Franco India
Campus
Innovation, Education and Cooperation for Global Health
€2.25M+
Funding
45+
HEIs
15+
Research Inst.
60+
Laboratories
7+
Hospitals
20+
Companies
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Franco India Campus Case Study
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Thinking Layer
A sprawling multi-institutional academic initiative had no unified digital presence to communicate its scope.
Complexity doesn't have to feel complex — structure and visual hierarchy create clarity.
A comprehensive website serving as the primary digital hub for 45+ institutions across two countries.
Unified digital identity supporting student recruitment, researcher collaboration, and partner engagement.
01 / Project Overview
Building a Digital Hub for
Franco-Indian Academic Collaboration
The Franco-Indian Campus in Life Sciences for Health is a strategic initiative fostering academic collaboration between France and India. The project required designing and building a comprehensive website that communicates the initiative's scope — spanning 45+ higher education institutions, 60+ laboratories, and multiple consortia across two countries.
Role
Design & Development
Timeline
2025
Client
Reno Platforms
Tools
Next.js, Tailwind CSS, Framer Motion, Figma
Outcome / Impact
The website launched as francoindiancampus-health.com, serving as the primary digital hub for the initiative. It effectively communicates the scale of collaboration to prospective students, researchers, and institutional partners. The clean information architecture makes complex multi-institutional relationships navigable, supporting the initiative's goal of building an outstanding Franco-Indian academic ecosystem.
02 / The Problem
Making a sprawling ecosystem feel coherent and accessible
A complex multi-institutional academic initiative involving dozens of French and Indian universities had no unified digital presence. The challenge was to make this sprawling ecosystem — with its multiple consortia, thematic groups, programs, and partner institutions — feel coherent, accessible, and visually compelling to students, researchers, and administrators across both countries.
Higher Ed Institutions
Research Laboratories
Major Consortia
Countries Connected
Content Complexity Points
Multiple institutions with different identities and branding
Cross-country collaboration requiring bilingual consideration
Multiple content types: consortia, programs, events, research
Diverse audiences: students, researchers, administrators, partners
Visual Research — Designing Across Two Cultures
Visual Balance
Neutral design language that honors both
Palette
#053c94
#0a5ed4
#eef1f0
#FFFFFF
French blue as institutional anchor
Scale
“How do you present 45 institutions across two countries without overwhelming the visitor?”
— initial design brief
Typeface
Institutional Serif
Aa
Strategy
Blue is neutral — it belongs to neither flag. It can represent both nations equally.
Reference
EU academic portals, Erasmus+, CNRS
Researching how to represent a bilateral academic initiative — balancing cross-cultural sensitivity with information density across 45+ institutions.
03 / Key Insight
Complexity doesn't have to feel complex — structure creates clarity.
Through analyzing the initiative's information hierarchy, we realized that the key to making45+ institutions feel unified was not simplification, but thoughtful organization — creating clear pathways through layered content.
The real challenge wasn't the volume of content — it was finding a visual language that could represent both French and Indian academic traditions while maintaining a cohesive identity.
— Design Research Phase
04 / Design Goal
What the design needed to achieve
Unite a multi-institutional academic ecosystem under one clear, navigable digital identity.
Organize Institutional Complexity
Create a clear information architecture that makes dozens of institutions, consortia, and programs navigable without overwhelming users.
Create Visual Hierarchy for Multi-Level Content
Design a system where initiative, consortia, institutions, and programs each have distinct visual weight while belonging to the same design language.
Enable Cross-Institutional Discovery
Allow users to explore connections between French and Indian universities, find programs across consortia, and discover research collaborations.
Build Responsive Multilingual Foundation
Create a design system flexible enough for bilingual content expansion while maintaining visual consistency across all screen sizes.
05 / System Thinking
Mapping the architecture of collaboration
Information architecture, content hierarchy, and user journeys that define the platform structure.
Information Architecture
How the site content is structured hierarchically.
Content Hierarchy
Levels of content from broadest to most specific.
User Journey Map
Primary path from landing to application.
Design Progression
Problem
No unified presence
Insight
Structure creates clarity
System
Layered architecture
Experience
Unified digital campus
06 / Exploration
Early sketches and concept exploration
Exploring layouts for complex institutional content — balancing information density with visual clarity.
Hero Slider Concepts
Full-width hero with imagery carousel
Consortia Card Layouts
Hover-reveal cards for four consortia
Institution Comparison
Side-by-side French/Indian profiles
Thematic Group UI
Research area categorization and filtering
Program Listings
Academic program cards with CTAs
Event Calendar
Timeline-based event display
Consortia Directory — From Idea to Interface
How the most complex page evolved through four stages of design thinking
First Thought
Pen on napkin
Pencil Sketch
Refining the layout
Wireframe
Structure & hierarchy
Final Design
Production ready
1 → 2
Added browser framing, refined card grid from loose scribbles to structured 2×2 layout
2 → 3
Established hierarchy with search, filter pills, and consistent card anatomy
3 → 4
Applied brand identity — blue palette, real institution data, flag indicators, micro-interactions
07 / Wireframes
Low-fidelity page structure
Defining the structural hierarchy before visual design, focusing on content-first architecture for institutional pages.
Homepage
Hero, mission, consortia
Consortia Page
Institutions & research
Programs
Cards, filters, apply
Events
Calendar & timeline
Homepage — Structural Specification
08 / UI Design
Visual design system and principles
High-fidelity design decisions that balance institutional authority with modern web aesthetics.
French blue (#053c94) serves as the primary brand color, paired with clean whites and soft neutral backgrounds. Accent colors differentiate consortia without competing for attention. The palette conveys academic authority while remaining approachable.
Balancing complex multi-institutional content with generous whitespace. Each section uses progressive disclosure — showing key information upfront with expandable details for those who want deeper context. Typography scale creates clear reading hierarchy.
Hover reveals on consortia cards, comparison sliders for institutional partnerships, smooth scroll animations, and dynamic event filtering. Interactions serve discovery — every animation helps users understand content relationships.
Color System
#053c94
French Blue
#0a5ed4
Active Blue
#eef1f0
Neutral BG
#FFFFFF
White
#2D2D2D
Charcoal
Typography
Franco-Indian Campus
Innovation, Education, Cooperation
Body text maintains readability across complex institutional content and program descriptions.
Component Library
Live Platform
See it in action
The platform is live, serving as the digital hub for the Franco-Indian academic initiative.
Franco-Indian Campus
in Life Sciences for Health
Innovation, Education & Cooperation for Global Health
€2.25M+
Funding
45+
HEIs
60+
Labs
4
Consortia
09 / Final Experience
The full user journey
From landing on the homepage to applying for a program — every step designed for clarity and discovery.
Land on Homepage
Full-width hero slider showcasing the initiative with institutional imagery. Key figures and partner logos establish credibility immediately.
Understand the Mission
Seven key objectives presented in clear hierarchy — from building sustainable cooperation to addressing global health challenges across both countries.
Explore Consortia
Interactive cards for BIOSANTEXC, SHIELD, ILIADE, and INHEALTH reveal partner institutions, research focuses, and key personnel on hover.
Discover Programs
Four academic programs with detailed curriculum information, eligibility criteria, and direct application links spanning life sciences, biotechnology, and bioinformatics.
Apply
Streamlined application process with clear deadlines, requirements, and direct links to institutional application portals for each program.
Attend Events
Browse upcoming conferences, workshops, and seminars with date filtering. Registration links and event details keep the academic community connected.
Responsive Design
Consortia Explorer
10 / Reflection
Lessons learned and key takeaways
What designing a platform for 45+ institutions across two countries taught me about organizing complexity.
Structure is the design
For complex multi-institutional projects, the information architecture IS the design. Getting the hierarchy right was more impactful than any visual treatment. Clear structure made everything else fall into place.
Institutional content needs human context
Raw data about universities and programs feels impersonal. Adding researcher profiles, campus photography, and student testimonials transformed abstract institutional relationships into tangible stories.
Progressive disclosure reduces overwhelm
With 45+ institutions and 60+ labs, showing everything at once was not an option. Layered content — from initiative overview to specific consortium to individual program — respects the user's attention.
Cross-cultural design requires sensitivity
Representing both French and Indian academic traditions visually required careful balance. The blue-white color system avoided cultural bias while the content structure honored both educational frameworks.
What I would improve
Add a comprehensive search system to help users find specific institutions, researchers, or programs across the entire initiative
Implement a multilingual toggle with full French and Hindi translations for broader accessibility
Build interactive data visualizations showing the network of institutional partnerships across both countries
Create personalized dashboards for different user types — students, researchers, and administrators
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