Paving the Way to an Innovative New Website for MAPIL

June 5, 2019

An Organization Looking for the Right Online Branding Mix

The Mizzou Asphalt Pavement and Innovation Lab was looking to start branding their organization and promoting themselves to the public. As a relatively new organization, they did not have any sort of online presence. They needed an avenue for the following:

• Sharing research projects and publications.
• Advertising their commercial asphalt testing services.
• Recruiting student members and researchers.
• Finding sponsors and donors to fund research.

A key component of MAPIL is publishing findings resulting from their research and testing services. As avid bloggers, this resonated with the team at MayeCreate Design. We were excited to work with another company that sees the value in sharing knowledge and experience to better their industry.

Missouri’s New Smart Surface Center

Mizzou Asphalt Pavement and Innovation Lab (or MAPIL for short) is a center for research and collaboration within the University of Missouri’s College of Engineering. The mission of the Lab is to perform interdisciplinary research to improve the overall health of the asphalt industry. The organization was made possible by the legacy of Guinn and Polly Barton, as well as the generosity of the Missouri Asphalt Pavement Association. Through this support, MAPIL is equipped with facilities and technology to be a leader in asphalt research. While still in the early stages, MAPIL is already paving the way to sustainable surfaces.

Creating the MAPIL Brand

The first step in creating a brand is to great a logo, something to serve as the face of the organization. After developing several iterations of the MAPIL logo the final version was chosen through a tournament style selection process. The resulting logo employs an image that combines a maple leaf and a stack of layers resembling asphalt. Why a maple leaf? That’s what their acronym sounds like (duh), but it also represents their focus on environmental sustainability. This leaf element can be seen in multiple places throughout the website.

A New Organization Needs a New Website

The new website creates a platform to easily share projects, publications, and team accomplishments. On the About and Student pages visitors can click on individual students and faculty to see their name, title, educational credentials, and projects they have been involved in. You can even download their resumes directly from their member pages, which is an awesome feature for job recruiters. Click on this student to see for yourself:

Research, while an important part of the organization, is not all of MAPIL’s operation. They offer commercial and municipal asphalt testing services, as seen on the Testing Services page.

MAPIL may be contracted to test the quality of existing asphalt, as well as to design new eco-friendly mixtures of asphalt for projects. We made the process of acquiring these contracts easier by streamlining it: just click the callout button, jump to the appropriate page section, and lastly, inquire through the embedded contact form at the bottom of the page.

MAPIL also places an emphasis on publication. Research projects and testing services yield a wealth of findings, and it is key to MAPIL’s mission to share these findings. Through the Publications page the team can upload information about their findings, creating a unified portfolio displaying their contributions to the industry. Individual publication pages, like this one, have custom bylines to credit the authors, offer PDF downloads and link to the third-party site hosting the article.

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Some other great layers of this site include:

• Mobile Friendly Design – Adaptive Template
  Websites that are mobile-friendly with adaptive templates will be served more often on search engines to people using their mobile devices.

• Custom WordPress Theme
  With Custom WordPress Themes, the website design is unique and the structure is flexible, scalable, and easily manageable. Let’s just say websites with custom WordPress themes aren’t forced to reside inside the box.

• Safe Site Plan
  The new MAPIL website is enrolled in our Company Safe Site Plan, meaning we’ve enhanced the site in an effort to offensively protect them from hackers. We backup the sites daily, maintain regular WordPress and plugin updates, and monitor site activity and link function.

• Updates & Ongoing Maintenance
  It’s imperative to keep content fresh with regular updates to keep clients and prospects interested. With their website completed, we help MAPIL stay on top of their game by performing requested updates and changes to the website as requested.

• Custom Callout Banner
  This banner can be found on all pages of the site. It directs visitors to MAPIL’s most important assets: the Lab, Testing Services, and Projects.

• Designated Contact Page
  MAPIL can be reached through multiple pages of the site, including a designated Contact page. This provides a channel for general inquiries, provides an embedded map for locating the facility, and even prompts the visitor to take a guided tour of the MAPIL lab. Sign me up!

One website later and the Mizzou Asphalt Pavement & Innovation Lab has a memorable brand and new online presence. MAPIL is set to pave the road to cleaner, more sustainable roads, and a better Missouri!

Are you looking for a website?

Does your site struggle to convey your brand identity, or do you just need a site in general? Contact the team at MayeCreate Design. We believe websites work when good design meets solid functionality. Our web designs always aim for ease of use and clear communication. Check out our portfolio for a look at our other projects and to get your pride on… today.