ESA – Solar Eclipses Platform Design & Web Experience
Client
ESA
Country
Europe
Year
2026
About the project
The European Space Agency (ESA), in collaboration with the Ministry of Science and Innovation of Spain, FECYT, ONCE, and CCATE, commissioned Morpheon to design and build a digital platform dedicated to the Solar Eclipse Trio (2026–2028). These events will be among the most significant astronomical phenomena visible across the Iberian Peninsula in decades, attracting millions of observers. The goal was to create a platform that makes complex scientific content accessible, visual, and engaging for a wide audience.
Challenges & goals
Testimonial
Challenges & goals
The challenge was to translate complex astronomical data into a clear and engaging digital experience for a wide audience. The platform needed to balance institutional credibility with usability, while remaining performant, scalable, and easy to manage under high traffic peaks.
Our solution
Brand Identity
A dedicated identity was created with logo, typography, and colour system designed for clarity, consistency, and digital use across all touchpoints.
UI/UX Design
The platform was designed in Figma with a strong focus on clarity and navigation. Complex content such as events, observation points, and educational materials was structured into intuitive, accessible flows.
Web App Development
We developed a responsive web platform integrating Google Maps API for geolocated observation points, along with user submission features for events and media. The architecture was built to remain efficient while supporting large-scale usage.
Infrastructure & DevOps
We implemented a scalable infrastructure designed to absorb high traffic peaks during major events. The setup includes optimised asset delivery, caching layers, and a clean deployment pipeline to ensure fast load times, stability, and consistent performance under load.
Performance & Security
We applied optimisation techniques including lazy loading, compression, and caching, alongside secure configurations such as SSL and controlled access layers.
Impact & results
A scalable platform ready to support millions of users during major astronomical events.
Creative direction
The creative direction of this website is built around a powerful central idea: transforming an astronomical phenomenon into an emotional, almost ritualistic experience. The predominant use of deep, dark tones, combined with halos of light and subtle gradients, recreates the actual atmosphere of an eclipse and places the user in an immersive setting from the very first moment. The circular composition, recurring throughout the interface, is not merely an aesthetic device, but a direct nod to the solar phenomenon, reinforcing the visual narrative and lending coherence to the system. The typography, spaced and elegant, contributes to that sense of a historic and momentous event, elevating the tone to something almost scientific yet accessible.
In terms of user experience, the website strikes a fine balance between the educational and the inspirational. It guides the user from understanding the phenomenon to taking action (events, maps, observation), using micro-interactions and clear hierarchies that do not disrupt the aesthetic. Elements such as the interactive map or the calendar provide practical value without compromising the visual identity, integrating seamlessly within the same graphic language. Overall, the proposal positions the “Trio of Eclipses” not only as an astronomical event, but as a cultural and collective event, generating anticipation and a sense of community.
