American Astronomical Society

Since 1899, the American Astronomical Society (AAS) has been the foremost American professional organization for astronomers. Their varied outlets share information to their 8,200+ members, their semi-annual meetings are where many significant space discoveries are announced, and their job boards are the destination for astronomy job postings. Happy Cog was tasked with combining all of these needs into a cohesive and welcoming new website. Playing a role as a membership driver, it was essential that the new experience be welcoming to hobbyists, students, educators, and the policy-minded community. The organization’s service-oriented attitude is revealed in warm language and calls-to-action that speak directly to the audience, while the shared proclivity to wonder and discover is evoked through whimsical hover animations. These values similarly influenced the back-end build, resulting in an author experience that ensured the site’s authors, primarily scientists, could spend their time doing something of actual astronomical importance, rather than fussing with website templates. This redesign was awarded a People's Voice Webby Award for Association Website in 2020.