Version 2
The following is our latest design modification for the new UW-Platteville website. Important changes are as follows:
Please let us know what you think!
- Reworked current logo to make it more fresh
- Added Google Search (customized for UW-Platteville!)
- Made the snapshot area one large photo that rotates on every load
- Added a map area to describe where Platteville, WI is and incorporated the virtual tour and weather information in the same location (3 birds 1 stone!)
- Campus Events area is the same but will contain a scroll bar to limit length of page
- Moved Campus Resources A-Z and made it more prominent in the lower left hand navigation
- Campus Highlights will be re-used as they are currently
- Latest News area now has more room so it doesn't feel as cluttered
- NEW FEATURE: Discover Your Major! This will search keywords the user enters and displays corresponding academic programs of potential interest. The result page will be just below the current search and the rest of the page will be pushed down further on the page. The results will display links to the corresponding: Fact Sheets, Departmental website, and the Academic Catalog section... all without leaving the main page!
- Pioneer Profiles are being redone to give a fresh look
- Moved the Pioneer Athletics to a more prominent location and linked it to the UWP_Pioneers Twitter account for current athletics updates
Please let us know what you think!
posted by Nicole Kahl @ 2:26 PM
8 Comments:
There are a few things that need to be modified yet... the link "Foundation Donation" will become "UWP Foundation" per the request of Dennis. We also need to create all of the profile images, etc. Also we have additional images for all of the weather, the one being used now is just a sample picture. The Web Highlights on the bottom left (UWP Athletics being listed twice) is just a place holder. The current highlights will be used as they are currently using 3 random ones (no repeats.) The footer will be listed on the bottom of the page, but we cropped it out of this screenshot to save space.
Thanks,
- Dan
I like this layout. Is there a way that certain people, like me for example, could have a special section that is not used all of the time. Just for special announcements.
Like the Orientation schedule, Family Weekend info, Leadership Awards info, etc.?
It would be great if parents could go to the UWP homepage for family weekend for example, (Many parents are not comfortable with the web) and just have the info button front and center.
David
I think Pioneer Athletics looks out of place at the bottom of the screen.
It was mentioned that Pioneer Athletics was pulled from the menu bar because it was the 3rd most hit link on the main page. I'm trying to understand why you would pull it out and feature it then. It's not that people are having a hard time finding it obviously. I think the Athletics link should go back to the left menu bar.
Also, the Wisconsin image I think should not be overlapped.
I think this design is a definite improvement, but I would like to see the actual university colors used. I think it looks funny when the blue in the logo doesn’t match the blue used in the website design. My suggestion would be to use a darker shade of the blue used in the logo for the background, oval, and text.
Also, I think using white instead of gray would give the overall site a cleaner look. You could put gray boxes behind the text if you wanted them to stand out more.
I appreciate everyone posting comments! It does help to get input. There are a few things that I want to explain so everyone understands "why" we made certain design decisions.
"Odd Event postings" - This is something that we have struggled with for a long time. Occasionally there are things that 'would be nice' if we could have a spot on the main page. I would have to defer to the Image Committee on this. If it is deemed important enough, we'll find a spot to carve out for those events, but I'd like those events to be well defined so it doesn't get out of hand.
"Pioneer Athletics" - Athletics was moved to give it more space and to try to limit the number of links in the list in the top left. At the meeting I was left with the impression that Athletics was not as important as the rest of the content in the main section, so I moved it to the bottom of the list. From the marketing research at other universities, having updates that people actually read is a major factor in people actually 'using' your website. I feel very strongly that we need to have the current athletic comments on the page in the main section. As far as positioning, we could switch that block with the profiles which would move it up on the page a bit more.
"Wisconsin map overlapped" - When we are trying to put many things in a small spot, you do your best to conserve space while getting the 'gist' across. We have tried numerous times to show the entire state, but it just doesn't work with the design at all. We even tried different shapes other than the curve... it just doesn't work. This was the best compromise... and you still understand that it is the state of Wisconsin without the entire state boundary.
"Colors" - When you design, there are certain techniques you can use to make sure the user 'sees' the content on the page. The logo is a good example. We purposely left the logo in very bright colors to drive the eye to the logo. We want everyone to identify with the logo, so they need to look at it and identify it simply. If you make the background a similar color as the logo, then the logo blends into the background too much and it becomes lost. The same is true for text. When you make the background colors darker or more drab and then have the background around the text much lighter, then you can drive the focus of the users to the text which is what we want them to read. I know it may not make sense to avoid using the exact university colors everywhere, but the colors which are being used are very intentional in driving the users to examine specific parts of the page. Even the background gradient from a drab 'gray' at the top to a darker blue in the bottom drives the users eye down the page. The blander color around the shape at the top of the page focuses the eyes to the picture which are brighter... and then to the links on the left which have loads of extra space so the text is easier to read.
I do understand that we want a clean looking design and wish to use the university colors. I also want to explain exactly why the design was done the way it was and to make sure that everyone knows the design being presented was intentional to make the user focus on the important parts of the website so it is used effectively.
I think the color could be kept as dark as it is, but boost the blue and lessen the red in it to make the transition from the blue to the white more blue and the page a bit brighter. (Similar to the color close R34, G42, B82.) Then the link in the menu area could be highlighted with our blue. I think a white background will give even more contrast to the blue text making it easier to read.
The logo, curve and University of Wisconsin-Platteville text form an odd shape. What if we lose the words "University of Wisconsin-Platteville" since they are in the logo and slide the logo down and to the right into the blue area a bit more and make the oval a bit larger. You would have to shrink the links a bit but I think the balance would be better.
I like the idea of adding athletics because people are interested in it, but the main section of the page seems to start to get a little cluttered with the 4 sections stacked "Latest News, Discover Your Major, Pioneer Athletics and Pioneer Profile" we could just ad a bullet to Latest News for athletics to link in to their page, but you would probably want to put them back on the menu then? What if the Athletics and Choose Your Major were next to each other on the same line about half of the size?
Although we talked about putting the profiles ahead of athletics the profiles on the bottom of the page seemed to give it a better flow and anchored the page a little better when they are placed at the bottom.
I think putting a drop shadow on the logo as a whole is ok but I would leave it out of the middle.
Also, could we make the images in the oval continually rotate when someone is on the page not just on reload. The page seems pretty static now without flash or video.
I like the direction this is heading. I do think that the focus needs to be on serving the public. I would like to see a different strategy with the rotating ad buttons on the lower left. Both DLC and foundation giving are items that also need easy and prominent placement for those coming to our site.
Mick
I'd like to see some mention of international education on our front page. We have a special focus on getting more students to go abroad and also on recruiting more internationals to work and/or study here. What can we do to be more welcoming?
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