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UNTOLD

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With 350 years of history, the Royal Irish Regiment has a rich collection of stories, objects and archives spanning generations of Irish soldiers in the British Army.

As part of a wider programme to bring its historic and contemporary collections together, the Regiment Charity created UNTOLD – a new identity for sharing and preserving the stories of the Regiment and its people.

HDK was selected to create a new digital presence for UNTOLD, alongside a dedicated Regimental Portal for current serving members and veterans.

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Untold: Stories of the Irish in the British Army website

The challenge

The project needed to serve two very different audiences, through two distinct but connected websites.

UNTOLD would provide a public-facing experience for family researchers, military enthusiasts and people discovering the Regiment for the first time. With 350 years of material to explore, the challenge was to make a large and varied collection easy to navigate without losing the opportunity for exploration and discovery.

The Regimental Portal had a different purpose: to provide current serving members and veterans with a private online community where they could access news, advice, essential resources and ways to connect with others.

Both sites needed their own identity while drawing from the same brand toolkit, and had to work for audiences both locally and internationally. Behind the scenes, we also needed to find systems that could work effectively across both, supporting requirements including event bookings, donations and ecommerce.

Untold: Stories of the Irish in the British Army website

The solution

We began with an extensive discovery process involving both the UNTOLD and Regiment teams. Detailed wireframes helped us map the needs of each audience and establish clear user journeys across the two sites.

From there, we designed and developed two bespoke WordPress websites, translating the existing brand toolkit into a shared visual language while giving each site its own character and purpose. For UNTOLD, the focus was on making a vast collection of stories and objects easy to explore. The Regimental Portal required a more private, secure experience tailored to current serving members and veterans.

Behind the scenes, we brought together a range of systems to support the different requirements of both sites, including Spektrix, Shopify and CollectiveAccess, alongside a bespoke membership and verification process for the Regimental Portal.

The result is two distinct experiences that feel connected, are straightforward to navigate and give both teams the flexibility to manage and develop their content over time.

How we did it

Discovery, UX and comprehensive wireframing to establish distinct user journeys and information architecture for each site.

Two bespoke WordPress websites built around a shared visual language.

Flexible content architecture supporting informational content, stories and a growing digital collection.

Spektrix integration for event ticketing and donations.

CollectiveAccess integration with a custom-built importer for collection objects.

Shopify integration supporting ecommerce across the websites and physical shop.

Bespoke secure registration and verification process for the Regimental Portal.

Automatic Gaelic translation integrated from the outset to make the website accessible to local Gaelic-speaking audiences. 

Google Tag Manager and GA4 set up to support ongoing measurement and insight.

WCAG AA accessibility standards considered throughout design, development and QA.

The website that HDK helped us build really speaks to our brand, our ethics and our ethos and what we want to communicate to people.

Dr Laura Patrick, UNTOLD Museum Director

Untold: Stories of the Irish in the British Army website

The results

The new websites establish a digital presence that reflects the ambition and scale of the wider UNTOLD project, while giving the Regiment a dedicated online space for its own community.

Together, they create a bridge between the Regiment’s history and the people connected to it today, with the foundations in place to support UNTOLD as it continues to develop.

Nuts & Bolts

Two sites, one visual language
UNTOLD and the Regimental Portal were built as separate WordPress websites for very different audiences. Both draw from the same brand toolkit, creating a clear relationship between them while allowing each to have its own identity and purpose.

Secure Regimental Portal
Current serving members and veterans can apply to join a private online community where they can access Regimental news, resources and ways to connect with other members. A bespoke verification process allows applicants to securely provide proof of service, with uploaded identification automatically deleted once reviewed or after a set period if it remains unreviewed.

CollectiveAccess integration
CollectiveAccess acts as the source of truth for UNTOLD’s collection. A custom-built importer brings object data into WordPress, allowing collection information to be managed centrally while being presented as part of the wider website experience.

Spektrix and Shopify
Spektrix was integrated across both websites to support event ticketing and donations, while Shopify connects the digital experience with UNTOLD and Regiment ecommerce, including the physical shop.

Gaelic translation
Automatic Gaelic translation was built into the website from the outset, giving local audiences the option to explore content in Gaelic without requiring the UNTOLD team to maintain separately translated versions of the site.

Untold: Stories of the Irish in the British Army website - Mobile view

The creativity that HDK brought to the project blew our mind a little. They hit the nail on the head every time.

Dr Laura Patrick, UNTOLD Museum Director

HDK provided us with a great CMS, and once we were able to use it ourselves, it became even easier to use. It's given us the opportunity to create new and exciting content.

Lydia Killen, Director of Communications at The Royal Irish Regiment

The working relationship between our team at Untold and HDK has been nothing short of fantastic. HDK have been an absolute pleasure to work with.

Dr Laura Patrick, UNTOLD Museum Director

Untold: Stories of the Irish in the British Army website

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