The Road to Redesign

Project Objective To redesign & reorganize the Carleton web site. To redesign & reorganize the Carleton web site.

Background Carleton.edu has grown & changed dramatically Carleton.edu has grown & changed dramatically From a few pages to 300+ sites for offices, departments, committees, student organizations, etc. From a few pages to 300+ sites for offices, departments, committees, student organizations, etc. From HTML pages  Dreamweaver templates  the Reason web content management system From HTML pages  Dreamweaver templates  the Reason web content management system Technologically, we’ve kept pace with the times Technologically, we’ve kept pace with the times Continuous introduction of new features Continuous introduction of new features Tools designed for ease of use, accessibility, and compliance with web standards Tools designed for ease of use, accessibility, and compliance with web standards

Background BUT… Our home page and primary navigation (the “blue bar”) haven’t changed significantly in years Our home page and primary navigation (the “blue bar”) haven’t changed significantly in years The default templates for offices & departments have changed little since Reason was created The default templates for offices & departments have changed little since Reason was created The navigation structure needs to be revisited in light of Carleton.edu’s exponential growth The navigation structure needs to be revisited in light of Carleton.edu’s exponential growth

Scope of the Project Definition of communications strategy for home page and major gateway sites (prospective students, students, faculty/staff, alumni, etc.) Definition of communications strategy for home page and major gateway sites (prospective students, students, faculty/staff, alumni, etc.) Redesign of home page and major gateway sites Redesign of home page and major gateway sites New, unified family of design templates for campus offices and academic departments New, unified family of design templates for campus offices and academic departments Improved site organization and navigation Improved site organization and navigation

Process Define communications strategy for home page, gateways and major site sections Define communications strategy for home page, gateways and major site sections Communication goals Communication goals Primary audience(s) Primary audience(s) Key messages Key messages

Process Complete content inventory Complete content inventory Index of all live sites Index of all live sites Site traffic rankings Site traffic rankings Last updated Last updated Site maintainer Site maintainer Current usage patterns Current usage patterns

Process Analysis of Information Architecture Analysis of Information Architecture User testing to identify intuitive navigation categories User testing to identify intuitive navigation categories Develop proposed top-level navigation Develop proposed top-level navigation Test again (and again) Test again (and again)

Process Audience Brainstorming Sessions, Focus Groups & Surveys Audience Brainstorming Sessions, Focus Groups & Surveys Prospective Students Prospective Students Students Students Faculty Faculty Staff Staff Alumni Alumni Parents Parents

Process Creative Blueprint Creative Blueprint “Personality” of the site “Personality” of the site “Voice” and “tone” of the content “Voice” and “tone” of the content Creative considerations Creative considerations Color palette Color palette

Process Design Concepts – Round 1 Design Concepts – Round distinctly different design options (not variations on a theme) 3-4 distinctly different design options (not variations on a theme) Home page, gateway page and content page concepts for each Home page, gateway page and content page concepts for each Testing & feedback Testing & feedback Selection of preferred design Selection of preferred design

Process Design Concepts – Round 2 Design Concepts – Round 2 Refinements/variations on the approved design Refinements/variations on the approved design Concepts for major sites/sections, including: Concepts for major sites/sections, including: Home page Home page Gateway page Gateway page Administrative office site Administrative office site Academic department site Academic department site Testing & feedback Testing & feedback Final design approval Final design approval

Process Execution of the Design Execution of the Design Design of all templates/motifs/themes Design of all templates/motifs/themes Design of new page types as needed Design of new page types as needed Technical Development Technical Development Cascading Stylesheet (CSS) development Cascading Stylesheet (CSS) development CSS testing CSS testing Non-Reason site migrations Non-Reason site migrations User testing User testing

Process And finally…. LAUNCH! And finally…. LAUNCH!