The Frontiers brand refresh
A new look, a clear value proposition, and the same mission
By Chantelle Rijs, Chief Marketing and Communications Officer
Frontiers has had a makeover! We are excited to show off our new look, but our brand refresh is so much more than an aesthetic overhaul. Our values, messaging and visuals are all designed to clearly communicate not only our leading position, but also our bold aspirations, for both publishing and the world.
We tend to forget how much has happened in the 12 years since Frontiers was founded. From the very beginning, we’ve been outspoken on the need for academic publishing to flip from a subscription to an open access business model. We’ve pioneered the use of technologies like artificial intelligence that make scientific publishing smarter, faster, and more accessible, all while upholding the highest quality standards. It has always been our goal to provide the best publishing experience, and it is because of that commitment that we have seen phenomenal growth and success, publishing more than 330,000 articles, collaborating with 200,000 editors, recruiting over 1,600 employees, achieving 1.9 billion article views and downloads across the globe, and rising to the 6th largest and 3rd most-cited publisher.
Frontiers is among the world’s go-to academic publishers and a brand refresh was a chance to take a step back and reflect on how far we have come, as well as to look boldly into the future. It was an opportunity to update our visual identity and website, but more importantly, it was an opportunity to distill our guiding values into powerful messaging that will drive our continued success.
Our mission remains unchanged
We have been unwavering in our mission – to make all science open. Everyone involved in Frontiers shares a singular desire - that all human beings can live a healthy life, on a healthy planet. We know that immediate, free access to high-quality research is vital to achieve this. With open access publishing, more knowledge is being shared freely and openly than ever before, leading to greater collaboration and faster innovation – in turn helping to solve the critical challenges we face as humanity.
Our mission is not new, but our guiding values now bring greater clarity to who we are, what we represent, and what we have to offer the research community.
We place the researcher at the center of everything we do
Every decision we make starts with one consideration: what’s best for the researcher – the people doing the science. Our role is to provide the world’s scientists with the best, the fastest, and the most efficient publishing experience.
This researcher-centric approach forms the basis of our four core values, which we believe are crucial to enable scientists to empower society.
We are committed to quality: we are rigorous in everything we do and dedicated to only the highest quality standards.
We are committed to collaboration: to building communities and working together to empower each other.
We are committed to speed: to working quickly and decisively to achieve results.
We are committed to innovation: to being bold in our decision-making, driven by technology and innovation, and constantly trying to improve.
Reinforcing our brand through technology
Our brand refresh also took place ‘behind the scenes’ and we did a major upgrade of our technology. We build all our technology in-house as this allows us to react to researchers' needs quickly and efficiently.
We are continuously optimizing our powerful publishing platform. Improvements to search engine optimization (SEO) means papers published in a Frontiers journal will be even more visible and discoverable.
Reinforcing our brand through design
It was important that our personality be reflected in our look and feel. Our newly designed website is bold, focused, and warm. It places research and the researcher up front and center, and better reflects our vision for healthy lives on a healthy planet.
It’s now even easier to find and access papers on our website thanks to improved navigation and better information architecture, and our new brand portal is a dedicated space designed to empower Frontiers’ editors and authors. There they will find all the communication materials they need to promote their journal and their research.
This is just the beginning. Scientific publishing is ever-evolving, and as part of our ongoing commitment to our mission, our values, and the research community, you will see more new and improved designs, features and products over the coming months – so watch this space.
If you have any questions or feedback, we would love to hear from you.
Please send your message to: website.feedback@frontiersin.org
Frontiers
Where scientists empower society
Creating solutions for healthy lives on a healthy planet
About Frontiers
Frontiers is the 3rd most-cited and 6th largest research publisher and we publish the latest discoveries by the world's top experts.
Scientists empower society and our mission is to accelerate scientific discovery by making science open. We place the researcher at the center of everything we do and enable the research community to develop the solutions we need to live healthy lives on a healthy planet.
Featuring custom-built technology, artificial intelligence, and rigorous quality standards, our research articles have been viewed more than 1.9 billion times, reflecting the power of research that is open for all.