Ark
Penal Reform International – Website providing tools and resources for policymakers globally
2013 – ongoing
Penal Reform International (PRI) is an organisation developing fair and effective criminal justice through practical programmes and systemic reform.
PRI asked us to help them improve communication with their main audiences of intergovernmental organisations, governments and policy makers. They also wanted to make their library of publications more prominent and easy to use.
Improving the dissemination of information
PRI needed a new website to help them improve the dissemination of information to their main audiences of intergovernmental organisations, national governments and other policy makers. In particular they were looking to make their extensive library of publications more prominent and easy to use, reflecting the thematic and geographic scope of their work. They also wanted the new website to cater for multi-language content.
We developed a new structure which combined key content types such as ‘Resources’, ‘News’, ‘Blogs’ and ‘Projects’ with a set of categories that included ‘Priority area’, ‘Region’ and ‘Language’. This approach enabled us to supplement the standard navigational tools with dynamic content throughout the website.
New thematic landing pages
Our initial research identified that users tended to have a particular area of specialism, so a series of priority pages was seen as a key requirement. These pages were carefully designed to summarise the topic for new visitors and provide a feed of the latest relevant content for those that were returning. A similar approach was taken for geographic locations.
Sourcing impactful photography
We worked closely with PRI to define a unique photographic style. We researched and contacted photographers working in this area and assisted in negotiating usage on the website. The imagery offers a vivid and emotive counterpoint to the technical policy and research content.
More than a decade on
PRI was our very first client and our relationship still remains strong well over a decade later. While best practice in design has evolved over this time, the underlying content structure of the website still serves the client well to this day.
Bureau were a pleasure to work with. They understood our brief and our audiences well. We were pleased with all aspects of the project development, particularly the design which they gently and sensitively developed, and the choice of CMS which we all find easy to use.