Bringing the Wild to Life for the Next Generation
The Story behind Wildscreen ARK
Wildscreen, a wildlife conservation charity known for their photography festival and educational programmes, set out to relaunch their archival platform as something new: Wildscreen ARK. Inspired by their legacy application ARKive, the mission was to build a modern, dynamic wildlife resource that could help young people reconnect with the natural world. Studies show that teens aged 12 to 18 are increasingly disengaged from nature, and Wildscreen ARK was designed to help reverse that trend through curiosity, discovery, and accessible media.
Strategy & Audience
We began by defining a clear creative strategy through research and collaborative workshops with the Wildscreen team. Our brief was to create a sub-brand of Wildscreen that could sit comfortably within the existing ecosystem while appealing directly to a younger audience. One of our key findings was that teenagers actively avoided platforms they felt were made for kids, which ruled out many of the childish or overly simple design tropes seen in competitor platforms. Instead, we set out to strike a new balance: a brand that was credible for researchers and teachers, while still exciting and engaging for young people.
Colour & Visual Energy
To give Wildscreen ARK a youthful energy, we added brighter pops of colour to the existing Wildscreen palette. This allowed the new identity to feel part of the family while confidently standing on its own.
We created a unique brand pattern, a series of overlapping tropical leaves, to represent the spirit of exploration, discovery, and biodiversity. The design is organic and dynamic, much like nature itself. The feeling we aimed to evoke was one of peeling back the jungle leaves to reveal something new.
Brand Identity
The identity is grounded in that sense of curiosity. We used layered organic forms, rich photography, and subtle motion to draw users in. The tone of voice was designed to be informative but never patronising, and we kept our average reading age at 12 to ensure everyone was able to understand and learn without barriers.
We worked hard to find the balance for exciting visuals without feeling childish. Every part of the identity aimed to support our core concept: discovery as a lifelong instinct. The result is a brand that invites exploration while holding the trust of both teen users and adult researchers.
UX Logic & Discovery Infrastructure
One of our biggest challenges was the complexity of the animal kingdom. Working closely with the development team, we designed a cascading taxonomy system to tag animal assets by traits, adaptations, habitats and behaviour. This created an intelligent infrastructure that powers a 'rabbit hole' discovery experience, where a user might start looking at one species and be led, through visual and behavioural links, to a many more. The system was designed to be simple enough for teens to use intuitively, yet robust enough to support deeper research.
To further inspire curiosity we designed our homepage to show a different selection of animal media every time its opened, encouraging our users to return to the platform again and again.
Web-App Design
The app’s design focused on surfacing the richness of its content while making exploration feel fun and fluid. The interface uses natural discovery paths to guide users gently, while allowing room for unstructured wandering.
We intentionally avoided traditional categorisation in favour of associative navigation, encouraging users to follow their interests. The result is a platform that rewards curiosity and supports repeat engagement, now being actively used in schools across the UK.
Brand in Action
To support Wildscreen ARK's growth we explored concept designs for merch, stationery, clothing, and other items to help build a sense of identity and community around the platform. These ideas supported the long-term goal of creating a recognisable brand that young people would feel part of.
We also created a suite of social media templates in ARK’s contemporary visual style, optimised for the platforms where our target audience is most active. These assets helped lay the foundation for future awareness-building and were handed over to the internal Wildscreen design team.
Outcome
The Wildscreen ARK web app is now live and in use across schools in the UK. Early feedback from our target audience has praised its visual design and ease of use. As more wildlife photographers and videographers contribute content, ARK is becoming a growing, living record of the natural world, one that invites users to explore, learn, and care. With a visual identity and UX built around curiosity, Wildscreen ARK is making nature feel exciting and accessible again for the next generation.