Welcome to Our New Website!

Today is a big day. Our new website (and branding), which has been slowly fermenting since early this year, is now ready for consumption. It’s a bit salty, a bit tangy, very smooth and wholly delicious.

It’s a curious thing, re-branding and re-thinking a project as close to home as The Planthunter is to me. As a woman prone to pondering, I’ve spent much time this year reflecting on where TPH is at, where I am at. I’ve interrogated aplenty and have realised that the core reason that I started the publication feels more important to me now than six years ago, when it first launched. More than ever, I am fiercely committed to communicating the importance and wonder of the natural world through rich, evocative and real storytelling.

The quiet strength of the re-branding and re-design speaks of this commitment. It speaks, too, of a publication that’s grown up. Within this redesign is an authority and confidence I didn’t feel six years ago. The tone is a little more serious, because our mission feels more serious. This doesn’t mean any less irreverence or fun – it goes without saying that warmth, humour and humility will always be core to the goings on at TPH.

My brief to designer Evi O was to allow space for the words and images to speak. They are the guts of The Planthunter, and I didn’t want them overshadowed by design. She and her team have done a wonderful job of interpreting my rather particular vision. She’s woven a few Evi O quirks into a generous and visually immersive new framework that will carry the Planthunter beautifully into the future.

I invite you to take a wander around the new site (built by Todd Wright from Humming Group). You’ll find all you need in the menu (accessed on top right of screen). Take it slow, like you would a garden wander. Meander through the Issues page, or check out our new, very beautiful Directory, read more about the Planthunter Book, and be reminded of why we do what we do. The search functionality is next level, too (at least compared to our old site!).

Our existing stories are looking good in the new format, but going forward they’ll be looking spectacular. We’ve got plenty more layout options to play with, ensuring a much more visually immersive and readable experience. Check out our first post using the new layouts here. It’s a beauty.

There will be bugs. It’s the way of new websites (and gardens). Feel free to email us about any issues you find (please include browser info, eg. Chrome, Safari, Firefox, and version number) and we’ll get onto eradicating them.