The Acceleration Consortium, led by Dr. Alán Aspuru-Guzik at the University of Toronto, brings together scientists, engineers, and industry partners to accelerate the discovery of new materials through artificial intelligence and automation. As an academic institution within the broader landscape of higher education institutions and universities, the Consortium exemplifies the collaborative spirit and innovation found in leading research organizations.
Tennis was engaged to design and develop a digital platform that matched the Consortium's global ambition—bridging academic rigour with startup-level agility. Built entirely in Webflow, the new site reduces the cost and complexity of traditional university web infrastructure while giving the marketing team a flexible, scalable system for rapid content publishing. The platform was specifically designed for the unique needs of higher ed, colleges, and universities, leveraging modern technology to support the institution's evolving goals and digital presence.
The Acceleration Consortium is an interdisciplinary initiative based at the University of Toronto, assembling world-leading researchers and organizations in collaboration with other educational institutions to tackle some of humanity's most urgent material challenges, impacting students and staff across campus. Their mission: use AI-driven self-driving laboratories to accelerate scientific discovery and make advanced materials accessible faster, advancing research for the benefit of students, staff, and institutions.
As a newly formed organization, the Consortium needed a public-facing website that could clearly communicate its vision, showcase its research and partners, and scale with a fast-growing global network. As this web project began, it was important to make the right decision to ensure the site would provide a simple, user-centered experience for all users and visitors.
Most academic websites rely on WordPress installations that are complex to maintain and slow to update. The Consortium needed a solution that supported modern storytelling—interactive content, visual depth, and modular flexibility—without the technical overhead. The new platform was designed to offer effective communication, support various applications, and provide important data-driven insights to improve user experience.
The Consortium's leadership wanted a digital presence that felt as innovative as their research. Our team introduced a design approach inspired by the tech and startup world—combining bold visuals with clarity of information architecture. Careful planning and creating a platform that fosters engagement were central to our process, ensuring the site could adapt to changing needs and support ongoing user involvement.
We saw an opportunity to create a lightweight, intuitive system that empowered non-technical contributors to publish confidently. By leveraging Webflow CMS as the content management system, we eliminated unnecessary maintenance layers and made it possible for the internal marketing team to deploy new content in hours, not days. This approach led to measurable improvements in workflow efficiency, tangible results in content delivery, and overall success in meeting the Consortium's digital goals.
From the outset, our shared vision was to design a living digital platform—a site that could evolve as the Consortium expanded. The experience needed to balance scientific credibility with accessibility, using immersive visuals to reflect the scale of their mission. The platform was created to meet the Consortium's goals and elevate its brand as a leader among research brands.
We developed a cohesive design language supported by custom 3D animations, modular content blocks, and a robust CMS framework that allows every new research initiative, publication, or partner to fit seamlessly within the system. Our dedicated team focused on delivering an engaging digital experience that resonates with users.
Our team of experienced consultants offers a comprehensive list of services and development services tailored for higher education, leveraging strong project management skills to provide seamless delivery and support.
These services include:
Working with Tennis is a fun and collaborative process with strong communication and transparency.
The new platform positions the Acceleration Consortium as a global leader in research innovation and digital communication. With its modular CMS and intuitive interface, the marketing team now publishes and updates content in a fraction of the time previously required. The team worked closely with the Consortium to launch a higher education website design project tailored to the needs of prospective students, keeping their mind and journey in focus throughout the process.
The site's streamlined infrastructure removes the burden of maintaining a full WordPress instance—cutting hosting and update costs while improving reliability. The collaborative partnership continues, with Tennis providing ongoing support as the Consortium's initiatives grow. In addition to the initial launch, the team is working on ongoing projects and products, consistently delivering results by understanding the unique needs of higher education websites in order to provide comprehensive solutions.
