ESERO

Designing a seamless journey into space education

About ESERO

ESERO Ireland, part of the European Space Agency, is dedicated to inspiring the next generation of scientists, engineers, and space enthusiasts. Through hands-on resources, classroom support, and outreach, they connect teachers, students, and the wider public with the wonders of space and the power of STEM. Their website plays a crucial role in this mission serving as both a place of discovery and a gateway to opportunities in the space industry.

An astronaut training in a facility that recreates the Moon's surface on Earth.
LUNA recreates the Moon's surface on Earth next to ESA’s Astronaut Centre (EAC) in Cologne, Germany. © ESA
Desktop homepage of ESERO website. It features a dark-themed website banner the background image features a cosmic photo of the bubble nebula. The page features navigation links such as About Us, Classroom Resources, Teacher Support, Projects, Space Careers, and News & Events. A bold heading reads 'Your journey to space education starts now!' followed by descriptive text about ESERO Ireland’s mission to spark young people’s passion for STEM and space careers.
The total brightness and colour of 1.8 billion stars observed.
The total brightness and colour of 1.8 billion stars observed by ESA’s Gaia satellite and released as part of Gaia’s Early Data Release 3 (Gaia EDR3). © ESA Brighter regions represent denser concentrations of bright stars, while darker regions correspond to patches of the sky where fewer and fainter stars are observed. The colour of the image is obtained by combining the total amount of light with the amount of blue and red light recorded by Gaia in each patch of the sky.

The Challenge

ESERO Ireland’s website serves a diverse audience that includes teachers, students, and space enthusiasts. However, the existing site had grown difficult to navigate, with resources scattered and usability barriers impacting engagement. The redesign required a thoughtful approach to improve structure, accessibility, and long-term adaptability, while reflecting the excitement and innovation of the space sector.

Swathes of iridescent blue, sandy-coloured plains and delicate strands of greyish white, create an ethereal and colourful view of Mercury.
To the human eye, Mercury may resemble a dull, grey orb but this enhanced-colour image tells a completely different story. Swathes of iridescent blue, sandy-coloured plains and delicate strands of greyish white, create an ethereal and colourful view of our Solar System’s innermost planet. © ESA
Desktop version of the resources filter. It features a series of resource cards and a filter section that allows you to filter projects by education level, subject area and format.

Our Approach

We prioritised usability, accessibility, and engagement throughout the redesign process, ensuring that users could easily discover relevant content and resources.

Site Structure & Navigation

We reimagined the site’s architecture to make information more intuitive to find. By simplifying the sitemap and refining the navigation, users can now move through the site easier, with teachers finding tailored pathways to the content they need.

Aerial view of Roter Kamm impact crater.
Roter Kamm impact crater in Namibia. The circular shape of the crater rim can be seen in the left of the image, just below the centre. © ESA
Website layout for ESERO Ireland’s Space Careers section. The left page features an introduction to careers in the space industry, with sections for Career Profiles, Videos, Space Goes to School, Space Careers Roadshow, and a newsletter signup. Images include astronauts, school visits, and space-related activities. The right page highlights Career Profiles, with a Featured Profile for Bas Stijnen, PhD candidate at UCD in Mechanics and Materials Engineering, and a grid of professionals in space-related roles such as systems engineers, researchers, medical officers, and astronauts.
The website features a section about careers in the space industry. It aims to showcase to students how fields like maths, physics, chemistry, engineering, and computing intersect with the cutting-edge world of space exploration. © ESA

Content & Discoverability

We built a filter system that allows teachers to explore content by education level and subject area, while improving search and categorisation for all content. The result is a site where desired content is always within easy reach.

Mobile layouts of the ESERO classroom resources section. The left page features the landing page with an overview and the various education levels. The centre page shows the resource filter in action and the right page shows an individual resource called Humans in Space.

Visual & UI Enhancements

The visual design of the website is rooted in clarity and consistency.

To create a connection between space and design history, we used Futura as the heading font. A timeless geometric typeface which was famously the first font to land on the moon.

We also refined the ESERO brand colour palette, adapting it for digital use to ensure greater accessibility across screens. By fine-tuning contrast levels and harmonising tones, we achieved a richer, more unified interface that is easier to navigate and more engaging for users.

A darker UI colour palette was chosen not only to reduce eye strain but also to lower energy consumption of the website. Colour impacts the amount of energy used by a user’s screen and darker colours use up less power.

In this plaque the circular forms of the letters mirror the circular forms of the globes The phrase is set in Futura and reads
This plaque set in the Futura typeface was left on the moon to mark the Apollo 11 moon landing. The metal plaque was attached to the bottom the lunar landing vehicle and later removed to leave behind.
Website layout for the ESERO Projects section. The left page features an introduction and ui cards to all of the projects. The right page highlights the Climate Detectives project, with text about how it works and ways to get involved.

Dynamic & Flexible Templates

To future-proof the platform, we created modular templates with reusable and repurposable components. This flexibility allows ESERO to update, adapt, and expand content without sacrificing design consistency. The result is a site that’s as adaptable and easily expanded upon in the future.

The Outcome

The redesigned ESERO Ireland website is now a modern and engaging platform that empowers teachers and inspires students. With clearer navigation, smarter content organisation, and a flexible design system, the site is equipped to grow alongside ESERO’s mission of bringing space closer to the classroom.

If you’d like to explore how we could support your next website project, we’d be happy to start a conversation.

404 page of the ESERO website displayed on an iPhone. It is being held by an astronaut, in the background is an astronaut landing on the moon.

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