Image source: National Science Foundation.
The National Science Foundation (NSF) is the only federal agency that has supported research and education in all fields of science and engineering for almost 70 years.
And while the agency is behind some of the most exciting and fascinating scientific discoveries, such as releasing the first image of a black hole, most people are typically unaware of NSF’s work.
Until now.
In 2018, NSF set out to capture more attention and to build awareness by overhauling its “NSF Science Zone” mobile app. The agency worked with web designer Viderity, as well as Adobe Creative Cloud for enterprise to create a more engaging and informative app.
David Flagg, who has been with the NSF for over 20 years in the Office of Legislative and Public Affairs (OLPA), says that the impetus for the redesign was simple: The original mobile app, launched in 2010 as “Science360,” had run its course relative to design, layout, and features.
Beyond the need for an app facelift, NSF was keen on increasing awareness for its grant recipients by publicizing images and video of research results and discoveries in a fun and easily digestible way. 93% of the agency’s annual $8.3 billion budget goes to universities, researchers and colleges via research grants.
“We wanted to improve the app’s usability, functionality, and technical stability and also engage users with images, video and knowledge,” Flagg said.
Collaborating together
The team at Viderity was tasked with building a new, visually compelling app through ongoing collaboration with stakeholders at the NSF. “Adobe Creative Cloud for enterprise was key to enabling seamless creative workflows and fostering collaboration,” said Mark Farmer, senior interactive designer at Viderity. The agency used Adobe Photoshop and Illustrator to design and develop the improved interface within the NSF app. It also used Adobe XD for prototyping and testing.
“Using Adobe XD,” he said, “our team was able to create prototypes, share designs interactively with the NSF team, as well as quickly deploy public usability tests. The XD prototypes served as the basis for the development of the app. It was so easy to use and made our agency/client collaborative relationship even stronger.”
While Viderity is no stranger to Creative Cloud tools such as Photoshop, Illustrator, and InDesign, the first time the agency used XD was with the NSF’s mobile app project. The relaunch of the app went so well that Viderity is now using XD to redesign NSF’s website and sub-domains, and they will now use the tool in workflows with other clients as well.
“Using the flexible, ease-of-use features of XD like the drag-and-drop functionality, and creating prototypes from wireframes with real interactivity, was a gamechanger for us,” Farmer says.
A new and improved experience
Featuring hundreds of exciting videos and high-resolution photos from a wide array of subjects. NSF mobile app users—teachers, students or just science aficionados—can spend hours absorbed in discoveries about Earth as well as from the depths of outer space. The app has become a default application on elementary and middle school tablets, helping students learn about and promote the progress of science through dynamic content.