The brief: to update the Nelson Mandela Institute’s online presence with a website that effectively communicates the institute’s extensive research in the fields of education and rural development, and highlights its ongoing projects, which are leading the way in education in rural South Africa.
Writers seldom complain of having too much information, but the Nelson Mandela Institute has commissioned a significant amount of research into the state of the education system in South Africa and, in particular, the bilingual teaching challenges in rural schools in the Eastern Cape, so the sheer volume of information was daunting.
This presented a challenge as, when writing for the web, it is important to keep information pithy. Research shows web users are notoriously lazy and want to get the gist of information in bite-sized chunks that are quick and easy to digest.
To balance the requirements of the medium without compromising the quality of the information was a challenge, but with thought and careful planning we hope we managed to produce content that conveys the essential information while maintaining the credibility of the research.
The new website offers users insight into the challenges of education and rural development while providing information about the projects the institute has run.
This online project was a collaborative effort between Flow’s designers, writers and programmers, and of course, the staff of the Nelson Mandela Institute itself. The various teams pulled together to produce a website that caters to the client’s needs while conveying the institute’s connection with its founder, Nelson Mandela, and its responsiveness to the needs of Africa’s rural schools – all packaged in design that is earthy and inspired by Africa.