The 2030 Project

As a Senior Web Designer at Cornell University, I led the development of The 2030 Project website - a critical initiative focused on climate change solutions. The project required a platform that could effectively communicate complex climate research and engage diverse audiences, from researchers to policy makers and the general public.

The Challenge

The 2030 Project needed a digital platform that could:

• Present complex climate research in an accessible way
• Facilitate collaboration between researchers across disciplines
• Engage multiple audience types with varying levels of scientific knowledge
• Maintain high performance while delivering rich content
• Meet strict accessibility requirements

The Process

The development process focused on creating a fast, accessible, and maintainable website. We chose a modern tech stack including 11ty for static site generation, Alpine.js for lightweight interactivity, and Tailwind CSS for styling. This combination allowed us to create a performant site that could be easily maintained by Cornell’s team.

Technical Implementation

The technical architecture was built with several key considerations:

• Static Site Generation: Used 11ty to generate static pages for optimal performance and security
• Progressive Enhancement: Implemented with Alpine.js for interactive features while maintaining core functionality without JavaScript
• Responsive Design: Built with Tailwind CSS using a mobile-first approach
• Accessibility: Ensured WCAG 2.1 AA compliance through semantic HTML and proper ARIA attributes
• Content Management: Integrated with Drupal for content editing while maintaining the static architecture
• Deployment: Implemented CI/CD pipeline for automated testing and deployment

Development Approach

The development process was iterative and collaborative:

1. Architecture Planning: Carefully planned the site architecture to ensure scalability
2. Component Development: Created reusable components for consistent design and easier maintenance
3. Performance Optimization: Implemented lazy loading, image optimization, and efficient caching strategies
4. Testing and QA: Conducted thorough testing across devices and browsers
5. Documentation: Created comprehensive documentation for the Cornell team

Project Outcomes

The final website successfully met Cornell’s goals by:

• Providing a fast, accessible platform for climate research communication
• Creating an intuitive interface for content discovery
• Implementing a sustainable development approach that the university team could maintain
• Meeting all accessibility requirements
• Achieving excellent performance metrics

The site serves as a crucial tool in Cornell’s mission to address climate change, facilitating knowledge sharing and collaboration across the university and beyond.

Visit the live site