NASA Langley is best known as “NASA’s first research center” where Neil Armstrong trained for the historic Apollo 11 moon landing and where the real-life events of Hidden Figures took place. Their story was stuck in the past, but their current research is defining our future.
Today,
Langley is pursuing answers to some of humanity’s most interesting and important questions—about climate change, the future of air travel, and the mysteries of our universe—research that will impact every single one of our lives for the better.
We gave Langley a new way to talk about themselves, the work they’re doing, and the impact it will have for decades to come by inviting the world to wonder with them.
At NASA Langley Research Center, what if? isn’t just a question—it’s a challenge.
It’s where wondering, what if we knew what’s in the air we breathe?
Becomes a cleaner planet for the next generation.
Where wondering, what if we could make travel faster?
Becomes a future where friends and family are never that far away.
And where wondering, what if we could explore deep space?
Becomes the key to unlocking our universe’s greatest mysteries.
The future starts with a question.
You just have to be bold enough to ask.
At Langley Research Center, we put our curiosity and wonder to work, creating a better tomorrow simply because we dare to imagine it.
NASA LANGLEY RESEARCH CENTER
Our wonder changes the world.
As a fun extra, we created interactive mission patches that featured an NFC sticker hidden on the back. All you had to do was tap your phone on the patch and like magic, it launches an AR experience that brings the patch to life with animated 3D effects.
From there, it was easy to link off to a site to learn more about all the amazing work happening at Langley—cool swag for employees to feel connected to a shared sense of purpose or for LaRC leaders to give away at industry conferences.
We also created a site that could serve as a central location for anyone to drop by and get inspired by all the work Langley is doing. Here, we ditched acronyms and cryptic project names in favor of big bold questions, translating each research project into something people outside of NASA could instantly “get” and get excited about.
Then, we invited users to “wonder with us,” submitting their own questions to inspire the researchers in return.
It’s been exciting to see how NASA has carried our messaging forward—from new signage on campus to LaRC-branded merch to using big “what ifs” in their social messaging strategy.
I was the creative director on this project, leading the work across messaging exploration, scriptwriting, video editing, site production, patch design, and AR development. I’m forever grateful to our close collaborators at NASA who made it all possible. I’ve accepted that this probably the closest I’ll ever get to my childhood dream of being an astronaut.
CEO: Drew Ungvarsky
ECD: Eric Lohman
DESIGN: Joe Branton, Jared Beck, Matthew Kuntz
COPY: Aidan Molloy
EDITOR: Rudy Vermorel
MOTION: Wes Cathon
DEV: Brian Walker, Neil Pullman, Kali Johnsen
PRODUCTION: Jordan Crisman, Lindsey Parker
CLIENT ENGAGEMENT: Sarah Ann Walters, Chelsea Brown-Ferguson
NASA TEAM
DIRECTOR: Clayton Turner
ASSOCIATE CENTER DIRECTOR: Lisa Ziehmann
NEWS CHIEF: Brittny McGraw
EDITOR: Kevin Anderson