Anniversary website showcases 50 years of Doctor Who

Iconic sci-fi show Doctor Who is this year celebrating its 50th birthday, and the BBC Worldwide brand team wanted to create an online platform to allow viewers to explore its rich history.

So they commissioned Australian agency R&B Creative, which had previously created sites for other BBC shows like Top Gear, CBeebies and BBC Earth, to create doctorwho.tv.

This impressive site lets visitors delve back through five decades of The Doctor, as well as keeping fans up-to-date with anniversary events taking place around the world. Most importantly, despite the age of the show, the visuals and styling convey a fresh, modern feel throughout.

Managing director and founder of R&B, Rob Bare, says creating a site for such a globally renowned brand was a big responsibility for a relatively small Australian agency. “There was certainly a lot to consider," he says. "We knew we had a large and discerning audience of Doctor Who fans to satisfy and impress."

To convey the epic nature of the Doctor Who series, the agency have created a cinematic quality website that features dramatic artwork and moving graphics. Centrally, that involved bring a lot of ageing, often black and white images to date.

"We used photos of characters from every era of Doctor Who’s 50 years, and embellished them to achieve greater impact and a three-dimensional look. Each image was also enhanced to achieve consistency across all photographs, old and new."

With all artwork created for both desktop and retina screens, images are sharp and clear, and the responsively designed site provides a seamless experience across desktop and mobile devices. Comprehensive without being cluttered, it's a great example of how to portray a lot of material in an accessible, light and engaging way.

Liked this? Read these!

• The best designs in sci-fi movies
• ARGHHHHH! It's the best movie monster designs!
• How Gavin Rothery created the iconic design for Moon
• Awe-inspiring designs from Kubrick classics

Have you seen an impressive TV show website? Let us know about it in the comments!