Digital Archive Platform for IADT Cartlann
The archive problem was really a governance problem.
Piquant collaborated with IADT to build the C3 Co-Creation Centre online catalogue, transforming a large archive of creative collaborations into an interactive production hub. The platform balances accessibility with robust content moderation and data protection, enabling a dynamic learning environment for higher education.
Set in Circular, PP Fragment Glare
Insights
- The core challenge wasn't just design: IADT's student and faculty production work had no central digital repository, so Piquant — which frames the brief around socially engaged production — built Cartlann as a dual-purpose system for both public viewing and student learning.
- A major theme is governance: the platform handles third-party copyright, GDPR obligations, role-based permissions, and single sign-on with IADT credentials, separating student "Project Creators" from senior-staff "Project Evaluators."
- Cartlann was given a standalone identity instead of leaning on IADT’s institutional branding, using a wordmark, spherical emblem, vibrant palette, and typography pairing Circular with PP Fragment Glare Light.
- The interface includes a public presentation mode and a "Learning Mode" that lets authorised users trace an initiative from conception through delivery, turning the archive into an educational pipeline.
- The archive is built to scale with changing curriculum needs through custom taxonomies, and the live site organises content by academic course and collection, including OnShow 2025, Puppet Films, RIAM Opera, and EDI Animations, with links out to IADT Library Archive on Figshare.
