine strategy and validate information architecture. Next, we implemented a UX audit to create an easy-to-navigate menu structure and basic page layout blueprint. With this research under the arm, the team could move boldly into the design phase. The Nopio team prioritized elevating the existing brand’s character without losing its established quirky personality.

The team then employed Nopio’s in-house modular approach to WordPress development called ThemeFlex™. This approach allows the client to quickly spin up beautiful pages or amend existing content without developer intervention.

Nopio’s human-centric approach to web design and development ensured that Fathom’s team was in control and involved in all critical phases of the project. Meaning the project was on time and within budget.

Concurrently with the website redesign, the Nopio Design team was hard at work refining and extending the Fathom brand materials culminating in a comprehensive brand book. Such books give teams like Fathom’s an easy-to-use guide for properly using brand collateral—both saving time and energy as new products come to market.

As part of the brand update, the Nopio Design team created a library of product-related illustrations. These illustrations are influenced by Swiss Style design and incorporate visual elements from Fathom’s mapping methodology. Adding deliberate illustration to branding helps to add visual cohesiveness to any project. When translated to posters, t-shirts, or other collateral, such illustrations make delightful promotional material.

See the website at www.fathom.global

What Fathom Gained

  • A refreshed brand that builds on the existing materials.
  • An SEO roadmap.
  • An easy to use website that maintains the company’s unique character and quirkiness.
  • The ability to efficiently work with the content and run marketing experiment.
  • Platform to publish research the company is running and financing.
  • A unique design for the pages describing products as well as their event response analysis work.
  • Easy to follow brand guidelines document.

Key Deliverables

Brand update

Responsive logo variant

SEO Research

UX Research

Information Architecture

Web design

Brand Standards Document

Custom web animations

WordPress Website

Custom illustrations

CMS Training

Testimonial

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Holly Taylor Marketing Manager at Fathom

Nopio went above and beyond to deliver a visually distinctive, quality website. Their passion for Fathom's brand stood out to our team from the first meeting. Their commitment to understanding our business needs and pushing the boundaries of how a traditional website should appear has resulted in a detailed website that exceeds expectations and elevates Fathom's identity.

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