Oxford North
Exciting scientists about a brave new world
Oxford North is something genuinely amazing: a state-of-the-art innovation district designed to help scientists seize the biggest scientific and technological opportunities of our age. But how to make the invitation feel real while the foundations are still being laid?
The Brief
Lovers were enlisted to help position Oxford North as an epic new place for life sciences, a space to watch from inception to early tours. Tone would be key, not speaking in square feet and floor plans, but tuning into what scientists and technologists care about: progress.
Scientists Are People
the right tone
Oxford North had a logo. What it didn’t have was a voice that could hold a conversation with scientists. Motivated by moonshot ambitions and a racing instinct, our messaging had to address their drive. We invited them to think about what comes next and what it will take.
Glimpses Of The Dream
vision before plans
New places all face the same challenge: digital fly-throughs are soulless. However realistic, they just can’t say why a place matters. In those earliest moments, partial glimpses can actually be more powerful, combined with inspiring voices. It’s harder to do, but means more.
“I must have seen a million property films in my time, but this one does feel different. It’s like we’re watching a Netflix documentary about an important scientific breakthrough, which is just the right language to explain what Oxford North is.”
digital first
The Oxford North website provides audiences with everything they need in real time, from the vision and story to floorplans of a new lab space. We designed and built the site, evolving it over months and years to keep pace with progress, always updating, always exciting.
Move into Tomorrow
it’s alive
Two years on from the vision-setting chapter, Oxford North opened its doors, creating a new challenge — how to capture the energy of a world that’s still gathering momentum? The key was people again, showcasing the human experience at the heart of the site.
“It’s hard to evoke a place before it exists without coming off as cold or vague. Lovers managed to grab hold of details: the grass steps of an outdoor amphitheatre, the froth of a decent coffee — using them in unexpected ways to set the scene powerfully.”
Related work
