ChemTube3D is an educational project developed by the University of Liverpool, it has been an incredibly successful resource but over time become a huge site with no content management. The site needed a new look and feel as well as CMS functionality. It exists to help students see chemistry concepts that are hard to understand when they’re flattened into diagrams.
A lot of chemistry teaching still relies on 2D drawings to explain 3D problems. That gap is where ChemTube3D sits. The goal wasn’t to build a platform in the usual sense. It was to make difficult ideas easier to see, using interactive models rather than long explanations. A easy to use visual learning tool for students to grasp concepts quickly.
I gave the branding a refresh and designed a new identity for the site. The interface stays out of the way so attention stays on the models. Layouts are simple, text is secondary, and nothing competes with the visualisations themselves. Ensuring models took centre stage and maintained primary focus.
I built a WordPress environment for ChemTube3D and added an array of custom functionality to enable full management. ChemTube3D runs directly in the browser and lets users rotate, zoom and interact with molecular structures and reaction mechanisms. Content is organised by topic, with short explanations alongside each model. The structure allows new material to be added over time without changing how the site works.
ChemTube3D is now widely used as a teaching and revision aid. Students use it to explore ideas that are difficult to visualise, and educators use it to support explanations in lectures. It does one thing well, and it keeps doing it.