Shifting Ground
Presenting research activities & dialogue through web design.
Shifting Ground: Mapping Energy, Community and Geography in the North is a five-year SSHRC-supported interdisciplinary research project exploring the effects of resource extraction, energy transition, and socio-environmental adaptation in communities of the circumpolar North.
Industry: Environment & Climate Change, Curation, Art & Humanities
* Shifting Ground is an ongoing research project, design and content of the current site may vary from the work seen below.
MY ROLE
I contributed to the design, copywriting and development of the website, working as the project's sole Research Assistant at Emily Carr University, collaborating closely with Principal Investigator, Professor Ruth Beer.
Team:
Neharika Sidda (solo)
Role:
Interface Designer, Copywriting, User Experience
Duration:
November 2023 - September 2024, 11 months
Tools:
Figma, Wordpress, Google Docs
Skills:
User experience & design, Copywriting, Identity, Responsive Design, Design system, CMS Platform
Overview
The Problem
Shifting Ground is an intricate research project involving many areas of condensed information, much of it in text form, meant to be easily understood by looking through its website.
The Solution
Create a website whose design is centered around its target audience, while focusing on the design of features that ease navigation pathways and lessen information overload.
The Outcome
A simple and easily navigable website for the display and documentation of Shifting Ground's past and future research activities. A design system to make updating the site eaiser in the future and a focus on solutions that directly address key problem areas pertaining to the content and layout of Shifting Ground.
Phase 1 - IDEATION
Wireframes
Homepage
Goal: simplify, less text
Events
Goal: Match event details to layout, create re-usable pages.
Team
Goal: Evenly display all members, space for bio.
Phase 2 - IDENTITY
Visual Identity
Typography
Colours
Main Logo
The main logo of Shifting Ground existed since before I began working on this project. I was instead asked to make different variations of the logo to be used under different applications such as publications, events, and future site pages.
Logo Variations
The following are the different ways Shifting Ground's logo was displayed throughout the site.
Phase 3 - DESIGN
Key Features
Homepage
Shifting Ground originally had a homepage, which contained too much text and made it difficult to ascertain the focus of the project and the site.
The new homepage consists of minimal text and imagery, moving all the details into the About page and in turn helping with information overload.
Navigation - Sidebar
As the research project progressed, we had to add more and more links to the navigation, many of which were difficult to abbreviate, therefore, I designed a sidebar as the main navigation.
This helped streamline navigation and reduce distraction as you scrolled through the site.
Team
When building the team page, I wireframed and tested multiple directions including; carousels, vertical displays, and using different grid systems. As there were 10 members I was asked to come up with a design that displayed everyone’s profiles evenly and in a manner that did not highlight or create a spotlight for any specific team member.
The final design uses a 3x4 grid with the first block containing text. The main 'Team' page only features each member's name and a link to their work/portfolio, and their bios can be found clicking into their profile.
Events
The events page is meant to display all of Shifting Ground's current, past, and future research activities, exhibitions, and gallery displays.
© 2025 Neharika Sidda | Made with ♡ in Vancouver, BC