Department page design mockups

Hi everyone,

As you may know, I was in Gambier yesterday to discuss the new Kenyon.edu site design. It was a great day of work, and I'd like to thank to everyone that we talked to. (You know who you are.) Some genuinely new ideas came from those conversations, which is really exciting.

(You'll also notice a new look in the space to the left there. Some folks think the angels are a bit overused— even though this is just the redesign blog and not the design itself, it's probably good to swap that photo out once in a while.)

In general we've heard a lot of positive feedback about the new homepage design. Some of the comments in the blog were echoed in person. But all in all, most people we talked to either were happy with it, or said it was growing on them. We're making a few changes in response to the feedback we've gotten, which we'll go through when the next update to the homepage design is posted. If any of you want to comment on the homepage design, feel free to continue to post comments at that link (or here— or wherever you want, really).

But now, let's take a look at the departmental site designs. Our goal was to create a basic template for these that is much more flexible than current department websites, which most everyone agrees look pretty much identical right now, and don't reflect departments' individuality at all. However, they can't be completely different; obviously there have to be some uniting elements, so they'll look related, work together, and match the homepage nicely.

In the design we're suggesting, each department page will have a single row of three photos at the top. The first photo should be a striking, abstract photo related to the department's area of study. The second should depict the department's physical building. The third should show people, students and/or faculty of the department, engaged in academic work. The photos can rotate if enough good-quality shots are available.

Each department will also be able to choose its own accent color, which will be used in several places throughout the departmental site. And there will be a few content layout options as well. In addition to the shots at the top of the page, departments can include images on their home pages as needed. As designers, we hope they're good photos too. But there's more leeway there.

So here we go! We've taken three departments as examples of the different possibilities here. Each of Kenyon's departments will be able to make independent decisions; these are just mockups. We have taken the content from the current pages in most cases; it's a guideline for how we think departments might proceed, but final decisions about both graphic choices and content will be made by the departments and Public Affairs.

Department of Political Science

Department of Biology

Department of Mathematics

Click below to post a comment (and remember, you don't have to sign up for an account to comment— but we do ask that you state your name and relation to Kenyon). Have a great weekend!

Final release candidate, Kenyon.edu homepage

After several weeks of design work, and collaborative revision and deliberation between White Whale and Kenyon's Web redesign committee, we're happy to announce our final release candidate for the design of Kenyon College's new Web home page. We'll take you quickly through the process and its goals, and introduce you to the final candidate.

Process overview

We began early design conceptions for the Kenyon site shortly after returning from our three-day visit to Gambier in mid-October; the design process began in earnest after the delivery of our design and development recommendations on 10/31, and the general styleguide that came out of that process. After about three rounds of revisions internally, we presented two finalist designs for a Kenyon homepage, and four alternates, to Kenyon's Office of Public Affairs on December 7th.

This slate was narrowed to three choices by Public Affairs, which went to the greater Web committee for review. After internal committee debate and a December 20 conference call, a final release candidate was selected.

Goals for the Kenyon homepage design

In reviewing and critiquing designs, here's what we've been looking for:

• A design that mirrors Kenyon's excellent print work. Kenyon has some of the most consistently excellent print marketing materials we've seen. In our Web work, we've looked to the print materials as an inspiration (recognizing of course the inherent differences between the media). This means simple and clean lines, strong photography, and thoughtful typesetting.
  
• A reflection of the dynamism of the Kenyon community. It's our belief that Kenyon is a more dynamic, provocative, challenging place than it gets credit for. In our design process we've sought to get this across. Although Kenyon has beautiful architecture, there's clearly more to the picture than a straightforward campus beauty shot. What sets Kenyon apart from its top competitors isn't its beautiful campus: it's something more elusive, something uniquely Kenyon, and that is what we've tried to get at in the homepage design.
  
• Simplicity and complexity. In our October meeting, President Nugent made a reference to wanting the "elegance of simplicity and the functionality of complexity." Our primary goal has been to find this balance: to create something that can offer the excitement and dynamism of a highly interactive and engaging experience, but be able to highlight a single focal point if necessary. Our design should be flexible enough to meet a wide variety of communications needs.

The final candidate

The selected final candidate for the Kenyon homepage design is called "Photomosaic." It will appear in different ways at different times as needed by Public Affairs— with either a mosaic of Kenyon photography or a single feature with a translucent mosaic overlay. Here's the mosaic version:

The photos used in this mockup aren't necessarily the final selections: for the final release, the selections can be as random or as calculated as you'd like. We don't think the mosaic will randomize with each page load: rather, we imagine it might be composed (within parameters, of course) once a day.

The individual thumbnail images of the mosaic will subtly highlight on mouseover, and will show a larger version (with caption) when clicked. In this way, the mosaic homepage will always function as a robust Kenyon photo gallery.

The news and events items below the mosaic are completely customizable by Public Affairs, and can be used as needed, with thumbnail images for headlines requiring them.

This design can also be used to highlight a single feature. Feature stories can be used to drive traffic to areas needing increased exposure, and show off particular elements of the Kenyon community to the public. Here's an example of a feature story treatment:

(The above feature highlights Study Abroad— academic stories are just as appropriate.) And here's another, this one leading to a photo gallery:

Feature stories can be generated as needed by Kenyon's Public Affairs office; in general, the sorts of stories that are appropriate for this treatment are the type that wind up on the front page of the Bulletin. We have prepared a guideline for the preparation of Photomosaic homepage feature content, which was delivered to Public Affairs after the design presentation.

It is also possible to combine mosaic and feature approaches on a single page if needed.

General design justification

This design has clear roots in some of Kenyon's existing print materials: there's an Admissions poster with a similar look and feel, and the cover of the "On This Hilltop" DVD has the same general approach. But the dynamism of the Web lets us take this general treatment to a new and exciting level.

When the homepage is in mosaic mode, we believe it's doing something not seen anywhere else in academe: integrating a multifaceted photo gallery directly into the substance of a home page design in a subtle yet affecting way. We don't think any one image can tell Kenyon's story, but the 27 images seen in the mosaic can: together, they provide a quick and intuitive understanding of the sort of place Kenyon is.

When the homepage is devoted to a single feature, the mosaic overlay acts as a bold design element that is, again, unique: it is treated in a way that you don't see often on the Web (though it's fairly common in high-end print design). It's a very straightforward approach that nonetheless will, we feel, give an already strong photograph the feeling of high art.

It will be important, with both mosaic and feature approaches, to make sure that all areas of Kenyon's community are highlighted. This means that a good percentage of feature stories and mosaic images ought to be about academics, and the sciences in particular. We look forward to helping Public Affairs find the right balance going forward.

All in all, we believe this design takes concepts that have been reduced to a cliché in much of higher ed— diversity and community— and gives them a spin that doesn't feel contrived or strained. We hope you agree.

Click below for full size mockups:

Mosaic version with thumbnail images

Feature story (Study Abroad)

Feature story (Open All Night)

Here's what Jeremy (one of the Whalers) has to say:

"Many schools attempt to wrap up their first impression with a homepage that centers on a single, large photo. When a college takes that approach, it's wagering that the photo will have — for every visitor — just the precise sort of impact that the school wants to make. With a photo wall, Kenyon can take the multi-faceted approach, both displaying quantitatively more aspects of the school, right off the bat; as well as showing a qualitatively finer and more nuanced picture of Kenyon as a whole. I'm sure that you'd agree that the Kenyon experience is more than just the sum of its parts, and showing a photo wall allows us to lead students into thinking something like: 'Oh, I get it. I can study with professors in a small group, then walk down the Middle Path, say hi to my friends, and then go to that beautiful athletic center for practice. And those dances look like fun.' Any one piece of that picture wouldn't have nearly the same effect."

We very much want to know what you think; please take the time to comment by clicking the link below. You don't have to set up an account to post comments. In the Kenyon spirit of open discussion and debate, we ask that you include your name and class year (or faculty, staff, alumni status, etc.) along with your comments; anonymous comments may be deleted.

Sometimes it all just comes together

As many of you know, the five of us visited Kenyon last week for a three-day residency, where we set out to meet as many people— senior staff, stakeholders, students, faculty, whoever— as possible. It went really well! We'll post some notes and conclusions from the meetings later this week. But there's one story that really stands out.

We set up a table outside the dining hall on Tuesday, and Donald and Tonya staffed it (while I snuck back to my luxurious room at the Kenyon Inn to decompress after spending all day talking). They talked to several passers-by about ideas for the new Kenyon Web site, what you don't like about the old one, etc. Some students that had stopped by the table on their way in to the dining hall stopped by on their way out, and dropped off a fortune cookie for us. Who knows why? They thought we might want one.

So Donald and Tonya decided that, whatever the fortune might say, we'd use it as the new White Whale motto. (Really. They decided that. No lie.) They opened the fortune cookie and lo and behold, look what came out:

Some of you at Kenyon may not know us that well. (Some of you probably know us pretty well indeed. I think my mom reads this.) Anyway, no fortune cookie could possibly do a better job of summing up what we think makes our company special. So to those Kenyon students, whoever you are— we didn't get your names— thanks a million!

Welcome to the Kenyon.edu redesign blog

We've got a lot to say, and I'm sure you do too. But let's start here: What do you like (and dislike) about the current Kenyon website, and what do you think we should do to go about making it work better for you?