Phytonutrients and me
Extending a brand in an unexpected way with the Lycopedia
Can we make nutraceuticals interesting, desirable, and emotionally resonant?
Lycored, a nutraceutical industry leader, wanted a fresh new way to sell the benefits of their hero ingredient to both industry experts and the average person. So we concepted and created the Lycopedia, the world’s first lycopene atlas housed on an interactive microsite that explains how the nutrient benefits bodies at every age and stage.
Equipped with an Excel full of study citations, access to the scientists on Lycored’s R&D team, and endless caffeine, the team at Madwell came together to research and wireframe not only a microsite but also animations of complex mechanisms of action (MoAs), or specific biochemical activity within the body.
(For context, Lycored sources their lycopene from tomatoes, hence the abundance of them on this page.)
That time I basically became a lycopene scientist
As the copywriter, and also sitting brand and therefore subject matter expert, I had a hand in every stage of the project from science research to working on the UX and UI to storyboarding the MoAs. And of course writing the site.
I cannot stress enough how large and time consuming of an undertaking this was—and how much I learned from it. I spent months sitting in a little red conference room talking through each minute detail with strategy, design, animation, development, account, and clients, learning how to communicate and collaborate with each team. I learned what it really means to carry a project through to the end, how to advocate for the work, and when to pick my battles.
When a carotenoid has a story
The Lycopedia is a beautiful scrolling experience that tells the story of how lycopene supports us throughout this big beautiful journey we call life. It does exactly what it’s intended to do: wow experts and everyone else who sees it, and sell them on why phytonutrients matter.
How do I know this? On average, viewers spent 3:15 on the page, indicating engagement far beyond the standard, with 36.5% of them ending the experience by signing up for the Lycored newsletter (our main KPI). The Lycopedia was so engaging that we created installations of the MoAs and took them on a world tour.
TLDR
I helped create an interactive microsite that tells the story of how lycopene benefits bodies at every age and stage.
Science UX Web Storytelling