April 22, 2008
New AU Web site now has a visual design
AU’s new home page now has a face. Designers from HUGE, the New York–based firm working on the university’s Web site redesign project, presented the final visual design of the page during a meeting Wednesday at which they also reviewed progress to date and mapped out the future of the Web redesign process.
“The visual look and feel is something that is lively and
creative,” said Jason Martin,
senior visual designer for HUGE. “American University has a great deal of history, and we want it to reflect that but also feel like
something that is, current, and active. It’s lively but not chaotic.”
The sharp look features a large lead story and photo in the upper left-hand portion of the page, adjacent to a department called “Discover AU.” There are quick links along the right side of the page, columns for content on the arts, students, and faculty, interactive Wikipedia-like user guides, and an events calendar. At the bottom is a feature called “AU by the numbers.” The page blends elements of two earlier designs—one a news-centric experience, the other a large interactive grid—reviewed by members of the university Web committee and tested on student and alumni groups.
“It’s been a long process to get where we are, so it’s exciting to see it come to life,” said Hannah Stubblefield, project manager for HUGE.
With much of the fundamental visual design work now completed, the next major step is for the university to contract with a Content Management System vendor. That process is in its final stages and a formal announcement is forthcoming. The company was selected after a long process in which bids were solicited and evaluated. Once the CMS contract is complete, HUGE and the university committee can move ahead with setting more concrete timetables for the project and to address next steps, such as providing training for AU staff and faculty, hiring new employees to help manage the system, and creating new content, evaluating and archiving or migrating existing content to the new site.
The visual design should be completed by the end of May, Stubblefield said. Further overall development will take place through the summer, with an eye toward a launch later this year.
The overall goal is “making the site useful as a tool, not just a brochure,” Stubblefield said. “We want to focus on the user and make content findable. A living, breathing site that users have input in maintaining and contributing.”
The new american.edu will be one of the first interactive Web 2.0 university sites in the country. HUGE designers and university officials envision a site in which members of the AU community—students, faculty, staff, alumni—can contribute content. Wednesday’s meeting was a major milestone in the extensive communications project, but not the ending point.
“If we were charting this whole journey as a family trip from Miami to Seattle, I think we’re somewhere around Kansas City right now,” said David Taylor, the president’s chief of staff.
